Saline Township Approves Reduced Tax Break for The Barn

Saline Township approved a controversial 12-year, 50% tax abatement for the development of The Barn, a 250-acre data center project. Developed by The Related Cos. for Oracle and OpenAI, the project has a current valuation of $43 billion. However, the township based the tax break on an original $4.8 billion valuation, which lowered the annual subsidy from the requested $147 million to less than $20 million.

The board's decision followed a lawsuit filed by the developer and a subsequent court order. To protect local interests, the board included a clawback provision to reclaim taxes if the project is not completed or fails to operate for the full 12-year term.

Township Supervisor Tom Hammond stated that denying the development would have been a violation of the court order. A spokesperson for The Related Cos. said the company is evaluating the validity of the board's actions and the township's legal obligations under the consent judgment.