The University of Michigan has confirmed selection of the 144-acre parcel of land next to South Hydro Park in Ypsilanti Township for its supercomputing facility project to be built in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Previously, U-M and Los Alamos considered the American Center for Mobility site near Willow Run Airport. In a statement from the university on Aug. 11, officials said the Willow Run site was impractical due to brownfield redevelopment requirements and real estate issues.
Ypsilanti Township leaders expressed early preference for the Willow Run site, before moving to complete opposition to the project. U-M officials said in a statement that after considering both sites, they decided the Textile Road site is better suited for the project.
"Already zoned by Ypsilanti Township for light industrial use, the site offers the proximity to electrical and data infrastructure, development flexibility and long-term capacity needed to support advanced research computing while preserving significant natural areas and maximizing separation from neighboring homes and parks," U-M officials said in a statement.
Paul Corliss, assistant vice president for public affairs and communication at U-M, declined to give any additional comment.
Many Ypsilanti community members and township leaders have pushed back on bringing a data center to the area, although U-M and LANL describe the project as a computing research center. The $1.25 billion project would house two facilities, an academic center for U-M researchers and students and a federal research center for the work of Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Doug Winters, Ypsilanti Township attorney, told The Eastern Echo on Aug. 11 that the township was not made aware of the decision ahead of the announcement on Tuesday evening.
Winters said he has concerns about the environmental impact of the center, as well as LANL's involvement. He said LANL's international reputation as the architect of the atom bomb makes the center a target.
However, U-M officials countered these concerns in its statement about the selection, saying that the proposed facility has not been classified as a "Tier 1 High Value Target Risk" by any state or federal agency.
"While Los Alamos National Laboratory plays an important role in the nation’s national security mission, the U-M research computing center is not a military installation or weapons production facility," U-M officials said.
Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo said she is disappointed in the decisions made by U-M's Board of Regents, saying that the project will not better the lives of the people who live in the area.
"They take virgin, environmentally sensitive land on the banks of the Huron River and closest to any resident they could possibly go, and it is because Ypsilanti Township folks don't matter to the University of Michigan," Stumbo said. "We will fight this and fight it to the end. We don't want Los Alamos and the University of Michigan in Ypsilanti township. They are not good partners. This is not a good project."
U-M has confirmed the center will not draw water from or discharge water into the Huron River or local groundwater. In the university statement, officials said care will be taken to conserve fresh water by exploring both closed-loop cooling and open-loop cooling systems using reclaimed water, to reduce fresh water consumption in comparison to traditional cooling systems.
"Throughout the site evaluation process, community members consistently emphasized that any project moving forward should protect natural resources, minimize neighborhood impacts and continue meaningful public engagement. U-M takes those priorities seriously, and community feedback is already shaping the project," U-M officials said.
Winters said he sees the project as a blatant disregard for environmental justice, saying it perpetuates environmental racism. This echoes sentiments from some community members, who have spoken out and organized protests against the proposed center.
Stumbo said Ypsilanti Township won't give up the fight, even as the university confirms its site selection.
"There is a large people movement and this is going to ignite a fire amongst the people that they are not going to be prepared for," Stumbo said. "There is an army of people against this, and I think between our people power and our legal strategies, we will fight them until the end."
