Janesville residents rally to oppose potential data center at site of former GM plant

JANESVILLE, Wis. -- Janesville residents rallied Monday night outside of City Hall to protest potential plans for a data center at the site of the former GM assembly plant.

"It should be up to the people of Janesville to decide what goes in the GM site," said protest organizer Robert Penner.

The nearly 250-acre lot--once host to the city's primary employer--has sat empty since the automotive assembly plant was demolished in 2018.

"I would like to see that become a part of that community, in the neighborhoods that surround it," said Janesville resident and protest organizer Cassandra Pope. "We need shopping. We need we need grocery stores on the South side."

Development on the site would require significant environmental cleanup as much of the soil is contaminated from decades of automo