Could Berrien County see billions of dollars in investment thanks to large data centers? State Representative Joey Andrews and Berrien County Commissioner Chokwe Pitchford think so.
Andrews and Pitchford addressed the Benton Harbor Area Schools Board of Education this week to seek support for legislation that would create a tax exemption on equipment at data centers to make the state more attractive to tech companies. Andrews said these operations spend billions on equipment.
“The reason for the exemption is because the data centers, they’re massive server warehouses essentially, and the servers burn out quickly because of the use,” Andrews said. “So, it’s uneconomical for them to build a data center without having an exemption to rebuy the servers constantly.”
Speaking later to the Berrien County Board of Commissioners, Pitchford said with the rise of A.I. and everything else happening in the tech sector, the big companies like Google and Meta have a tremendous need for storage space, and they’re looking at Michigan. He says one $3 billion center would be huge for the area.
“A big, big boost for the area,” Pitchford said. “$21 million for the Benton Harbor Area Schools. $12 million or $16 million estimated for Benton Township. About $4 million for the county if it comes in at around $3 billion in investments.”
Andrews said large data centers are usually multi billion dollar projects, and one developer is currently exploring a site in Benton Township. If that development happens, he said the loss of tax revenue from a possible devaluation of the Cook plant would be recouped by local governments.
Andrews added the ongoing work by Peninsula Fiber and 123 Net to build a fiber connection between Chicago and Michigan, much of it running under Lake Michigan, make the area ideal for any company building a data center.
The Benton Harbor School Board then approved a letter of support for the tax legislation.
