Data Centers

In DuPage, Communities Find Creative Solutions to Data Center Demand

For those interested in economic development, few things are more frustrating than untapped potential. For Carol Stream, a community known for its thriving industrial sector, the epitome of untapped potential was, until recently, an abandoned property that sat vacant for nearly a decade.  

Once the site of a sprawling chemical plant—complete with a production facility, a warehouse, and an R&D laboratory—the property was abandoned in the early 2010s. At the time, many in the community assumed that a buyer would soon come along. Yes, the property needed work; the buildings had to be demolished, and the soil remediated. But then again, it was 11 acres at the heart of central DuPage, in a community with one of the region’s highest industrial concentrations. Of course it would sell.

But then, it didn’t. Nearly ten years passed, and nothing happened. Occasionally, a developer would express interest, then pull back. The longer the property sat vacant, the less appealing it seemed—between its boarded-up windows and faded 1970s aesthetic, what had once been a community showpiece was on its way to becoming an eyesore.

Then, within the past few years, the story took an unexpected turn. A developer acquired the property; the aging chemical plant was demolished; the soil was remediated; and a buyer, Oppidan, purchased the land. Now, construction is underway on a 90,000-SF data center—the first of its kind in Carol Stream. What was once an eyesore is on its way back to becoming a showpiece, and possibly an inspiration for further development.  

“This is our first data center,” says Don Bastian, Community Development Director at the Village of Carol Stream. “We have manufacturing businesses, distribution warehouses, logistics facilities, food processing operations, and steel fabricators. But this is the first time we’ve welcomed a data center into our diverse business community.

“And to see the land, this land that sat unused for years, being redeveloped with a modern building and new landscaping—we’re very excited about it.”

For the community, this is a good ending to what was becoming a long and drawn-out story. For the rest of Chicagoland, however, this is only the latest development in a story that’s just begun: the rise of a new generation of data centers.  

CryusOne Data Center in Wood Dale, IL
A rendering shows an overhead view of CyrusOne’s planned Wood Dale campus. The site, which is expected to be complete by 2032, will feature six data centers and about 1.4 million-SF of facility space.

Data 2.0

Data centers are nothing new; in fact, their roots stretch back to the 1940s, when a single computer could fill an entire warehouse. But now, due to rising consumer usage and more data-intensive technologies—from state-of-the-art quantum computers to your iPhone’s “Genmojis”—the demand for data is quickly rising. And the demand for data centers is rising with it.

According to an industry profile from the Greater Chicagoland Economic Partnership (GCEP), within the past four years, the size of the U.S. colocation data center market has doubled. (“Colocation” refers to facilities that rent space where businesses can house their servers.) Think about that: Four years ago, in 2021, we were using a not-small quantity of data. Since then, the market, or at least a significant measure of its footprint, has doubled. It’s not showing any signs of slowing down, either. As of 2024, AI-related data represented about 20% of new demand. As the technology scales up, so will the need for storage capacity.

To account for this rising demand, data centers are cropping up all over the nation, including right here in DuPage County.

In Carol Stream, the previously mentioned 90,000-SF Oppidan data center is set to open in 2026.

In Itasca, Japanese company NTT DATA has recently purchased two office buildings; it plans to demolish them to make space for a cloud storage facility. This will be the fourth of its data centers at Hamilton Lakes, a sprawling corporate campus that historically focused on office and hotel space.

In Wood Dale, development is underway on a new CyrusOne location, West of Route 83, between Bryn Mawr Avenue and Foster Avenue. The site will house six data centers, for an aggregate footprint of about 1.4 million-SF. That’s a lot of server space.

But will it be enough? Probably not. To keep pace with demand, businesses must exponentially increase their data storage capacity, which means they’re going to have to build more data centers. To do that, they’re going to have to find The Goldilocks Zone.

NTT Data Center in Itasca, IL
A rendering shows NTT DATA’s planned cloud storage facility at Hamilton Lakes corporate park in Itasca, IL. Hamilton Lakes historically focused on office and hotel space; recently, however, the development has pivoted to welcome data centers.

The Goldilocks Zone: What Makes Chicagoland ‘Just Right’ for Data Centers?

It’s an unfortunate fact of life that you can’t just build a data center anywhere. Servers are fickle. Their cargo is precious. Their thirst for energy is high. And they don’t like hurricanes, earthquakes, or wildfires, which threaten to instantly wipe out exabytes of precious data. To host a data center, a location must meet a long list of conditions—everything must be “just right.” The few that do are considered Goldilocks Zones. Chicagoland is one of the best.

Ranked among the top two markets for data centers globally, the Chicagoland region offers all the conditions data centers need to thrive. State tax incentives and relatively affordable land make it a cost-effective location, while access to abundant water and affordable, reliable energy—not to mention the “free cooling” you get during a Chicago winter—provide the power and natural resources that data centers need.

Meanwhile, Chicagoland’s larger plats of available land make it possible to develop hyperscalers, large-scale facilities designed to store and process data from billions of users. A deep, diverse workforce and a local pipeline of nationally renowned academic institutions offer all the talent that facilities need to function. And access to a skilled labor force means that facilities can be built efficiently and go to market faster—a critical feature for an industry where speed is everything. (Read more about what the region offers data centers here.)

Another key advantage is Chicagoland’s diverse economy. The region is a hub for many of the most data-intensive industries, including finance, administrative services, logistics, life sciences, and the government sector, as well as a massive consumer base, meaning there’s always a high demand for local data centers. As these industries grow, and as the region invests in quantum computing and other high-tech fields, that demand is only rising.

Of course, that’s just one side of the story. Because while Chicagoland is transforming the data center market, data centers are returning the favor.  

From ChatGPT to GDP: How Data Centers Impact the DuPage Economy

One common criticism of data centers is that they don’t create many jobs and therefore don’t generate significant value for communities. There’s a kernel of truth here—a typical data center will have a smaller staff compared to similarly sized facilities from other industries—but it ignores the potentially transformative economic impact that data centers have on the communities around them.

Starting with the staff: While data centers tend to create relatively smaller quantities of jobs, the ones they do create are high-earning. According to a report provided by JobsEQâ, the average data center employee in the Chicagoland region earns over $142,000 annually, meaning they have greater spending power than most employees from other sectors and can inject more money into the local economy. Beyond their own earnings, every data center position is estimated to create more than four jobs in the region, for a total of over $474,000 in additional earnings. It’s the data center domino effect.

Data Center workforce

And that’s only accounting for regular staff. Building a facility like the Oppidan data center in Carol Stream—not to mention the six that NTT is developing in Wood Dale—requires numerous construction jobs. Much like white-collar staffing positions, construction jobs generate additional employment; every construction role creates an estimated 1.64 additional jobs, producing over $239,000 in additional earnings. Factor in the cost of construction materials, as well as the fees for permitting and utilities, and you can see how data centers generate more revenue for communities than meets the eye.

In Wood Dale, for example, CyrusOne estimates their financial investment in the project will be over $1 billion. When all six buildings are complete, the City is projected to generate at least $2 million in annual utility taxes alone, money that can be reinvested in the community. Countywide, data centers have a significant impact on gross domestic product; in 2022, sectors directly related to data centers (such as computing infrastructure providers, data processers, and web hosting businesses) produced nearly $1 billion in GDP, with an average worker output of $986,000.

As impressive as those figures are, they don’t cover the full impact that data centers are making across DuPage. For Carol Stream, the new Oppidan facility is about more than generating revenue; it’s about taking a stagnant, abandoned property and transforming it into an attractive showpiece, one that’s both grounded in the community’s past and looking forward to the future. For Itasca, NTT DATA’s new cloud storage facilities aren’t “just another” development; they represent a reimagining of a suburban office park, one potential solution to a widespread challenge. 

As communities across DuPage grapple with new ways of working, shifting industry trends, and other complex challenges, they’re rethinking economic development norms and repurposing spaces in creative ways. And while data centers aren’t the solution to everything, one thing is certain: They’re a key part of the equation.


Learn more about data centers in DuPage County.

cyrus one data center

CyrusOne Breaks Ground on New Data Center

$350M Investment Builds on Illinois’ Booming Tech Industry

Today, Governor JB Pritzker joined the CyrusOne team, Choose DuPage, ComEd, and local elected officials to break ground on the new data center in Aurora. The new campus, which consists of two buildings totaling 446,000 square feet, will serve local communities and national networks through the creation of state-of-the-art digital infrastructure solutions.

“When I became governor, I pledged to make Illinois a home for the high-tech, high-growth industries of the future,” said Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.“This groundbreaking is the culmination of years of work with our partners at CyrusOne, and secures hundreds of construction jobs as well as over twenty data center positions for the people of our state. CyrusOne’s new data center joins the ecosystem of high-tech sectors that are flourishing in Illinois– from electric vehicles to quantum computing to chip manufacturers – that form the foundation of sustainable economic growth.”

CyrusOne selected Aurora for this $350 million investment with future growth and expansion capabilities in mind. The data center will create hundreds of construction jobs and more than 20 full-time positions. It is set to open in early 2026, a very quick timeline for a data center of this size, due in part to Illinois’ many economic development assets that create opportunities for companies like CyrusOne.

“With the Chicagoland being the third-largest data center market nationally and demand continuing surging, this expansion aligns perfectly with our strategic plan to enhance our capacity and capabilities,” said Eric Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer of CyrusOne.“This investment reinforces our commitment to innovation and meeting the evolving needs of our customer base in this critical market.”

“ComEd is committed to powering economic development projects that create local jobs and drive investment in our communities,” said ComEd President and CEO Gil Quiniones. “CyrusOne’s new site in Aurora will deliver on those goals, while prioritizing sustainable building and ensuring opportunities for revenue and job growth for Illinois. We look forward to delivering the resilient and reliable electrical infrastructure needed to serve their needs today and well into the future.”

In partnership with the State of Illinois, CyrusOne has been approved for the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s data center investment program, which includes a Project Labor Agreement for the facility’s construction. IBEW will be the primary labor partner. CyrusOne has now invested over $1 billion across Illinois.

“This state-of-the-art data center expansion will strengthen our technological capabilities and create good-paying jobs for IBEW members. We’re excited to be part of this project that will help power Illinois’ innovation economy,” said IBEW Sixth District International Vice President Michael Clemmons. “I want to extend our appreciation to Governor JB Pritzker, whose tireless efforts in attracting these kinds of transformative investments have been instrumental in making Illinois a prime destination for projects that benefit our skilled workforce and our communities.”

“CyrusOne’s decision to include a Project Labor Agreement prioritizes the needs of Illinois working families by ensuring that the hundreds of construction jobs created will provide safe working conditions, good wages and benefits, and sustained investment in the local economy and workforce,” said Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea.

The new campus builds on Illinois’ thriving data center industry, supported by the Pritzker administration’s data center incentives. Currently, four of the largest data center campuses in the nation are being built in Illinois, creating thousands of jobs and investing billions in the state.

Amazon to Expand Again in Illinois

Amazon Fulfillment Center

The company’s presence grows to eight facilities and more than 7,000 full-time jobs in the state

 

December 20, 2016 Amazon, Intersect Illinois and the Illinois Department of Commerce today announced that Amazon plans to open two fulfillment centers in Aurora, Illinois. The facilities will add more than 1,000 additional full-time jobs with benefits to the state. The company currently has fulfillment centers operating in Edwardsville, Joliet and Romeoville with another fulfillment center under construction in Monee.

 

“In just over two years, Illinois has proven itself to be an ideal location from which Amazon can continue offering customers our vast selection and superfast shipping speeds,” said Akash Chauhan, Amazon’s vice president of North American operations. “We’re excited to be growing and creating even more full-time jobs that offer comprehensive benefits on day one as well as generous maternity and parental leave benefits.”

 

“Intersect Illinois has worked closely with Amazon for months to grow and maximize Amazon’s footprint in Illinois,” said Intersect Illinois CEO Jim Schultz. “Team members like Frank Cho recognized early on that Illinois and Amazon could be tremendous partners and that hard work is paying off. Illinois can offer Amazon exactly what it needs.”

 

“With a talented workforce, central location in the Unites States and the North American market, and a world-class transportation hub, Illinois is proving it has assets no other state can offer,” Schultz added.

 

During the past two years, Amazon has announced eight fulfillment centers in Illinois. Once the latest investments complete construction, Amazon will have created more than 7,000 full-time jobs for Illinoisans. Full-time employees at Amazon receive competitive hourly wages and a comprehensive benefits package, including healthcare, 401(k) and company stock awards starting on day one, as well as generous maternity and parental leave benefits.

 

Amazon also has a longstanding commitment of hiring military veterans and spouses for careers across the company, including at its fulfillment centers. The company recently announced a commitment to hire 25,000 military veterans and spouses in the U.S. during the next five years and train 10,000 in cloud computing.

 

“Today’s announcement further strengthens Illinois’ position as one of the nation’s top states for logistics and distribution,” said DCEO Director Sean McCarthy. “This has been a team effort, with DCEO and Intersect Illinois working together to make possible Amazon’s continued growth in Illinois. We are excited to see Amazon expand and create thousands of good-paying jobs.”

 

At the nearly 1-million-square-foot facility in Aurora employees will pick, pack and ship small items to customers such as books, electronics and consumer goods. The other facility, spanning 400,000-square-feet, will specialize in handling larger items like big-screen televisions.

 

“The City of Warrenville is looking forward to welcoming Amazon as its newest corporate neighbor along Route 59 in the City of Aurora,” said City of Warrenville Mayor David Brummel. “This project is yet another great example of municipalities and private entities working together to improve underdeveloped areas, create jobs, and grow the local economy in a responsible and sustainable manner. Warrenville is truly excited to be part of the public/private team that will make the Amazon facilities a reality.”

Illinois competed with several other states for this project, and the Department of Commerce worked tirelessly to bring these new jobs to Illinois. The EDGE program is the State’s primary mechanism to help encourage job creation and capital investment in Illinois.

 

“Amazon’s investment in Aurora is a testament to our growing economy, streamlined business process and dedicated workforce,” said Aurora Mayor Robert J. O’Connor.  “To bring 1,000 new jobs to Aurora at one location is unprecedented and to do so via Amazon, one of the most recognized brands in the world, is monumental. It’s just as exciting to know Amazon’s commitment and care for the communities where they have offices and the potential partnerships that will be developed throughout our city.  We are absolutely thrilled with Amazon’s decision to choose Aurora for its newest venture.”

In addition to competitive wages and comprehensive benefits, Amazon also offers employees innovative programs like Career Choice, where it will pre-pay 95 percent of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon. Since the program’s launch four years ago, more than 7,000 employees in 10 countries have pursued degrees in game design and visual communications, nursing, IT programming and radiology, to name a few.

 

To learn more about working at an Amazon fulfillment center, visit www.amazondelivers.jobs. 

 

CyrusOne Shells Out $130 Million to Buy CME Group Data Center

CME Group announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its suburban Chicago data center in Aurora, Ill. to CyrusOne, Inc., (NASDAQ: CONE) a global data center services provider, for $130 million. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.   As part of the sale, CME Group will enter into a 15-year lease for data center space and will continue to operate its electronic trading platform, CME Globex, from the data center and will offer co-location services there. CME Group will have the ability to expand co-location services within the leased space going forward. The agreement also outlines the ways in which CyrusOne and CME Group will enhance the range of services available to their mutual customers through connectivity, hosting and data offerings.

 

“CME Group is pleased to work with CyrusOne to maintain our co-location services while reducing our real estate holdings in line with our growth strategy,” said CME Group Chief Financial Officer John Pietrowicz. “This transaction allows us to enter into a long-term lease to meet our data center needs while focusing our resources on what we do best – running our exchanges, providing global risk management and offering a broad range of technology services. Further, by entering into this relationship with CyrusOne, CME helps to ensure that our customers will have cost-efficient access to an even broader set of infrastructure and data services, including disaster recovery, cloud access, data storage and high-performance computing.” “The acquisition-leaseback of this facility offers unique advantages to our customers involved in the global financial markets by providing connectivity to those transacting on the CME Globex platform. With this facility, and with CME Group as our tenant, we are excited to have the opportunity to expand the global risk management campus in Chicago – the preeminent financial services co-location hub in the industry – which will be a cornerstone of our unique and rapidly growing data center platform,” said Gary Wojtaszek, president and CEO, CyrusOne. “This acquisition helps solidify our position in the financial services market and will create additional FinTech opportunities by offering a unique ecosystem to our financial, energy, enterprise, and cloud customers.” Through this acquisition, CyrusOne will increase the size of its portfolio to 33 data centers across US, Europe, and Asia, and strengthen its offerings within the financial services market. The facility is approximately 428,000 square feet. It features next-generation security, fire protection, and infrastructure enhancements.

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Aurora Business, Spectrum Technologies, Receives Metro Chicago Exports Grant

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