Proposed Washington Township data center site
Property south of 32 Mile Road in Washington Township that was targeted by real estate company Prologis for rezoning into an industrial, research and technology zoning district, which would in part clear the way for a proposed data center. Tribune News Service file photo via Macomb Daily.

Overview:

  • Prologis withdraws its rezoning application for a 312-acre data center site on 32 Mile Road in Washington Township.
  • Washington Township Clerk Audrey Brown is proposing a temporary moratorium on all data center applications.
  • The developer says it will wait until the township adopts an ordinance governing data center facilities before reapplying.

By SOPHIA LADA
Macomb Daily  

After months of discussion and protests about a potential rezoning request for a data center in Washington Township, Prologis, the potential data site developer, has withdrawn its application for rezoning.

In a May 19 letter to the planning and zoning director, Prologis said it was withdrawing its application and would wait until the township adopts an ordinance governing such facilities before proceeding.

Audrey Brown, Washington Township clerk, wrote in a Facebook post she is adding a temporary moratorium for all data center applications to the May 20 board meeting agenda.

“The moratorium will give our community time to put legal safeguards in place,” Brown wrote.

She did not immediately respond to a request for more information on the letter.

The Washington Township data center proposal

Prologis submitted a conditional rezoning application for the development of a technical campus and data center on over 312 acres of land in November 2025. The land, which includes four parcels, is on the south side of 32 Mile Road, between M-53 and Powell Road.

Prologis asked for a straight rezoning of the property ― making it an Industrial – Research – Technology zoning district that allows for industrial and research facilities. Mark Hosfeld, a representative of Prologis, said at a Dec. 11 township planning commission meeting if the rezoning was approved, the company would have to ask for a “special land use” if it wanted to build a data center.

A data center is defined by officials as a building or group of buildings that house essential infrastructure including servers that process and store data. These types of facilities are used for e-commerce, health care, national security systems and a range of other industries, according to operators.

The proposal also included a reversion clause, which meant if the development was not completed within five years of the site plan approval, the property would revert back to its original industrial and agricultural residential zoning.

The proposed 32 Mile Road Technical Campus in Washington Township would be situated on 312 acres of land. A project that recently reached a settlement in Saline Township in Washtenaw County was a 575-acre site, with 325 acres being reserved for open space. A proposed data center campus in Howell calls for a 950-acre site. Others and the publicity they have generated have prompted officials in many communities to examine planning ordinances governing such facilities.

The Washington Township agenda packet also stated there is a demand for data centers due to a rapid growth in artificial intelligence technologies. The site is also surrounded by existing and former industrial uses like the Romeo State Airport and the former Romeo Ford plant.

The property also provides green space between the site of the data center buildings and adjacent uses, like residential developments, on Powell and 31 Mile roads.

Information in a previous planning commission packet also claimed the project was not expected to raise water or sewer rates. In fact, adding additional users to split the costs of existing water and sewer services would allegedly help to manage the rates for current service recipients, petitioners asserted.

DATA CENTER NEWS