Data center campus progressing rapidly; EV battery plant ready to go vertical
Editor’s note: The Tribune will provide an update each month on construction at the Amazon Web Services and General Motors and Samsung/SDI sites between South Bend and New Carlisle as it continues to report on these economic development projects.
The flurry of activity related to the rapid development of the Indiana Enterprise Center between South Bend and New Carlisle is moving at a breakneck speed that already has required extra police in the area to help control traffic.
And construction won’t be slowing down soon.
Amazon Web Services aims to have 18 data centers completed or underway on both sides of Indiana 2 near Larrison Boulevard or Strawberry Road before the end of the year, and the GM/Samsung SDI partnership is about to begin construction on its adjacent EV battery plant in the coming months.
Meanwhile, plans are still being finalized by state and local officials for an interchange at Indiana 2 and Larrison to help with the expected boost in traffic caused by the developments.
Bill Schalliol, executive director of economic development for St. Joseph County, said Amazon Web Services, or AWS, already has begun some of the initial hiring for the seven data centers on the north side of Indiana 2.
Schalliol said,
Some of those buildings are expected to become operational in the first half of this year,
AWS plans more buildings
Meanwhile, three more data centers ― each of which is about 216,000 square feet ― are under construction on the south side of Indiana 2, Schalliol said, adding that AWS hopes to get two more under construction on the north side of the highway and six additional on the south side before the end of the year.
As of Monday, Feb. 24, there were 56 postings for jobs at the data centers with the company previously estimating that it will take about 1,000 Amazon and contract employees to operate the facilities.
Schalliol said,
There are lots of jobs posted in the region, and we’ve heard it’s been going very well,
A networking and hiring event was also scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Monroe’s Crossing, 7038 N. Chicago Road, New Carlisle.
During its annual Salute to Business luncheon on Thursday, the South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce honored AWS for its $13 billion investment in St. Joseph County, the largest single investment in state history.
EV plant set to go vertical
Meanwhile, construction of the $3.5 billion EV battery plant is expected to begin moving vertically in the next couple of months with the permits for building foundations having been approved and steel expected on the site in April.
Schalliol said, adding that the campus will include two separate buildings to produce different types of batteries used in EVs.
They’re doing prep work to pour the foundations,
Even with an administration that isn’t as friendly toward EVs as the Biden White House, GM hasn’t given any indication of mothballing the project, which could employ 1,600 when it reaches full production in 2027.
Schalliol said of the GM/Samsung project,
We haven’t seen any indication of the project slowing down,
While those projects are advancing, there still is little to report on planned data centers that Microsoft aims to build on the former St. Joe farm on the eastern side of St. Joseph County.
With 900 acres in Granger, the Microsoft project is also likely to be in the billions of dollars.
Schalliol said,
We’re still trying to learn the scope and scale of that project,
“We should know more by late spring or early summer.”
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Data center campus progressing rapidly; EV battery plant ready to go vertical, source
