SALINE, Mich. (Oct. 30, 2025) — Today, news broke in the Wall Street Journal that Related Companies, in partnership with Oracle and OpenAI, plans to develop a $7 billion data center in Saline. This project is the largest investment ever to be made in Michigan’s history and is expected to fuel over 2,500 good-paying union construction jobs and support 400 long-term positions, while providing a significant revenue boost to both the Saline community and the state overall.
Cited as a key reason the tech giants choose Michigan as the home for this new site is bipartisan legislation championed by Sen. Kevin Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores) last year. Hearing of this announcement, Sen. Hertel released the following statement:
“Progress and technological advancement are inevitable, but how we choose to pursue them is up to us. Here in Michigan, we took bold, bipartisan steps to open our doors to the knowledge-based sector and cultivate the economy of the future, but in a way that protects workers, safeguards our environment, and uplifts communities.
“By striking that balance and leveraging our state’s many lucrative qualities — access to infrastructure, renewable energy, and a skilled workforce — this legislation served as the catalyst for us to secure the largest investment in Michigan’s history. This is a monumental win for the hardworking families who call our state home.”
To help Michigan better attract data centers and the economic opportunities they create, Senate Bill 237 (Hertel) and House Bill 4906 (Andrews) of 2024 provide use and sales tax exemptions for equipment and machinery located inside enterprise data centers through 2050. Also included in the legislation were numerous protections for Michigan workers and a number of clean energy provisions that hold Michigan-based data centers to some of the highest environmental standards in the nation.
To learn more about this legislation, click here.