The University of Michigan reports it has selected a 144-acre site along Textile Road near Bridge Road in Ypsilanti Township as the preferred location for the Los Alamos Research Computing Center.
U-M officials say the $1.25 billion investment will create new economic opportunities for the state and prepare a new generation of scientific leaders.
Ypsilanti Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo calls the decision a travesty of justice, which ignores environmental concerns and the voice of local residents.
“I just can't believe that a university that's supposed to be made up of higher educated individuals would select a site at Huron and Textile for this project. It's virgin land. It's heavily wooded. It's on the banks of the Huron River. The canopy of trees are so huge and so beautiful. There's bald eagles. There's aquatic life.”
Ypsilanti Township attorney Douglas Winters alleges U-M officials are not considering the environment or future threats to the area from the manufacture of weapons used in warfare.
"It comes down to, from my standpoint, environmental racism. This has been their story from the very beginning. They've built on lies from the outset, continued with lies throughout the process. They kept telling people they were talking to us. Not true. And today's decision just kind of symbolizes, again, the arrogance and the contempt they have for people who live in the same township."
U-M officials claim location will meet the project’s infrastructure needs while preserving natural features, creating substantial buffers from neighboring homes and parks.
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