Lyon Township Data Center/ Project Flex, New Hudson, Michigan

Verrus wants to build a 525-megawatt data center called Project Flex on 172 acres in Lyon Township, near New Hudson, in Oakland County, Michigan, six buildings totaling 1.8 million square feet south of Grand River Avenue. The Lyon Township Planning Commission gave conditional site-plan approval on September 8, 2025, the first meeting it considered the project, without holding a public hearing; the township says none was required because data processing centers are a permitted use in the industrial district.

Neighbors did not learn about the project until December 2025, after Craig Kreutzberg saw a neighborhood Facebook post and Melisa Noble heard from a friend whose property backs up to the site; the two had never met, and went on to help build the group No Data Center Lyon Township.

The site is between South Hill and Milford Roads, with a new DTE substation of its own, and backup power would be battery storage for outages under four hours and diesel generators in acoustic enclosures for anything longer. Noble said the development does not belong "next to an elementary school, two daycares, and literally in the backyards of homes."

The sound study projected 44 decibels in normal operation but left out the diesel generators, which can reach 110 decibels. Final approval depends on an independent review of that study and an energy audit, and the township has said the planning commission may revisit its site-plan approval to make sure conditions have been properly addressed.

Nancy Hopkins, who lives about a mile away, worries about the cooling system and generator fuel reaching her well water, and about relatives with asthma. Kelley Haynes called for a twelve-month moratorium: "The red flags are going up all around us."

Verrus spokesperson Emily Hebert said the company was working to set a new industry benchmark for responsible development, through cooling and power systems with little to no water consumption or emissions, and said it was the backup batteries, not diesel generators, that would support grid reliability.

About 125 people came to the planning meeting on January 12, 2026, and the township held further sessions at South Lyon East High School on January 15 and January 22. The township hired K&S Engineers to review Verrus's sound study, and in March 2026 the firm concluded it did not adequately show the project would meet the township's noise ordinance; a fire-code consultant separately raised issues with fire-truck access and the large battery systems.

"It allowed us to finally have proof of what we've been saying," Noble said of the noise review. Verrus warned that continued delays or denials could lead to litigation, and Noble answered: "We've had multiple residents say in public comment, 'Sue us.'" Verrus is backed by Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, whose investors include Alphabet, StepStone and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

In early August 2026 the township board extended for another six months the moratorium on new data center applications it had enacted in March; the moratorium does not apply to Project Flex. On August 13 Verrus submitted revised plans with an 18-foot acoustic wall around parts of the substation and more sound attenuation on rooftop equipment, and asked the township to approve them administratively. The planning commission was not scheduled to take up Project Flex at its September 14, 2026 meeting, and no new hearing date or decision has been published; No Data Center Lyon Township says it will challenge any final site-plan approval before the Zoning Board of Appeals.