Developer unveils data center plan in Akron amid resident concerns

FULTON COUNTY, Ind. -- After weeks of online speculation, a proposed data center development in Fulton County is now official — and already drawing sharp reactions from residents in Akron.

More than 40 community members joined in on an open house Wednesday night at the Akron Banquet Hall, where developers with the Decennial Group unveiled early plans for a large-scale data center project. The meeting quickly grew contentious, with residents voicing frustration, skepticism and concerns about transparency.

Decennial Group co-founder David Pavlick said the company is exploring a proposal to build a data center in the Akron area, though no specific site has been selected. The project would require roughly 300 acres of land and could represent an investment of $100 million to $150 million in infrastructure improvements, he said.

“That’s roads, bridges, community water upgrades,” Pavlick said.

The company said it is attempting to build trust with a community that has been vocal about opposing industrial development. Pavlick emphasized that the proposed facility would use a closed-loop water system designed to significantly reduce water consumption, along with minimized lighting and noise impacts.

“I’ve said to many of the residents, this is an open call to schedule with us if you wanted to get a tour of our Hammond data center,” Pavlick said. “To see, are they loud, do they use a lot of water, are they lighting up the night sky?”

Decennial Group currently operates a data center in Hammond, Indiana, in partnership with CoreWeave. Pavlick said the potential buyer interested in Fulton County would be a much larger hyperscale company, though no name was disclosed.

Despite those assurances, several residents feel blindsided by the announcement.

Fulton County Commissioner David Summers said county officials had not received a formal proposal prior to recent discussions.

“There’s been a lot of rumors going around the Akron community about a data center,” Summers said. “We have not got any proposals. Nothing’s come to us. I didn’t know about any of this until about 10 days ago.”

Summers told ABC57 News earlier in January that rumors of a data center in Akron seemed unlikely at the time. Less than two weeks later, Decennial Group confirmed it had begun early conversations with county leaders.

When asked whether the company had been working with commissioners, Pavlick said the process began only recently.

“Just recently — we just kicked off the process last week,” he said.

No agreements have been finalized, and no construction timeline has been announced. Decennial Group plans to hold additional open houses — one Thursday and another Monday.

For now, while the developer’s identity is public, the future of a data center in Fulton County remains uncertain.