Chicago & Midwest CRE News In Your Inbox.
Sign up for Connect emails to stay informed with CRE stories that are 150 words or less.
Naperville City Council Rejects Data Center Plan
The Naperville city council recently voted to deny a large data center proposal.
The council denied the roughly 145,000-square-foot facility, which would have been located along the Interstate 88 corridor, near Naperville and Warrenville roads on the former Lucent campus. The vote came after months of controversy and public debate.
Ahead of the vote, more than 5,000 people signed a petition urging the council to reject the proposed data center near a residential neighborhood. Ultimately, the council rejected the proposal in a 6-1 vote, with two abstentions.
“We are disappointed by the outcome of the vote, which overturned the city plan commission’s recommendation, and by the city council’s decision not to allow additional time for further studies to address concerns regarding our operations,” said a spokesperson for Karis Critical.
The move comes amid projected growth for the data center industry, with capacity expected to nearly double from 103 GW to 200 GW by 2030, according to JLL’s 2026 Global Data Center Outlook.
