Hello, Ann Arbor: Data centers may be inevitable. Local opposition still needs a voice.

ANN ARBOR, MI - Data centers backed by powerful entities will soon be part of southeast Michigan’s footprint.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Silicon Valley tech giants. New York-based real estate developers. These are the types of organizations collaborating on four data center projects costing billions of dollars across Washtenaw and Livingston counties.

Most recently, our government reporter Jen Eberbach detailed how ChatGPT-creator OpenAI is the tech company behind a $7 billion data center project in Saline Township.

With those deep pockets involved, these projects feel inevitable. That doesn’t mean our newsroom hasn’t encountered vigorous local opposition to them.

Eberbach has been all over the Saline Township development, which plans to begin in early 2026 off West Michigan Avenue and p