The Daly Group Plans Large-Scale Data Center on 13-Acre Site Outside Chicago

A developer has proposed constructing a data center in Hillside, Illinois, located approximately 15 miles west of downtown Chicago. The plan has received preliminary approval from Hillside officials, marking a significant step forward for the project.

Developer and Project Details

The developer, identified as DPK Hillside LLC, aims to build a 245,000 square foot, two-story data center on a vacant 13-acre property along the south side of the Eisenhower Expressway. The chosen site is adjacent to a car dealership at 101 N. Wolf Road. Representatives of the developer have indicated that the data center is intended to host hyperscale tenants, including major cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft. They anticipate a two-year timeline for completion, pending final approval by local lawmakers.

Developer Background

DPK Hillside appears to be a newly established entity for this specific project, with its address matching that of The Daly Group, an Oak Brook-based firm primarily involved in developing commercial properties such as shopping centers, casinos, and logistics facilities. Notably, The Daly Group has no prior experience in data center projects.

Previous Proposal and Current Lawsuit

Previously, the property owner, Newcastle Partners LP, had proposed constructing a light manufacturing and warehouse complex on the same site in 2022. However, this plan was abandoned due to concerns from nearby residents about increased truck traffic. Subsequently, Newcastle Partners filed a lawsuit against the village, which is still pending.

Data Center Market in Chicago

Chicago ranks as the country's third-largest data center market in terms of total inventory, boasting over 800 megawatts of existing capacity and an additional 600 MW under construction. Several major data center firms, including T5, Prime, NTT, CyrusOne, CloudHQ, Aligned, and Edged Energy, are expected to introduce new projects in the Chicago area between 2025 and 2026.

Data Center Development Trends

While the Chicago region has experienced a surge in data center development, with many projects concentrated around Elk Grove Village and O'Hare International Airport, Hillside and its neighboring areas have not witnessed the same level of activity. The closest data center cluster to Hillside is in Northlake, where Aligned Data Centers, Microsoft, and Digital Realty have existing facilities.

The proposed data center in Hillside represents an expansion of the Chicago area's data center infrastructure, albeit in a location that has not traditionally been a focal point for such development. With ongoing legal challenges and competition from other established data center markets nearby, the success of this project remains to be seen.