CyrusOne proposes 120-acre data center campus

CyrusOne, the developers who teamed up with Green Door Capital for Yorkville’s first data center plans, are back with another proposal.

This time the developers are eyeing 128 acres of land north of Faxon Road, south of Corneils Road, and east of Beecher Road. Yorkville city officials previously said the city wants to convert around 3,000 acres of current farm fields into the large manufacturing warehouses.

The proposal, dubbed the “C1 Yorkville Data Center Campus,” draws up three data center buildings totaling around 740,000 square feet, and one electrical substation.

The two land parcels would need to be annexed by the city and then rezoned from the current “suburban residence” zoning to “general manufacturing.”

Previous public hearings for data center proposals near residential areas have been quite intense when residents said they would rather move out of Yorkville than live next to a manufacturing park.

Community members have requested the city diversify land use to provide greater service to the community. At 740,000 square feet, this data center plan is 4.5 times larger than the football stadium — including practice facilities — at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

The project proposal is being first discussed at the Dec. 2 Economic Development Committee at City Hall. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 13.

The city is currently requiring all data center buildings be setback at least 500 feet from a residential or commercial building. There must also be a 100-foot landscape buffer installed.