Amazon is planning to expand its data centers into Portage, northwest Indiana.
As reported by Lakeshore Public Media and the Chicago Tribune, Portage City Council last week approved a pair of property tax abatements for the company.
Located in Porter County, Portage is on Lake Michigan to the east of Chicago.
The first abatement phase is in taxes over 10 years on Amazon's $35 million investment in its new building near the Ameriplex development. The other phase is in taxes over five years on $52 million worth of IT equipment.
Details about the scope of the data centers haven’t been shared.
"You hear about other communities getting warehouses. This isn't a warehouse. This is a data center. So the majority of what you're going to find in there is high-tech equipment, big servers, so it requires less people to run it," Andy Maletta, executive director of the Portage Economic Development Corporation, told council members.
Council member Ferdinand Alvarez voted against the abatements.
“Amazon can afford their own taxes,” he said.
AmeriPlex at the Port is a 385-acre mixed-used business park in Portage.
