Members of the Academy of Model Aeronautics are seeking answers about reports that the organization is considering a sale of its 1,100 acres in Delaware County for a data center project. The issue drew a standing-room-only audience to a public meeting on future data center development, according to Indiana Public Radio.
The discussion centered on meeting minutes that indicated the AMA’s Executive Council had been considering selling the property to a property development company since April. AMA member Philip Calvert said he and other members only recently learned about those minutes, raising concerns about the time available for members to respond.
“The realization, November to October, we’ve lost six months in this fight and we’ve got a lot of fight to go yet,” Philip Calvert said.
Calvert also questioned how the Executive Council could pursue such a step without members’ knowledge. The remarks reflect an internal membership dispute rather than a completed transaction: the AMA has not publicly acknowledged that it made or received a formal proposal specifically for a data center.
No zoning request has been filed
Delaware County officials said they had not received a data center proposal or zoning request for the AMA property. The head of the Delaware-Muncie Metropolitan Plan Commission gave the same account. That leaves the project at the discussion and reporting stage, rather than at a formal approval stage.
If a data center proposal is submitted, the approval process described at the meeting would involve several public steps:
- A public hearing and decision by the county Board of Zoning Appeals
- A public hearing and recommendation from the Delaware-Muncie Metropolitan Plan Commission
- A final vote by the Delaware County Commissioners
The sequence means that any proposed change to the property’s use would face review by county and planning bodies before commissioners made a final decision. The meeting encouraged residents to follow data center development in their communities, as projects can generate local debate over land use and infrastructure.
Why the property matters to model aviation
The AMA’s property is significant to the organization’s membership because it is tied to the national model-aircraft community. A possible sale therefore carries consequences beyond a conventional commercial real-estate discussion, even though no decision to sell and no data center approval has been reported. For pilots and clubs, the immediate question is whether the organization’s leadership will provide more information about the reported deliberations and the future of the land.
Delaware County Commissioner Stephen Brand has previously voiced support for data centers. During a panel on county development in March, Brand said he had spoken with multiple data center companies interested in local land. That statement does not establish that a company has submitted a proposal for the AMA site, and county officials said no data center zoning request had been received.
| Issue | Status reported at the meeting |
|---|---|
| AMA property | 1,100 acres in Delaware County |
| Reported consideration | Possible sale to a property development company for a data center |
| Formal proposal or zoning request | None publicly acknowledged or received by county officials |
| Approval stage | No county review process has begun |
For now, the reported data center plan remains unconfirmed as a formal development application. The public record described by Indiana Public Radio shows that AMA members are pressing for clarity while the county approval process remains inactive.
