UK-based data center developer pulls plug on Lansing plan after city council grew skeptical

The $120 million Deep Green data center project in downtown Lansing is officially off the table.

Hours before the April 6, 2026, City Council meeting, the UK-based developer withdrew its rezoning and land-sale applications for the 24-megawatt facility planned on underused city parking lots near Cedar, Kalamazoo, and Larch streets.

The move came after months of heated public debate. While supporters touted potential jobs, tax revenue, and innovative waste-heat reuse for the city’s district heating system, many residents and several council members expressed strong opposition over locating what they described as industrial power infrastructure in a dense mixed-use downtown area near homes and civic buildings.

Ward 2 Councilmember Deyanira Nevarez-Martinez, one of the project’s most vocal critics, shared her prepared testimony after the withdrawal. “This proposal is not just a data center,” she said. “It includes a 16-megawatt natural gas-powered fuel cell facility located in a dense mixed-use downtown near homes, businesses, and the heart of our cities and our state’s civic life.”

She framed the decision as a fundamental planning issue: “For me, this came down to a fundamental planning question. Do I believe a power plant belongs in downtown Lansing? My professional opinion is no.”

Nevarez-Martinez also announced she had shared a draft ordinance with the city attorney that would prohibit data centers in commercial and downtown commercial districts while requiring stricter review in industrial zones.

“I understand the need for data centers,” she added, “but I also understand the need for us to be able to regulate them.”

Noting that Deep Green had addressed concerns through “formal, written responses and legally binding commitments,” Tim Daman, president and CEO of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, called the loss a setback for the region’s economic future—conveying deep disappointment in a statement.

“The withdrawal of this $120 million Deep Green data center development from the City of Lansing is a deeply disappointing outcome for our community,” Daman said. “Lansing cannot expect improved services, expanded opportunities, and long-term growth while turning away the very investments that make those outcomes possible.”

Residents, however, reacted with relief and celebrated the withdrawal as a win at the council meeting. Sentiments also reflected broader concerns about transparency, environmental impacts, and land-use compatibility in Michigan’s capital city.

With the project withdrawn, attention now turns to potential new regulations on data centers and how Lansing will balance growth with community priorities in an era of rising AI infrastructure demand.

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