*Hyperscale Data Agrees to Buy 48.5 Acres, Pushing Campus to Over 80 Acres Amid Noise Complaints*

Dowagiac residents are growing increasingly frustrated as a data center company near their town moves to more than double its operations. Hyperscale Data, an artificial intelligence and bitcoin mining company, has reached an agreement to acquire approximately 48.5 acres of land in Southwest Michigan, which would expand its existing campus to over 83 acres.

The company announced the agreement through a press release on April 1, but the exact location of the new property remains undisclosed. Dowagiac officials say they did not receive the transaction in advance and learned about it the same way the public did — from news reports.

This is a significant step in the right direction for ACS on its path to expanding its footprint in the Michigan area. This land acquisition will give us additional space and the opportunity for future development and demonstrates the company's long-term commitment to Southwest Michigan and the company's operations there.

That statement came from Will Horne, CEO of Hyperscale Data, according to the company's news release.

But for residents living near the existing facility on Prairie Ronde, expansion sounds like bad news. They've already been dealing with what they describe as unbearable noise from the current operation.

In the summertime, we like to have our windows open, and it's hard to when you're listening to that all the time.

Terry Raab, a Dowagiac resident who spoke to WWMT News Channel 3, said the constant hum has already changed his quality of life. He no longer wants to open his windows in the summer because of the noise, and he's worried that expanding operations will make his property even harder to sell.

If we want to resell the house, who's going to want to buy the house with that noise? No one's going to want to buy. They'll be like nah, we ain't moving there.

Raab's concerns reflect a growing tension in the region. Hyperscale Data currently operates a 34.6-acre campus in Dowagiac with a capacity of 30 megawatts, but the company has expressed interest in expanding to 340 megawatts — a tenfold increase in power capacity.

The city of Dowagiac released a statement on Monday addressing the confusion.

The press release didn't mention Dowagiac, but people have drawn that conclusion based on the company's current operations here. We have the same questions you do. The city did not know about this transaction. We learned about it the same way you did, from the press release.

City Manager Kevin Anderson said the city has received no formal expansion plans to review or act upon, and they have not received any information about where the company is acquiring the additional property.

While that company is a private business, given the current discussions around data centers, we've reached out to them for more information.

What Hyperscale Data Says

The company says the expansion is driven by exploding demand for AI infrastructure and complex computing needs. Hyperscale Data operates facilities across multiple states and describes itself as a leader in artificial intelligence data center solutions.

In a statement to The Herald Palladium, Will Horne said the acquisition is part of a long-term strategy to support enterprise digital transformation and high-performance cloud computing.

The Numbers Behind the Noise

Data centers are not like ordinary businesses. They require massive amounts of energy to operate. Hyperscale Data's current 30-megawatt facility is already a significant power consumer — equivalent to the energy use of thousands of homes.

The proposed expansion to 340 megawatts would be even more substantial. At that scale, a single data center could consume as much electricity as a small city.

Beyond energy, data centers also have other environmental impacts. They use vast quantities of water to cool their systems. According to industry estimates, large data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons per day — enough to supply a town of up to 50,000 people.

The International Energy Agency reports that data centers already accounted for 1.5% of global electricity consumption in 2024, a figure expected to grow as tech companies scale up their AI output.

What's Next

Dowagiac residents plan to continue voicing their concerns to local officials and Hyperscale Data. The city has asked the company for more information, and officials say they will keep pushing for clarity.

Hyperscale Data says it expects to close the land acquisition in approximately 60 days. The company's wholly owned subsidiary, Alliance Cloud Services LLC, is the entity that entered into the agreement.

The tension between tech industry growth and community impact is playing out in towns across Michigan. As data centers become more prevalent, communities will need to find ways to balance economic development with preserving the quality of life for their residents.

Sources

  • https://www.paxtonmedia.com/news/the_herald_palladium/hyperscale-data-to-acquire-48-5-acres-in-southwest-michigan/article_1c9aaf6c-20fc-56a2-af48-84ba5ef05c14.html
  • https://wwmt.com/news/local/ai-data-center-expansion-dowagiac-loud-noise-complaints-residents-southwest-michigan-hyperscale-megawatt-bitcoin-wwmt
  • https://nationaltoday.com/us/mi/dowagiac/news/2026/04/02/dowagiac-residents-frustrated-by-noisy-data-center-expansion/
  • https://www.crainsgrandrapids.com/technology/cgr-hyperscale-data-expands-in-dowagiac-20260401/