Lebanon / Boone County — Indiana (LEAP Innovation District)
Lebanon, Boone County, Indiana
LOW RISK
Trajectory: No moratorium enacted in Lebanon or Boone County (unlike Marshall, White, Putnam counties). Council unanimously approved Meta's incentive package. Meta broke ground February 2026.
Last updated 2026-03-29
Investment Thesis
LEAP PUD provides by-right DC approval in the Industrial Mega Site subdistrict. Meta investing $10B+, Eli Lilly co-locating, state providing $60M infrastructure funding. Opposition exists but has not blocked any project.
Eighty miles from Franklin Township — where Google withdrew under community pressure — Meta broke ground on a $10B campus inside the LEAP Innovation District on February 11, 2026. The city council approved the incentive package unanimously. The plan commission approved the 1,500-acre development plan. Boone County has not enacted a moratorium. Same state, opposite outcome. The difference is a PUD that designates data centers as a permitted use in the Industrial Mega Site subdistrict.
Data centers are Permitted Use in the LEAP Industrial Mega Site subdistrict — unanimously adopted August 2023. No CUP, no rezoning required within the PUD.
Meta officially broke ground February 11, 2026 on a $10B, 1 GW campus on 1,500 acres. Eli Lilly is co-locating in the same district.
Indiana appears on both the Hardest (Google Indy, 13/100) and Clearest (Lebanon, 78/100) lists. 80 miles apart. 65-point gap. Zoning structure is the differentiator.
WVPA filed for 1,200 MW total demand at LEAP with MISO. Citizens Energy Group delivering 25M gallons/day via a dedicated water program. $60M in state funding approved.
Opposition exists — Citizens Action Coalition and Boone County Preservation Group — but has not blocked or delayed any project. A legal challenge filed January 2023 has not produced injunctive relief.
Inside this score
How the 100 points break down.
Each dimension is scored out of its own weight, and the four add up to the score. A higher score is a clearer market-level path; it is not a likelihood of approval for a parcel.
- Regulatory Riskweight 3025 / 30
What it reads, and where it stops
Measures zoning classification, approval pathway type (by-right, CUP, rezoning), moratorium status, and regulatory trajectory. Higher scores indicate clearer regulatory paths.
Reads the written route and the stated direction of a market's rules as of the edition date. It does not read a particular parcel's zoning, and a rule recorded here can change at the next meeting of the body.
- Infrastructure Readinessweight 2519 / 25
What it reads, and where it stops
Measures utility capacity, grid interconnection availability, water supply adequacy, and infrastructure investment commitments. Higher scores indicate better infrastructure readiness.
Reads the utility, grid, water and investment record for the market. It does not confirm capacity at a given site, and delivery timelines for power and water are separate from entitlement risk.
- Opposition Densityweight 2515 / 25
What it reads, and where it stops
Measures organized opposition groups, petition scale, public hearing attendance, political consequences (elections, recalls), and legal challenges. Higher scores indicate less opposition.
Reads organised opposition that shows on the public record: groups, petitions, hearings, elections and legal challenges. A quiet record is not evidence of support, and a loud one is not a count of votes.
- Approval Timelineweight 2019 / 20
What it reads, and where it stops
Measures historical approval durations, number of sequential approval steps, legal challenges affecting timeline, and demonstrated fast-track capabilities. Higher scores indicate faster approvals.
Reads how long recorded approvals have taken and how many sequential steps they needed. Past duration is a record of what happened, not a schedule for the next application.
25 + 19 + 15 + 19 = 78 of 100 · Low Risk
Dimension Breakdown
How this market scores across four dimensions.
Regulatory Risk
30 pts
Permitted Use within the Industrial Mega Site subdistrict of the LEAP PUD, adopted unanimously August 2023. Multiple annexation ordinances executed. Plan Commission approved Meta's 1,500-acre development plan.
Score: 25/30. Permitted Use within the LEAP PUD Industrial Mega Site subdistrict. Multiple annexation ordinances executed. Plan Commission approved Meta's development plan. This is the highest regulatory score among Indiana markets.
Infrastructure Readiness
25 pts
Boone REMC / Wabash Valley Power Alliance with DC recruitment program. WVPA filed for 1,200 MW at LEAP with MISO. Citizens Energy Group water program delivering 25M gallons/day. $60M state funding approved.
Score: 19/25. WVPA/Boone REMC with DC recruitment program. 1,200 MW MISO request filed. Citizens Energy Group 25M gallons/day water program. $60M state funding. Outcome of MISO expedited review is the key uncertainty.
Opposition Density
25 pts
Two organized groups: Citizens Action Coalition (statewide moratorium call) and Boone County Preservation Group. Change.org petition with 1,000+ signatures. Legal challenge filed January 2023. But no project blocked or delayed.
Score: 15/25. Two organized groups and a 1,000+ signature petition — but no project blocked or delayed. This is the lowest opposition score among Clearest markets, reflecting Indiana's statewide tensions.
Approval Timeline
20 pts
Exceptionally fast by industry standards. Meta: council approved incentives unanimously November 25, 2024. Plan Commission approved development plan August 18, 2025. Groundbreaking February 11, 2026.
Score: 19/20. Exceptionally fast. Meta: council unanimously approved incentives November 2024, plan commission approved August 2025, groundbreaking February 2026. This is the best approval timeline in the index.
Key Findings
What the evidence supports.
Data centers are Permitted Use in the LEAP Industrial Mega Site subdistrict.
City of Lebanon UDOMeta officially broke ground on $10B campus on February 11, 2026.
Meta NewsroomWVPA filed for 1,200 MW total demand at LEAP with MISO (expedited project review).
Indiana Economic DigestIncentives & Programs
Why developers are choosing here.
Meta 10-year, 50% real property tax abatement + TIF district
Council unanimously approved November 25, 2024. Meta investing $10B+ in 1GW campus.
SourceIndiana Data Center Sales Tax Exemption
Exemption on qualifying DC equipment and energy use. Administered by IEDC.
SourceMeta community investments — $1M annually for 20 years to Boone REMC Community Fund
Plus $120M+ toward water infrastructure improvements.
SourceDates on the record
Dates on the record.
As of the 29 Mar 2026 edition
No date after the 29 Mar 2026 edition is on the record for Lebanon.
Only dates that this market's own timeline gives. No outcome is named.
Known Risks
No market is risk-free. Here's what to watch.
The credibility of a favorable score depends on honest risk disclosure. These risks are documented in public records.
Two organized opposition groups (CAC and Boone County Preservation Group)
Legal challenge to annexation filed January 2023
WVPA 1,200 MW MISO request outcome uncertain
Indiana moratorium wave in other counties shows statewide tension
Recommendation
LOW RISK — Score 78/100
Standard process expected. LEAP provides an unusually favorable regulatory framework despite statewide moratorium activity in other Indiana counties.
From the record
What the public record holds for Lebanon.
Each case file below is a verified public record with its sources attached; each note is a dated research note. They sit beside this market's score; they do not change it.
Case files elsewhere in Indiana
- Hardy Hills received a state certificate and limited jurisdictional reliefEnergy · Indiana, Indiana
- Indianapolis data-center rezoning withdrawn before council adoptionData centers · Indianapolis, Indiana
Notes about Lebanon
- Two Indiana data centers, one state, opposite timelinesJurisdiction Data · 21 May 2026
- The cost of a data center is not in the land or the shell anymoreJurisdiction Data · 13 Apr 2026
Notes about Indiana
- Shell companies used to buy silence; now they buy suspicionJurisdiction Data · 18 Jun 2026
- When a pause wants to be a statute: Starke County and the permanent-ban tellJurisdiction Data · 9 Jun 2026
- The moratorium is contagious: how data-center pauses jump county linesJurisdiction Data · 2 Jun 2026
- Power is the second vote: the approval your zoning win doesn't coverJurisdiction Data · 10 May 2026
- From a 4-1 vote to a $14 million judgment: the entitlement-to-dollars bridgeJurisdiction Data · 5 Apr 2026
Sector page: Data centers
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