DOWAGIAC, Mich. (WOWO) — Residents living near a Michigan data center say a constant, high-pitched noise coming from the facility has transformed their quiet neighborhood into a place where they struggle to sleep, spend time outdoors, and enjoy their homes. Neighbors across the street from the fac ility known locally as “Hyperscale Data” in Dowagiac say the sound has continued around the clock for years, creating frustration as the company prepares plans for a major expansion focused on artificial intelligence computing and advanced robotics. The data center is owned by Alliance Cloud Services LLC, a Las Vegas-based company. Residents say the facility’s noise became a major issue after changes at the property that began several years ago according to WXYZ. “It sounds like someone set up a vacuum, like in your living room. And the vacuum is just… that thing needs to be cleaned … the filter is clogged up, so it’s a high-pitch whining. And they just left it on and walked out,” resident Lindy Valenzuela told WXYZ. Billy Finn, who lives near the facility with his wife Marjorie, compared the experience to the use of sound as a form of punishment. “You’ve seen movies and stuff where they have somebody in a cell torturing them with sound. And that’s basically what it is,” Finn said. Residents say their neighborhood on Louise Avenue was once a quiet, dead-end street where families enjoyed a peaceful setting despite the presence of an industrial building across the road. Marjorie Finn said her family has owned her home for nearly a century and that the property holds deep personal meaning. “I love this house because it has so much feel of my past,” she said. “All of our friends are here, all our support systems.” The Finns said their connection to the community is especially important because Marjorie has Parkinson’s disease and relies on support from friends and church members. For decades, residents say the industrial property across the street was separated from homes by a row of pine trees. They say that changed in 2018 when trees were removed and a loading dock was added. Residents say a cryptocurrency mining operation began operating at the site around 2021, and by 2024 the noise had become a constant presence. “Even if it’s cooler out, we can’t open our windows like we used to,” Marjorie Finn said. “It’s just amazing how much it’s changed our life.” In response to complaints, Dowagiac city leaders approved the city’s first industrial noise ordinance in March. The ordinance establishes a daytime limit of 65 decibels and a nighttime limit of 55 decibels. The city manager said Hyperscale Data was fined for violating the ordinance, but the company is challenging the city’s noise measurements and testing methods. The dispute comes as Hyperscale Data has promoted plans for a major expansion at the facility. City leaders have said they were not aware of expansion plans and that permits had not been submitted at the time. Last week, Hyperscale Data CEO William Horne spoke directly with residents during a special city council meeting requested by Dowagiac’s mayor. Horne said the company plans to invest $100 million to expand artificial intelligence computing and advanced robotics operations while moving away from cryptocurrency mining. He said the company is working on several efforts to reduce noise levels and offered a potential solution for residents who remain dissatisfied. “If they still aren’t happy, and feel that their home isn’t enjoyable, then we’ll buy their property from them,” Horne said during the meeting. Residents who spoke at the meeting expressed frustration with the company’s handling of the noise complaints. “Why didn’t you consider the residents when the noise continued to get louder and louder and louder? Something should have been done before it got out of sight,” Dowagiac resident John Valdez said. Another resident, Kate Whitehall, criticized the company’s relationship with the community. “The bottom line here is you are not a good neighbor. Your business has been sneaky, uncooperative with local ordinances,” Whitehall said. Valenzuela is also a plaintiff in what attorneys describe as a first-of-its-kind class action lawsuit alleging excessive noise from the data center. She said the noise has affected her ability to enjoy her home, particularly during warmer months when residents would normally spend more time outdoors. “In the summer, when it got really hot like it is now, the fan noise just exceeds such a level to where we can’t even enjoy being outside more than a few minutes without either of us getting a headache,” Valenzuela said. Valenzuela, who is pregnant and has a 17-month-old child, said the noise is also affecting her concerns about her son’s sleep environment. “His nursery is on the side of the house that faces the data center. And when we’re putting him down for bed at night, you can hear the fans coming in through the window. He can hear it in his crib. And that just worries me,” she said. Attorney Laura Sheets, who represents Valenzuela, said the lawsuit alleges nuisance and negligence. “The allegations in the lawsuit are nuisance and negligence essentially. Nuisance obviously being we’re saying it’s a substantial interference with your ability to use or enjoy your property,” Sheets told WXYZ. She said residents may have legal protections even if a business is operating within local regulations. “A lot of people don’t know that the law actually, in most states, you have nuisance laws that irrespective of whether they’re violating the municipal code or not, they don’t have the right to cause a substantial interference with your use and enjoyment of your property,” Sheets said. Rick Neitzel, a professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Michigan, told WXYZ that data centers represent a relatively new source of community noise. “This is kind of an unprecedented new noise source that’s being introduced into a lot of communities,” Neitzel said. He said research has linked high levels of community noise exposure with health concerns including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, depression and cognitive decline. Residents say they are concerned the expansion will worsen existing problems. “Everything should have been done to prevent this. It was not necessary. To just come in here and not recognize what this would do to our lives,” Marjorie Finn said. Hyperscale Data has acquired additional nearby acreage that the company says will serve as a natural buffer between the facility and neighboring homes. The company issued a statement to WXYZ saying it takes residents’ concerns seriously and is working to reduce sound levels as it transitions away from cryptocurrency mining. “We have been part of Dowagiac for five years, and take the recent concerns raised by residents seriously,” the company said. Hyperscale Data said roughly half of its cryptocurrency mining equipment is already offline and that it expects the remaining equipment to be shut down within three months as the facility transitions toward artificial intelligence computing and robotics operations. 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