1 data center project in Gaines Charter Township
Who decides here: the Township Board of Gaines Charter Township votes on zoning. The Kent County may review big projects too.
In Gaines Charter Township
Nearby (within 15 miles)
Microsoft data center, Dorr Township
Dorr, Allegan County
270 acres · for Microsoft
🕒 Dec 2025: Microsoft told the township it plans a data center and hoped to start work in spring 2026.
Reported in the news, not confirmed yet
Proposedabout 13 miles awayMicrosoft data center, Covenant Business Park, Lowell Township
Lowell Township, Kent County
237 acres · for Microsoft
🕒 Aug 4, 2026: Lowell City Council voted to suspend water and sewer talks with the township indefinitely.
Local votes and rules
🗺️ Zoning change
Microsoft asked Gaines Township to rezone about 104 acres along Patterson Avenue SE and 76th Street SE to light industrial for a data center. After a packed hearing, the planning commission put off its decision with no new date. Microsoft offered a 65-decibel noise cap at homes and no use of local groundwater.
What you can do
- Get told first.
We'll email you if anything changes in Gaines Charter Township. - Go to council meetings.
Anyone can speak. Big projects usually need a public hearing. - Ask questions in writing.
Use our checklist.
🔔 Get told first
⚡ Your electric company
Depending on where you live in Gaines Charter Township: Consumers Energy Co. (company) or DTE Electric Company (company) or Great Lakes Energy Co-op (co-op (owned by its members)).
Big data centers need a lot of power. Who pays for new power lines depends on state rules. See the rules in Michigan.
🙋 Open tasks here
- How much power and water would the campus use?
- When will the planning commission vote again?