Martindale-Brightwood residents oppose data center INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — People in the Martindale-Brightwood community are urging the Indianapolis city leaders to stop data center talks with Los Angeles-based Metrobloks. Executive Director Shonna Majors of the Brightwood Community Center, s aid Tuesday, “We deserve investment that protects our health, strengthens our community, our commercial corridor and reflects the voices of the people who live here.” Neighbors in the Martindale-Brightwood community took to the podium Tuesday for a news conference at Brightwood Plaza, 2435 N. Sherman Drive. Resident Terry Tripplett said, “I’m already in the chair. So, it’s killing me first, and I live right down the street.” Metrobloks has asked to rezone a largely vacant, roughly 14-acre property at 2505 N. Sherman Drive, the site of the former Sherman Drive-In theater, for a $500 million data center. The Metropolitan Development Commission Hearing Examiner will have a meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday to consider the rezoning and a development standards variance for the project. The meeting will be at the City-County Building. Martindale–Brightwood on the near northeast side is bounded by 30th Street, Massachusetts Avenue, 21st Street, Sherman Drive, the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks, and the Monon Trail. Residents and business owners at the news conferenced voiced their concerns against the Metrobloks data center. Delma Williams has been in this neighborhood all her life. She said, “We aren’t just little ladies in high heels and nails polished. We are here to fight for what we want.” “We have a voice. My parents didn’t think they had a voice. Whatever the city said, they did, but now, we’ve got people who know just as much as they do.” Concerns include contamination, potential health impacts, and being excluded from the conversation. Katherine Adamou, the owner of a child day care center, Rita Ann’s Early Learning Academy, said, “We have been begging, pleading especially where we are with help from the city, to clean up what the neighborhood looks like, to clean up and get the trash and stop the dumping, stop the contamination already. So, to now hear that something else is about to come and dump and pollute five, 10, 100 times more than what we are all dealing with, really feels like a slap in the face.” Metrobloks’ attorney Tyler Ochs said the company wants to address community concerns. “Some people may think my client doesn’t want to be a good steward. I would argue we are. We want to hear things from the community and understand concerns and make sure it’s a harmonious relationship if it were to move forward.” Those at the news conference on Tuesday called on Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett and economic leaders to stop approvals with Metrobloks, which now lists Martindale-Brightwood on its website for future locations. The child day care center owner said, “We’re being pushed out. We have no other option, If this indeed comes, we are literally three blocks away from this. We are going to have to move.” The neighborhood also wants the city government to commission an independent environmental impact assessment and to clean up contaminated land before any development. A spokesperson for Hogsett shared a response with News 8. “Following the precedent set by previous administrations, this administration does not get involved with zoning decisions. Zoning is a highly technical process that involves multiple steps, reviews, and approvals from bodies like the Metropolitan Development Commission and in some cases the City-County Council.” Previous coverage on WISH-TV Sept. 19: Vacant drive-in theater site in Indianapolis may host new data center Jan. 10: Public hearing set for proposed $500M data center in Indianapolis Jan. 14: Data center prompts protests in Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood ...read more read less