Project Concord pitch draws scrutiny; council lets exclusive negotiation item die

At the Jan. 20 Inkster City Council meeting, Concord Infrastructure Partners presented 'Project Concord,' a proposed distributed data center pilot the company said would bring $285 million in private investment, unlock federal value and produce tens of millions in local wages. Concord asked the city for an exclusive negotiation period and a memorandum of understanding, but council did not move the item and it 'died' for lack of a motion.

Concord representatives Robert Gray and Michael Bardwell told the council the project rests on three pillars: an economic engine meant to generate $8.6 million a year in new municipal revenue, a 'community canopy' of blight remediation plus free mesh Wi‑Fi and local food production using waste heat, and a 'sovereign fortress' of on‑site generation. Bardwell said the campus would be fully self‑sufficient: "We take 0 gallons of water from the Inkster system," and the design includes…