Compass Datacenters ready to build on cleared Sears headquarters site in Hoffman Estates
Construction is about to start on Compass Datacenters’ five-building campus on 273 acres in Hoffman Estates after the firm invested more than a year on the environmentally respectful demolition of the massive former Sears headquarters once housed there.
Hoffman Estates Village Manager Eric Palm said the construction permit for the core and shell of the first building has been issued. Buildings two and three should receive their foundation permits later this month and likely be ready for their core and shell permits in either October or November.
The project represents a $10 billion investment by Dallas-based Compass and its partners to build the facility for what likely will be a single, still unnamed client and provide the electricity it will require.
The data centers will use water-free cooling and hydrogenated vegetable oil-based fuels for backup power, as well as taking additional sustainable measures. Construction is anticipated to create about 1,000 jobs.
Each of the five data centers will be more than a quarter-million square feet. ComEd is readying to power the first of the buildings by mid-2026.
Hoffman Estates officials said each data center building is expected to take 14 to 16 months to complete. The overall development is likely to take three to four years.
Chicago-based Power Construction was contracted for the project — a firm Compass officials describe as having a proven track record of putting safety first and working collaboratively with customers for timely delivery of projects.
Palm said a data center’s construction also can benefit the community around it. Besides the local tax revenue they generate, they can bring infrastructure improvements like those undertaken by Microsoft to upgrade the aging water and sewer system near its own Lakewood Boulevard campus farther east in Hoffman Estates.
Because of Compass’ air-and-liquid cooling system, its forthcoming campus off Beverly Road won’t exceed the water use of the roughly 9,000 Sears employees who occupied the retailer’s 2.4-million-square-foot office complex for about 30 years, Palm added.
Compass bought the site in 2023. Several months of interior preparation preceded the structural demolition that occurred from August 2024 until this July.
According to Compass officials, Carol Stream-based American Demolition was selected for that project for its demonstrated ability to minimize waste and maximize reuse of materials.
An American Demolition official said about 95% of the Sears structure would be recycled, keeping 400 million pounds of debris out of landfills.