Approved, not built yet
Karis Critical data center campus, Merrillville
Karis Critical plans up to nine data center buildings on 180 acres on 101st Avenue in Merrillville, worth up to $900 million. The town approved zoning in 2024. No customer has been named and no start date is known.
Where things stand: Town Council approved zoning in 2024. The town paused new data center approvals from June 2026 to May 2027.
🕒 Latest update (June 1, 2026): A one-year town pause on new data center approvals started.
What we know
- 📍 Where101st Avenue, east of Deep River County Park, Merrillville, Lake County
- 🏢 CompanyKaris Critical
- 🌳 Size180 acres
- 🔌 Where the power comes fromNIPSCO; more power lines would be needed for all nine buildings.
- 🗼 New power linesYes
- 💵 Cost$900 million
❓ Still unanswered
Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?
- Is the Karis project still moving forward? 🙋 I'll find out
- How many megawatts would it use? 🙋 I'll find out
- Who would use the data center? 🙋 I'll find out
What happened so far
- 2024Town Council voted 7-0 to approve zoning for the site.
- Sept 2024Merrillville's Data Center Citizen Advisory Committee endorsed the plan.
- June 1, 2026A one-year town pause on new data center approvals started.
Local votes and rules
⏸️ Pause on new data centers
The town council paused approval of new data centers from June 1, 2026 to May 31, 2027. Four developers had approached the town.
May 26, 2026
🛰️ See it from above
An aerial photo of the area.
We only know the town, so this shows the town center, not the exact site. Photos: USGS The National Map.
Where this comes from
- Merrillville committee endorses data center · Northwest Indiana Business Magazine · Sept 24, 2024
- $2B in data center projects planned for Merrillville, Ind. · GovTech · Nov 25, 2024
- Data Centers · Town of Merrillville · 2026
See something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.