U-M and Los Alamos Advance Plans for $1.25 Billion Computing Center Amid Local Opposition

The University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory are moving forward with a $1.25 billion high-performance computing and artificial intelligence research facility in Washtenaw County, even as Ypsilanti Township officials and residents continue to push back against the project. (UM rendering)

HOME I I HI TECH NEWS I SPORTS I CONTACT


	People gathered at the Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest on Sept. 9 to attend a town hall on the proposed high-performance research computing center in Ypsilanti Township. (Photo by UM Record)
	U-M, Los Alamos Advance Plans for $1.25 Billion Computing Center Amid Local Opposition Nilay Seetharaman - Technology Tell Us Detroit News Bureau YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, MI - The University of Michigan and Los Alamos National Laboratory are moving forward with a $1.25 billion high-performance computing and artificial intelligence research facility in Washtenaw County, even as Ypsilanti Township officials and residents continue to push back against the project. What the project is U-M and Los Alamos announced their partnership in December 2024, building on a five-year, $15 million research contract the lab had awarded the university earlier that year. According to Los Alamos, the collaboration — now branded Michigan SPARC, for Strategic Partnership for Accelerated Research and Collaboration — is meant to combine the two institutions' expertise to advance supercomputing and AI research for national benefit. A six-person panel representing the University of Michigan and DTE Energy answered questions from attendees about the proposed high-performance research computing center in Ypsilanti Township during at a town hall at the Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest on Sept. 9. (Photo by UM Record) The planned facility would include two connected but separate components: a federal, classified research center operated for Los Alamos scientists and engineers working on national-security-related computing, and a smaller adjacent academic center where U-M faculty, students and partner universities across the state could collaborate with Los Alamos researchers on unclassified projects spanning medicine, energy, materials science, climate modeling and other fields. University officials have repeatedly emphasized that the project is a scientific research computing facility rather than a commercial data center, a weapons production site or a military installation. Michigan SPARC is headquartered on U-M's North Campus, where Los Alamos scientists already collaborate with faculty and students, and university officials say the added computing capacity will immediately benefit ongoing research — for example, work on brain cancer treatments and earthquake-resistant building design. Site selection Since the project's announcement, U-M and Los Alamos have weighed several sites in Ypsilanti Township. Officials initially examined property at the American Center for Mobility near Willow Run Airport but ultimately ruled it out, citing brownfield redevelopment requirements and real estate complications. The university confirmed in March 2026 that it had purchased a roughly 124-acre parcel along Textile Road, and in August 2026 it formally selected an expanded 144-acre version of that site — bordered on its north side by the Huron River — as its preferred location. University officials say the computing buildings themselves will occupy only a small fraction of the parcel, with most of the land preserved as natural space. The university projects the facility will create more than 200 permanent technology jobs, an additional 30 to 50 positions to maintain the computing network, and roughly 300 union construction jobs during the building phase. State legislative committees endorsed the broader $1.25 billion initiative in December 2024. Community opposition The project has drawn sustained criticism from Ypsilanti Township leaders and residents, who say the university has not been transparent about its plans. Tensions center on several issues: the presence of a federal, Los Alamos-affiliated facility near Willow Run and Detroit Metro airports; potential environmental effects on land along the Huron River; and concerns, particularly among township officials, that Los Alamos's association with nuclear weapons research makes the site a target, despite U-M's insistence that the facility has not been designated a "Tier 1 High Value Target Risk" by any state or federal agency. In March 2026, the Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees unanimously passed a resolution opposing the siting of what it called a "nuclear research facility" anywhere in the township, and the board reaffirmed that opposition after the university's land purchase became public. Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo has said early township support turned to firm opposition after officials felt misled about the project's scope and the extent of prior consultation. Township attorney Doug Winters has said the township was not informed in advance of the August site announcement, disputing the university's characterization of how much engagement had occurred. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, criticized the university following the August site announcement, saying U-M has not adequately listened to or communicated with the affected community. University spokesperson Paul Corliss has countered that the facility is not a nuclear weapons site, would not involve storage of hazardous materials, and does not meet the criteria residents have cited for elevated security risk. Because the university is a nonprofit and exempt from local zoning authority and property taxes, the township's formal opposition carries largely symbolic weight rather than a legal ability to block the project. Frustration over the process has occasionally boiled over: in June 2026, masked protesters confronted several township trustees at their homes, an incident the township's attorney said was captured on home security cameras and referred to law enforcement. What's next As of early September 2026, U-M has not announced a final construction timeline for the Textile Road site, though land acquisition and site planning have continued through the year. The university says it intends to keep engaging with Ypsilanti Township and area residents as design work proceeds, while township officials say they will continue pressing for more detailed answers about the facility's environmental and security implications before construction begins.