On September 16, 2026, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission (MDC) approved roughly $240 million in property tax abatements for Sabey Data Centers' campus at 6400 Kentucky Avenue in Decatur Township. Sabey and its tenant project $4.3 billion in investment. The real property abatement, 60% for 10 years, passed 6-1. The enhanced personal property abatement, 90% for 15 years, passed 5-2. Commissioner Bruce Schumacher voted no on both; Commissioner Brent Lyle also opposed the equipment abatement, per IndyStar.
Decatur Township gains a huge new taxpayer, but only a fraction of its value is taxed for up to 15 years. For the 2025 fight over Google's withdrawn Franklin Township project, see our earlier coverage of southside data centers and tax breaks.
What the MDC Approved
Figures from city documents, as reported by Mirror Indy and WFYI:
- Site: 130 acres rezoned in March 2026; two buildings, 1,062,500 square feet, up to 250 megawatts, buildout by 2031.
- Sabey's savings: about $47 million in real property taxes over 10 years and $36 million in equipment taxes over 15 years.
- Tenant's savings: about $157 million on equipment. The tenant has not been named.
- Taxes still paid: about $31.5 million on real property and $21.5 million on equipment during the abatements, including about $31.6 million for Decatur Township schools and $3.1 million for the library system.
- After the abatements expire: an estimated $8.3 million a year in real property taxes and $9.3 million a year on equipment.
- Community commitments: at least $29.8 million (up to $39.8 million), including $5 million for roads and financing for a Decatur Township aquatic center.
Note
Indy Economic Development's release calls the real property abatement 50%. The MDC resolution's published schedule lists 60% in each of the 10 years (August 19 MDC packet), matching WFYI's report of the vote. We use the resolution's figure.
How Indiana Tax Abatements Work Under IC 6-1.1-12.1
An abatement is a deduction from assessed value (AV) on new value only. Under IC 6-1.1-12.1-4, the real property deduction equals the increase in AV from the redevelopment multiplied by the percentage in the abatement schedule. The roughly $17,000 a year already paid on the existing parcels is unaffected.
The designating body (in Marion County, the MDC) adopts a preliminary Economic Revitalization Area resolution, holds a public hearing, and confirms it only after finding that the "totality of benefits" in the applicant's statement of benefits justifies the abatement.
- Schedules. IC 6-1.1-12.1-17 requires a percentage for each year and caps most schedules at 10 years. Sabey's real property schedule is a flat 60% for all 10 years, with no step-down.
- Enhanced personal property schedules. IC 6-1.1-12.1-18 allows up to 20 years for new business personal property. Any schedule longer than 10 years requires a public compliance hearing after year 10, which the Sabey equipment resolution builds in.
- Dollar limits. Under IC 6-1.1-12.1-2(i), the preliminary equipment resolution limits the deduction to savings on no more than $2,151,823,360 of equipment.
Indy Economic Development also says the city did not use the separate enterprise IT equipment exemption in IC 6-1.1-10-44. That exemption can remove qualifying servers and networking gear from the rolls entirely for data centers investing at least $25 million. Instead, the equipment pays 10% of its normal tax.
What It Means for Decatur Township Taxpayers
No TIF capture. The MDC staff findings say the site is outside any existing tax increment financing allocation area under IC 36-7-15.1-26. Whatever AV the project adds after abatement goes into the general base for Decatur's schools, library, township, and county units instead of a TIF district (why that matters).
The base grows, just slowly. MDC staff's August estimate put the real property investment at about $270 million of new AV. At 60% abated, roughly $108 million of that would be taxable during the abatement (a staff estimate, not a final assessment), and equipment is taxable at 10%. That spreads levies across more value, but far less than the $4.3 billion headline implies. Pat Andrews of the Decatur Township Civic Council told the MDC there is "a big disconnect between investment dollars and the assessed value that is being attributed."
Circuit breakers. Under IC 6-1.1-20.6, a data center's property is capped at 3% of gross AV. Every Decatur Township district's 2026 certified rate falls between $2.5583 and $2.8746 per $100 (DLGF certified rates; see our 2026 certified rates breakdown), which is below that cap. The cap does not reduce what Sabey owes on its taxable AV. Homesteads remain capped at 1%, and when rates rise, more of those bills hit the cap and local units absorb the loss (cap exposure explained).
Service costs come first. Andrews argued "the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for extra fire equipment, extra fire training," and schools Superintendent Scott Collins told Mirror Indy he had received no communication about funds directly supporting the district.
Opposition vs. Labor Support
The room was split. About a dozen residents protested; in April, seven residents filed a petition for judicial review to stop the project, and a judge is still reviewing that case. Andrews argued the deal fails the "but for" test because Sabey had said it would build without incentives. Township Trustee Jason Holliday stood with her when she asked for a delay, which the MDC rejected 5-2. Mirror Indy counted about 100 union members in support; WFYI noted members of UA Local 440.
Sabey's Clete Casper said the company expects to be the city's ninth-largest taxpayer during the abatement and second-largest afterward, with 75 jobs averaging $50 an hour. The MDC's August moratorium on new data centers through 2027 does not affect approved projects; a vote on Metrobloks' abatement is set for October 21. Related: the data center zoning ordinance and how hyperscale facilities get assessed.
What Decatur Township Owners Should Do Next
- Track the compliance surveys. The resolutions direct annual DMD surveys of jobs, wages, and investment for 12 years (real property) and 17 years (equipment).
- Watch your district rate each year in the budget order. Abatements roll off on fixed schedules, like the ones in our industrial phaseout tracker.
- Check your own assessment. If nearby development affects your home's market value, it belongs in your assessment. Start with your property record card, compare neighbors with Property Lookup, and if the value is wrong, our tax appeal service can build the case.