Just as the owners of Procter & Gamble’s old Ivorydale manufacturing complex thought they might have a promising new tenant, they landed in the middle of one of the most contentious development issues facing America: the sprawling growth of data centers.
Data centers are a byproduct of the information age, needed to help smartphones, AI and the internet to work for consumers' constant Googlesearches, Facebookposts and more. But as they’ve multiplied across the country, including in Ohio, they’ve drawn the ire of residents and consumers wary of theirheavy electricity use blamed for driving up utility bills and their potential environmental impacts to surrounding communities.
Village officials with St. Bernard got a taste of its community unease
on Aug. 27 as it mulled a proposed 12-month moratoriumon data center projects.
A 'small' data center proposal
Tom Breidenstein, an attorney for the investment trust that owns the site, urged local officials not to kill their application to authorize what he characterized as a “small” data center for an unidentified tenant that would occupy only 15% of the vacant 500,000-square-foot factory site.
“My client is not opposed to the regulation of data centers, but we are clearly opposed to the prohibition,” Breidenstein said, adding the property owner submitted the application before local officials began debating a pause on such projects. He argued a data center would conform to the village's zoning code as it was essentially a warehouse for computer systems.
Village officials considering a moratorium
Local officials didn’t address the merits of the proposed project during the meeting. Instead, the first reading of the proposed moratorium was held and further required readings will take place this fall.
“A temporary 12-month moratorium on data centers (would) allow us to do due diligence for the residents and industrial partners in our village,” Mayor Jonathan Stuchell said before the reading. He also expressed concern over “fearmongering” social media posts that suggested the Ivorydale project was a done deal.
“This is completely false,” Stuchell said. “We’re hope that we can work with the investment group to help find the best possible use for this valuable industrial asset.”
Ivorydale property facing foreclosure
Breidenstein said even a temporary ban could have dire implications for the project, the investment group and the community.
“If this prohibition occurs, the proposed data center tenant will walk from this property,” he said.
Breidenstein added the long-vacant property has a mortgage that is in danger of foreclosure, which would complicate future development efforts. He noted a previous planned tenant to manufacture medical gloves had fallen through. He noted keeping the site vacant meant no new jobs and less tax dollars for the village.
Residents not sold on project
Still, local residents who spoke during the meeting expressed skepticism and urged caution.
“This property is directly behind my house and I have concerns about the EMFs (electromagnetic fields),” said Valanche Steinmetz, who added she blamed the death of her husband on EMF exposure. “You need to look into this and look hard.”
A storied P&G site
A relic from the past, St. Bernard'sIvorydale is the oldest of P&G's factory sites, dating to 1886 when it took its name from the company's new floating soap.
In its heyday, Procter & Gamble's Ivorydale plants employed 2,000 workers making Head & Shoulders shampoo, Crest toothpaste and Secret deodorant. Crisco shortening and Duncan Hines cake mixes rolled off assembly lines on their way to homes across America.
P&G divested itself of almost all of its local manufacturing assets in a string of deals between 2002 and 2003 as then-CEO A.G. Lafley sought a rebound for the company that had fallen into a slump. P&G still maintains a small chemical manufacturing operation at Ivorydale that employs a few dozen P&G workers.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Data center pitched for P&G's old Ivorydale plant amid moratorium bid
