Redevelopment commission approves community enhancement pact tied to Amazon data center

The Redevelopment Commission on an unanimous recorded vote approved a community enhancement agreement that accompanies a proposed two-site Amazon Data Services project north and south of the GM site in the New Carlisle Economic Development Area.

The agreement, presented by staff, is an addendum to larger infrastructure and incentive packages being negotiated for the project that staff said could span roughly 870 acres across three sites and could include as many as 22 building 'shells.' Staff described a proposed project investment of about $11,000,000,000 and an estimated 400 employees for initial operations.

Why it matters: the community enhancement agreement supplements standard tax and utility payments with targeted local fees and one-time contributions meant to fund fire services, student-success programs and parks/green space in St. Joseph County. Staff estimated that, on a full buildout of 22 shells, each of those three enhancement funds could collect about $475,200 across the full build-out scenario, while other one-time items and infrastructure commitments substantially increase the project’s local value.

What the agreement contains: staff summarized the enhancement elements as three per-shell payments set at $0.10 per square foot directed to separate funds for fire services, student success and parks/green space; a native-pollinator landscaping one-time fee; a $450,000 one-time professional-services payment; and a water-quality improvement fee computed at $50 per acre that could generate about $43,500 if applied across 870 acres. The package also includes a $120,000 one-time payment to the sheriff’s office for overtime to assist traffic enforcement near the sites (staff described the figure as $60,000 per year over two years).

Infrastructure and other commitments: earlier approvals and related items described by staff include a $114,000,000 water and sewer infrastructure agreement and a not-to-exceed $7,000,000 contribution toward the State Road 2 and Lisonbee interchange to serve as local match for INDOT projects. The agreement also contemplates donation of right-of-way that would be monetized later and a five-year monitoring program for groundwater wells installed on-site.

Tax incentives and next steps: staff told the commission that proposed incentives tied to the project include a 10-year real property tax abatement beginning at 50% per shell and a proposed enterprise-technology personal-property exemption described as 35 years at 85% (the county would retain approximately 15% of the assessed enterprise-technology value under that proposal). Staff emphasized that the economic-development agreement and the community enhancement agreement are part of a larger set of actions that still require final approvals: the Board of Commissioners and the County Council must act on the tax abatement and enterprise-IT exemption for the overall package to be final.

Commission action: after staff answered clarifying questions on fee geography and the sheriff payment, the commission moved and approved resolution 2024-14, which authorizes the community enhancement agreement. The presenter asked for commission approval to allow the agreement to proceed to the Board of Commissioners and then to the County Council for the remaining necessary approvals.

What’s next: the economic development agreement and the tax-related exemptions will proceed to the Board of Commissioners and the County Council; staff said some exhibit templates in the packet are placeholders to be filled in as reporting requirements are finalized. No final council action on tax abatements or the enterprise-IT exemption was recorded at this meeting.

Quotes: Staff (presenter) described the community enhancement agreement as an additional revenue stream "above and beyond" taxes and utility payments to support county and partner projects. Steve Francis, a Clay Township resident during public comment, said the enhancement payments were small compared with reported tax incentives and urged more public participation in such decisions.

Ending: With the commission’s approval of the community enhancement agreement, the package will move forward to the Board of Commissioners and then to the County Council, where the tax-abatement and enterprise-technology exemption questions remain to be decided.