- Ypsilanti Township officials will vote Tuesday on a resolution to ‘unequivocally oppose’ a new University of Michigan computing center
- Nuclear weapons research would be conducted at the facility; the township says that is a danger
- U-M is considering two locations in the township and no decision has been made, according to reports
A southeast Michigan community continues to fight a $1.2 billion supercomputer center planned by the University of Michigan that will be used for nuclear weapons research.
The Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees scheduled a special meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday to vote on a resolution “declaring strong opposition” to “siting a nuclear research facility anywhere” in its jurisdiction.
U-M is collaborating with Los Alamos National Laboratory on the project, which calls for a high-performance computing innovation center with facilities for both U-M and Los Alamos.
The Los Alamos nuclear weapons work could make the facility a target for “foreign adversaries, terrorist organizations and other ‘home grown’ hostile actors,” according to the resolution.
Beyond that, the proposed resolution continues, environmental justice needs to be considered as the Ann Arbor-based university locates the data center in lower-income eastern Washtenaw County.
Related:
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Setting up the nuclear research there “would immediately and deliberately transform Ypsilanti Township from being a civilian community into a potential target zone,” the township said in the proposed resolution.
However, U-M spokesperson Paul Corliss told Bridge Michigan the center “would not involve the storage or handling of nuclear materials.”
“We are disappointed by this potential change in position,” Corliss said of the proposed resolution by the township, which previously suggested the university consider a different site.
The project was unveiled in December 2024 as the state approved a $100 million grant to fund it. The deal had not been finalized by the start of this budget year on Oct. 1, according to Michigan Economic Development Corp. reports.
U-M officials have distinguished the campus from typical data centers, saying the work there would involve computing and research far beyond serving commercial AI needs.
While aspects of the project are classified, U-M and federal officials say the computing center would be good for the state when it opens by 2030.
Hiring could reach 200, while wages could average $200,000 per year and the facility could draw other science-related facilities to the area, officials have said.
However, U-M decided to pursue the project without local input, township officials say.
Opposition comes as data centers expand across the state, prompting public concerns, business support and attempts at new municipal regulation.
State lawmakers in 2024 agreed to exempt large data centers from sales and use taxes in an effort to lure the industry to Michigan. Developers have since floated proposals in at least 16 Michigan communities, securing approval in one so far.
In Ypsilanti Township, the data center size and location quickly drew opposition among the public and local officials, who adopted a resolution against the data center in August. Then, the township urged U-M to consider a location owned by the Michigan Strategic Fund near Willow Run Airport instead of closer to the Huron River.
Corliss said the university responded to that request and continues to evaluate it, as well as its originally planned site near Rawsonville and Textile roads.
U-M in mid-March finalized its purchase of 124 acres in the township, bringing its total owned property to 144 acres for a potential site.
“Securing the Textile Road parcel ensures the university maintains access to this viable option as due diligence continues,” Corliss said earlier this month in a statement to MLive. “The site selection process remains active, with no established timeline for a site selection decision.”
Township attorney Doug Winters said the community only learned of the deal after it was finalized — when U-M’s Chris Kolb, vice president for government relations, texted Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo.
“This failure to communicate with the township continues to demonstrate the arrogance of the university,” Winters wrote in a March 18 letter to the township board.
As a public university, U-M is exempt from zoning laws that would otherwise require developers to get local approval for the project.
“The power of the people banding together … is our best option,” Stumbo, the township supervisor, told residents who gathered over the winter to discuss the project.
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