Norwalk council approves development agreement to enable Project West data‑center campus after lengthy public hearing

The Norwalk City Council on March 5 approved a development agreement with IALCO, Warren County 2 LLC that authorizes annual appropriation tax‑increment payments and pledges certain tax‑increment revenues to reimburse developer‑funded infrastructure for a proposed 282‑acre data‑center campus known in staff materials as "Project West." The resolution passed on a council roll call after a public hearing that drew dozens of residents, business owners and outside experts.

The decision follows presentations from Mayor Phillips, Economic Development Director Holly Zajaczak and Community Development Director Lud Paris, who described the site (south of Delaware, west of Madison and Highway 28), staff planning dating to the late 1990s, and an estimated full build‑out private investment figure staff discussed as roughly $12 billion. Zajaczak told the council that the developer would pay initial infrastructure costs estimated at about $8.2 million and that no tax‑increment financing (TIF) rebates or grants are being requested by the developer; the council packet and staff presentation included projected taxable valuation and estimated annual tax revenues to various local taxing entities.

Why it matters: Council members and staff framed the vote as authorization to proceed with a…