Proposal for data center on Itasca Country Club site comes before village committee

A proposal to build a data center on part of the Itasca Country Club golf course is back, this time with a buyer.

The proposal will be heard at 7 p.m. Tuesday by Itasca's Community Development Committee. The meeting is open to the public and will be conducted through Zoom, with registration at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kthcDe3GSFmfs8XcNNoGSQ.

Itasca Country Club owner Larry Swets said Bridge Development Partners has signed a contract to buy the property, contingent on approval from the village board.

Swets proposes converting about 34 acres - about one-quarter of the Itasca Country Club's property - to build the data center.

He pulled the data center project from village board consideration in November after opposition from residents who live along the golf course. At the time, he said the clubhouse and restaurant would remain open, and the remaining land would allow for nine to 14 holes of golf.

"We are giving the village, trustees and residents the information to decide if they want data centers or homes," Swets said of the new proposal.

Separately, Bridge also is developing Bridge Point Itasca, a three-building industrial site near Devon Avenue and Route 53.

Swets includes the data center proposal as part of what he calls Vision4Itasca, which also would create a separate "South Maple Marketplace" of new restaurants and solar charging stations in and around homes on the northeast corner of West Grove and South Maple streets.

Itasca Golf Investors LLC bought the country club in 2014 amid concerns about the property's future. Residents at that time were seeking village and DuPage County Forest Preserve District backing for preserving the site as open space.

The data center is likely to be a contentious issue in the April 6 election. Candidate for village trustee Patrick A. Powers and mayoral candidate Thomas Pawlicki oppose the data center.

Others lean in favor of the development, and Eric Swets, Larry Swets brother, is running for village trustee. He says he would recuse himself from data center negotiations.

Itasca officials say questions and comments from residents will be taken during the meeting, but it is not a public hearing and no action will be taken following the discussion.

People interested in attending the meeting can register at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kthcDe3GSFmfs8XcNNoGSQ.