Provident Realty Advisors Data Center, Porter, Indiana

In July 2024, Provident Realty Advisors, the Texas developer whose plan for a data center in nearby Chesterton had just collapsed, asked Burns Harbor to rezone about 100 acres of Worthington Steel property for a data center campus. The site's mailing address lists Porter, but the project went before the Burns Harbor Plan Commission and Town Council, not the town of Porter. Provident withdrew the proposal on October 7, 2024, and it remains withdrawn.

The plan called for up to seven buildings on 102 acres at the corner of Babcock and Haglund roads, on land zoned residential, and was first introduced to the Plan Commission on July 8, 2024. Provident gave no investment figure, and its representative Nick Farris said: "It is our company policy not to comment on sites in the land use process." Town Council president Jennifer McHargue said: "This is the first developer that has shown interest in that property in a decade."

Annette Hansen, executive director of the Izaak Walton League's Porter County chapter, who lives about a mile from the site, wanted to know how much water it would use, whether refrigerant would be added to cooling water, and whether diesel generators would run during power cuts. Chapter president Gary Brown said: "Provident people aren't totally stupid. They've got to know there's a reason why Chesterton didn't do it." Ed Orlando, who fought the Chesterton plan before moving to Burns Harbor, asked how many local people it would employ and said: "Before we sign off on these things, we've got to understand them."

More than 100 people came to the Plan Commission on August 5, 2024, and 20 spoke against the plan, questioning what the town would gain and raising fire risk. The buildings could have reached 120 feet; commissioners floated a 60 foot limit, and Provident spokesman Todd Leeth said such a limit would kill the project. The commission continued the rezoning request, to a new S8 Technology District classification, to September 9.

Provident withdrew the proposal on October 7, 2024 but said it would return with changes that would "respond to concerns that have been brought to light in public meetings." Objections had centered on the 120 foot height, setbacks of only 50 feet, noise, and the effect on the nearby Indiana Dunes National Park. The firm became eligible to refile after January 10, 2025, but by February Plan Commission president Jeremy McHargue, who is also the town's police chief, said: "We haven't had any communication." Any new proposal would have to start the process over.