VBT planners approve final site plan for US Signal data center

Phase One of what is expected to be a 100,000-square-foot data center on the northeast corner of Haggerty and Tyler roads was given final site plan approval by the Van Buren Township Planning Commission at its May 8 meeting.
Phase One will be 25,000 square feet in size at 9275 Haggerty Rd. on 7.91 acres. The applicant, US Signal, said three additional phases of 25,000 square feet each are planned.
“The timing of phases 2-4 expansions will be determined by customer demand, but the expectation would dictate a phase addition every 24 months,” wrote McKenna planning consultant Vidya Krishnan in a May 5 letter to the commission. She said this would result in a full build-out in 6-8 years.
She recommended a Development Agreement to ensure completion of the project.
U.S. Signal agreed to all stipulations presented by Krishnan, including crosswalks on the southwest corner of the property to connect to the west side of Haggerty Road and south side of Tyler Road.
David Schreiber of the Wayne County Economic Development Corporation was present at the May 8 meeting and the applicants said he helped get them through the county for the permits, but they still have to get their state permits.
The project architect showed a drawing of the design, including a fractured pattern where the concrete is poured into a mold and then lifted up, which gives texture to the front of the building. The east side of the building will be built without the special fractured pattern because that is where the upcoming phases will be added on.
The architect said the fractured pattern will give texture and depth to the building.
US Signal currently has 16 certified data centers in mid-sized cities throughout America’s heartland – considered one of the safest geographical areas in the U.S. Most are at least 200 miles apart and all are on separate power grids to minimize the effects of natural disasters.
Situated in areas with cooler weather for energy efficiency and protected from weather-related events, they are accessible from main transportation routes.
The data centers benefit from more than 14,000 miles of privately owned lit fiber and metro rings in strategic tier-one, tier-two and tier-three markets, according to its web site.
Also on its web site it said the newest data center in VBT is slated to open its doors in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The growing adoption of cloud-first, hybrid and off-premises data center strategies are driving the necessity for increased colocation space, the web site said.
“The new state-of-the-art facility will add up to 100,000 square feet of additional data center space in greater Detroit.
“Connected to US Signal’s wholly-owned, robust, secure network, the new data center will be the fourth facility for the company in Michigan, with two additional data centers owned and operated in Grand Rapids and one in Southfield. The project was initiated to accommodate the growth of anchor customers and to support the region’s prospering business and technology communities,” the website said.