Data center campus to replace four office buildings at Northwest Point in Elk Grove

Two new data centers and an electrical substation will take the place of four office buildings in Elk Grove Village’s Northwest Point, an area the village has primed for redevelopment with new zoning and design guidelines and rebranded as an “innovation and technology center” district.

Aligned Data Centers is planning to build two data centers of more than 1 million square feet and a substation to the east, following demolition of the office buildings it purchased at 50, 100, 101 and 150 Northwest Point Blvd. The offices have housed ADP, Topco, Citi and Apple Vacations.

The $285 million project calls for each data center to have 520,000 square feet of space across two floors that would house servers, wires and related equipment for the Plano, Texas-based technology company.

The village board last week endorsed the company’s application for a Cook County Class 6B tax incentive, which would allow the properties to be assessed at lower levels for a dozen years: at 10% of market value for 10 years, 15% in the 11th year and 20% in the 12th year. Industrial property normally is assessed at 25% of market value.

Without the tax break, the developer said the project wouldn’t be feasible because of a heavy tax burden. Clearing the properties of the old offices is seen as a way to keep the tax liability low, the developer’s application noted.

The data center campus falls in line with village officials’ vision for the old office park near the Jane Addams Tollway and Arlington Heights Road.

In an attempt to rejuvenate the area at the village’s northern gateway, the board in 2021 approved new zoning and design guidelines that call for data centers, business accelerators, research and development companies, clean and high-tech manufacturers, and restaurants.

Aligned, which has 17 data centers in 10 areas including Northlake, said the Elk Grove Village project would bring 21 jobs to town.

Construction on the first building is scheduled to begin by year end and be completed by the end of 2028. The second building would be built between 2026 and 2029.