(BEAVER DAM) Plans to change the boundaries of Beaver Dam Tax Increment District (TID) 7 at Highway 151 and Hemlock Road are moving ahead. The city’s Plan Commission sent approval on to the Common Council on Wednesday.
It is the same area where Minnesota developer Oppidan is proposing to build a 90,00 square-foot edge data center on 13 acres of land. While officials say plans to rezone the land from residential to light industrial have been in the works for years, data center opponents voiced their skepticism during the Plan Commission meeting’s public comment period.
“Everybody in town knows there’s another potential data center going there,” said Shaun Bradley of Beaver Dam. “So, to say it’s not for this specific data center, I feel like that’s not completely true.”
Alder Jack Yuds, a member of the Plan Commission, said the change is necessary to spur economic growth.
“We’re developing the 151 corridor. The access for trucks is excellent there. So, this is one way we’re going to help the tax base of the city.”
The Common Council is scheduled to vote on the TID 7 amendment on April 6.
