The City of Carmel is planning to construct a building near the base of the water tower in Midtown to house a data center that will be relocated from the Arts & Design District.
Currently, city servers are housed in the basement of the Carmel Communications Center at 31 1st Ave. NW just east of Sophia Square, but city officials are aiming for the property to be redeveloped in the not-too-distant future.
“The best place we determined to put (the data center) was at the base of the water tower,” said Jim Crider, director of administration for the City of Carmel. “The fiber network is right there, so we don’t have to (spend additional funds) to extend it.”
The city already owns the land, and its location near the water tower makes it unusable for most other purposes, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard said.
The 3,600-square-foot building is expected to cost between $1.5 million and $2 million. It will be funded as part of approximately $125 million in bonds approved by the Carmel City Council earlier this year.
Besides housing the servers, the windowless building is expected to include workspace, a restroom and a small number of parking spaces in a garage.
City officials are hoping to begin construction in November and anticipate the project will be completed by April 2022.
