New Hudson, Oakland County, MI
Project Flex
Also known as Verrus Lyon Township data center
- Rumored
- Proposed
- Approved
- Under construction
- Operating
Verrus, a Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners company, plans a six-building, 1.8 million sq ft data center on 172 acres south of Grand River Avenue near Milford Road in Lyon Township. The site is zoned industrial and received unanimous conditional site plan approval in September 2025; the final site plan has gone through multiple revisions amid resident opposition, a township moratorium on further data centers, and a developer threat of litigation.
Key facts
Size & schedule
| Site size | 172 acres [1] |
|---|---|
| Floor area | 1.8 million sq ft [1] |
| Buildings | 6 [1] |
| Permanent jobs (promised) | 210 [2] |
| Construction jobs | 2,000 [2] stated as 1,500-2,000 |
Power
| Utility | DTE Energy (new substation required) [1] |
|---|---|
| Backup generators | Battery energy storage as primary backup for outages under 4 hours; packaged diesel generators in acoustic enclosures as secondary backup [1]Source excerpt“The data center's primary backup power for outages of less than 4 hours would come from a zero-emission battery energy storage system, and for longer outages, packaged diesel generators in acoustic enclosures would be used as a secondary backup, the document said.” |
Money & incentives
| Tax incentives | Developer offers $10 million community benefits package; projects about $300 million in tax revenue over 17 years [2] |
|---|
Local decisions & site
| Zoning | I-1 and I-2 industrial zoning, where the developer says data centers are permitted by right [4] as stated in the developer attorney's May 27, 2026 final site plan response letter Source excerpt“The letter also contends that Project Flex falls within I-1 and I-2 industrial zoning, where data centers are permitted by right under Michigan law, requiring only technical compliance review.” |
|---|
Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.
Timeline
Planning Commission grants unanimous conditional site plan approval [1]
Public meeting draws about 125 residents [1]
Township board adopts six-month moratorium on additional data center proposals [3]
Oakland County Election Commission approves recall petition language against township trustees [3]
Developer's attorney submits final site plan response letter threatening legal action over delays [4]
Verrus submits fifth site plan revision [5]
Issues raised
- Residents cite sound studies, stormwater, proximity to an elementary school, property values, and water supply [4]
- The township board denied a stormwater easement requested by the developer [4]
- Developer says the project will use little to no water and relies on batteries plus diesel generators for backup [1]
- Developer says annual water use would be under 12 million gallons [2]
Sources
- Lyon Township 'may be revisiting' data center site plan: Residents pack meetingPlanet Detroit · Jan 13, 2026 · news
- Project Flex data center eyes final Lyon Township approval amid pushback from nearby residentsWXYZ · Jul 16, 2026 · news
- Residents fight back: Data center controversy sparks recall attempt against Lyon Township leadersWDIV ClickOnDetroit · Apr 28, 2026 · news
- Lyon Township residents push back on data center as developer threatens lawsuitWXYZ · Jun 1, 2026 · news
- Project Flex one year later: Part IIThe Livingston Post · Sep 8, 2026 · news
- Project Flex Developer to Go Back Before Lyon Township Planners in SeptemberWHMI · Aug 31, 2026 · news