Microsoft Caledonia Data Center, Caledonia, Michigan

Microsoft wants to rezone nearly 104 acres in Gaines Township, Kent County, Michigan, near Caledonia, for a data center campus, and already owns about 356 acres there zoned for that kind of development. In March 2026 the company said it was working to buy 57.8 more acres next to its site, land that includes part of the former Steelcase wood plant, with the purchase likely to come up at the township's April 15 planning meeting. That night the Gaines Township Planning Commission voted to table its decision on the rezoning after hours of public comment at a hearing moved to South Christian High School to fit the turnout. Microsoft said it could not yet confirm whether the facility would be used for artificial intelligence.

Hundreds of residents filled the auditorium, most of them opposed to the project. Many called for a moratorium, questioned whether a data center campus counts as light industrial, and said litigation would be the township's only way to enforce conditions against a company worth trillions of dollars. A group from a local building trades union spoke in favor, and one resident called the project a "generational investment."

Microsoft presented a draft conditional rezoning contract that would cap noise at 65 decibels at residential property lines, set a 150-foot setback for server buildings and cooling equipment, add an 8-foot landscaped berm, avoid drawing on local groundwater, skip local tax abatements and pay for water and electrical upgrades. The township attorney said the contract language, drafted by Microsoft, still needed tightening and that the conditions were an offer, not a finished legal document.

If the land is rezoned, Microsoft would have 10 years under the draft contract to begin development. The planning commission would then need to recommend approval or denial to the Gaines Charter Township Board, which would hold its own hearing before a final vote. The township attorney said it was not yet clear whether another special meeting would be scheduled or the item would appear on a regular meeting agenda, but that it would be announced ahead of time.