Kansas City-based data center developer QTS has pulled its application for two data centers in Wheeler via a phone call, according to Porter County Board of Commissioners President Jim Biggs, R-North.
Biggs said by phone Thursday that the company had called Mike Jabo, Porter County’s director of development & storm water management, to rescind its application for the nearly 800-acre development planned for two parcels.
When asked what the content of the call had been, Biggs replied, “that they’re moving on.”
County Commissioners President Jim Biggs watches a presentation during a meeting for the data centers in Union Township at the Porter County Expo Center in Valparaiso, Indiana, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. QTS withdrew its proposal for the data centers. (Andy Lavalley/for the Post-Tribune)
“I’m glad Commissioner (Ed) Morales and I felt it important to let the process play out, because compared to what we knew before this, we’ve gained a lot of valuable information by allowing it to play out,” Biggs said.
Commissioner Barb Regnitz, R-Center, had made a public declaration months ago that she would not vote to allow the data center.
“Ed and I were extremely upset with Barb over that,” Biggs said, contending that the formal process should be honored.
“Seeing the degree of angst we did is because Barb stepped out very early on and Ed and I wouldn’t do that, primarily because it’s the law,” he added.
Neither Jabo nor QTS returned calls seeking comment by deadline. The company had been seeking approval to form a planned unit development to allow variation specifically for the project to the county’s unified development ordinance.
The proposed projects were called Jeremiah A and Jeremiah B. Jeremiah A was proposed for a 351.85-acre parcel at the northeast corner of County Road W 450 N and County Road N 750 W owned by John Loxas of Hammond.
Jeremiah B was proposed for 434.46 acres owned by Johnson Sunnybrook Farm, LLC, and Ceres Cedar Creek Farm, LLC, of Hobart, at the southeast corner of W 450 N and N 650 W due north of Union Township Middle and High Schools.
The data center proposal faced fierce backlash, reaching a peak at the May 13 town hall at the Porter County Expo Center, which held a standing-room-only crowd of over 1,000 people, most wearing orange T-shirts protesting the idea, particularly given its proximity to their schools.
Biggs said he was disappointed by the behavior of the crowd that night when it shouted down a NIPSCO executive as he spoke, and others went beyond their allotted time to speak.
He said that makes him question whether any other company that may want to make an application would receive a fair reception. That said, he doesn’t feel too badly about QTS, as he said they really failed to sell a proposal that would enhance the quality of life in Porter County.
“There’s just some things that aren’t for sale,” he said, “and to come in and turn a community upside down isn’t right.”
“If another company comes knocking at our door, I’m going to approach this totally different than I’ve done this one because I’ve learned so much,” Biggs said. “There are a lot of angry people out there right now because the rates of electricity have gone up substantially, because of what they’re reading out of national publications about data centers, how they come and take over. That’s a big problem because there’s such a close association between the data centers and, in this case, NIPSCO.”
NIPSCO announced on Jan. 2, 2024, that it had completed a 19.9% minority equity interest transaction with a subsidiary of Blackstone Infrastructure Partners Affiliate for $2.6 billion. Blackstone is the parent company of QTS.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
