Zoning in Henry County, Indiana: The Knightstown Data Center

The proposal: 500-plus acres near State Road 109 and I-70

Surge Development LLC, working with GM Development (principals Chris King and Greg Martz), proposed a data center covering more than 500 acres of formerly agricultural land near State Road 109 and I-70, close to the town of Knightstown but sited in unincorporated Henry County. It would be the first project of its kind in the county, which meant it needed a Planned Unit Development (PUD) rather than a simple rezoning -- a process that lets a developer build on a customized set of conditions layered onto the existing zoning code rather than fitting neatly into a pre-existing district.

The timeline: tabled, then approved, over roughly fifteen months

In October 2025, Henry County's planning commissioners tabled an initial vote on the rezoning after a large turnout of concerned residents raised questions about the project at a public hearing -- a delay reported by Indiana Public Radio, Fox59, and WTHR. The Planning Commission subsequently approved the rezoning in November 2025. The final step came in January 2026, when the Henry County Board of Commissioners cast the last vote needed at the county level to approve the PUD. Commissioner Susan Huhn cast the lone dissenting vote, saying her own review of emails, phone calls, and informal polling showed more than 80% of the constituents who'd contacted her wanted a no vote.

Following the county-level approval, local coverage in March 2026 (via the Rushville Recorder and sister small-town papers) reported the developer discussing next steps for the Knightstown-area project, though this research pass did not confirm a construction start date or completion timeline.

What this means for a land buyer near the site

If you're evaluating land near the Knightstown/SR 109/I-70 area, confirm directly with the Henry County Planning Commission exactly which parcels fall within the approved PUD's boundary and what conditions were attached to it -- a PUD approval typically comes with specific, negotiated terms (buffers, lighting, noise, traffic mitigation) that a standard zoning district wouldn't carry, and those terms matter for anyone buying adjacent land. Given the community pushback documented throughout this process, it's also worth asking the county directly whether any additional data-center-specific zoning language (setbacks, water-use standards, or a formal overlay district) has been adopted or proposed since this approval, since several other Indiana counties have moved to write dedicated data-center rules after their first project cleared zoning.

For land well away from this specific corridor, Henry County's ordinary agricultural and residential zoning process continues as it always has -- this PUD approval doesn't change how a routine home-building or farm-building permit works elsewhere in the county.