By Sharon Goldman
Publication Date: 2026-05-06 07:00:00
In Saline Township, Michigan, as in most communities, homeowners looking to build a new home know how complicated and lengthy the process can be: dealing with permit requirements, zoning changes or variance requests for even a small construction project can take weeks or months. A mistake in the paperwork, a challenge from a neighbor or a recalcitrant local official can slow things down even further or derail a project altogether.
So it came as a surprise to many in this agricultural community of red barns and dirt roads that a massive AI data center — at 21 million square feet, the largest construction project ever undertaken in the state and almost universally opposed by local residents — appeared to go through the process from application in late summer to groundbreaking in November.
Even more surprising: the $16 billion data center for OpenAI and Oracle Stargate AI infrastructure initiative that will fundamentally transform the area with construction, transport, electricity…
