After a crowded public hearing that lasted 2.5 hours where dozens of residents spoke, the DeKalb City Council unanimously approved a massive 560-acre data center by Edged, a subsidiary of Endeavour Energy.

The series of votes – minus an absent Ward 3 Alderman Tracy Smith – came less than a month after the project was made public.

About 30 residents spoke on the project before the vote. Some expressed support for the data center’s plans, pointing to significant tax revenue, job creation, and a chance for DeKalb to be part of an ever-evolving technology industry.

DeKalb resident Mike Carpenter, who has worked as a real estate professional for over 30 years, said he is all for the data center.

“We have a phenomenal opportunity here to really increase our industrial tax base, which should segue into stabilized property taxes or even reduced property taxes,” Carpenter said. “Lower property taxes equate to higher property values. So, I urge the council’s support on this great project.”

Melissa Amedeo, executive director of the DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation, said Project Vector represents a transformative investment to the area.

“If we use Meta as a guide, which paid almost $31.5 million in taxes in 2024 alone, it’s safe to say that Project Vector will generate tens of millions of dollars that will directly support schools, transportation networks, public safety, and other quality of life initiatives,” she said.

Amedeo also serves as administrator of the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone.

An enterprise zone is a geographical area in which businesses may receive tax benefits and other incentives to help spur new economic growth.

An expansion of the DeKalb County Enterprise Zone was previously granted by DeKalb city leaders with unanimous support in both March 2024 and September 2025, city documents show.

City staff said the data center qualifies for participation in the High Impact Project Interstate Competition Market property tax abatement made possible by the county’s enterprise zone.

Other savings available to project leaders will include the state-level Enterprise Zone and an electricity tax incentive from the city, records show.

Others, including residents who live near the south side site, asked the Council to delay what some criticized as a rushed vote. Some concerns voiced included environmental impact, wildlife impact, noise pollution and questions about the technology Endeavour plans to use for the center.

Kathy Stelford, founder and president of Oaken Acres Wildlife Center, said she believed it was important to speak out about wildlife impact.

She turned and pointed to a photograph of a bald eagle in front of a packed meeting of the City Council.

“I know I can’t change progress,” Stelford said. “It sounds like you guys are good guys and stuff. But I’ve always wanted to at least be a voice for wildlife and tell you that these are your neighbors, too.”

DeKalb resident Melissa Deball questioned the city’s long-range planning efforts.

“The joke is that in DeKalb, we are kids of the corn,” Deball said. “And granted, I know that we are trying to be biodiverse in everything, but the more you take down the environment and the more you take down things like that, the more it’s going to impact it.”

The data center campus would be built just south of Meta’s DeKalb Data Center, with fewer buildings but more land. Edged would have four data center campus buildings and two electrical substations, on about 560 acres of land on both east and west sides of Illinois State Route 23, north of Keslinger Road and west of Crego Road, records show.

Mayor Cohen Barnes said he believed the city has done its research and due diligence on the build.

“We already have Meta. We have a data center,” Barnes said. “I heard some of these concerns early on with that project. And now look at what Meta has brought to the community – the impact and the good stewardship that they brought to our community. I think they’re a perfect example to show that this isn’t new to us. We’ve already done exactly this.”

Jerry Krusinski of ChicagoWest Business Center, which owns most of the land for the site, said developers had conducted studies on traffic impact, noise and emissions. Documents released by the city show plans to include landscaping and other mitigating factors in the build meant to lessen noise and impact on nearby residential areas.

“Clearly we’ve been studying this site and this project for a long time,” Krusinski said. “It does reinforce that we’ve not taken this lightly.”

One idea raised by a community member last week about establishing a microforest on site was received favorably by project leaders.

A microforest is defined as the concept of promoting dense tree planting to enhance urban ecology and habitat.

Krusinski expressed a commitment to the community on behalf of project leaders.

“The one thing that we have built that is not bricks and mortar, we’ve built partnerships and relationships with so many people here,” Krusinski said. “We’re very proud of that.”

The project has received backing from several entities, including DeKalb School District 428, DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, DeKalb Park District, DeKalb Public Library, Kishwaukee College, Northern Illinois University, and the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District.

Adding another organization to the list of supporters publicly was Afton Township Supervisor Randy Bourdages. He urged the council to support the data center.

“This is a project you must say yes to,” Bourdages said. “We should all be celebrating.”

Fourth Ward Alderman Justin Carlson downplayed the significance of potential environmental impacts.

“Things are in the ground right now that hurt the environment,” Carlson said. “For one data center? I’d have done it six days and on Sunday. And that’s why I look at data centers in a different way.”

City Manager Bill Nicklas said the data center is anticipated to generate a significant amount in property taxes each year.

“I can tell you right now ... the roughly 12 different small and some larger parcels that are involved here that are currently identified in the county tax records generated in 2024, $40,700 in property tax,” Nicklas said. “First year of any assessment would obviously be a hundred-fold more than that.”

Second Ward Alderwoman Barb Larson touted the growth in economic development that the data center could yield for the city.

“I know people are like, ‘They’re just all in it for the money,’” Larson said. “We’re all in it to make money. That is how we live.”

Michelle McGill has lived in South Pointe Greens for more than 12 years. She said she and her family and neighbors worry that even with steps intended to mitigate sound from the data center’s 24/7 server operators, she still will hear it. She asked the Council to delay the vote.

“It was pointed out last week that property values will not be negatively affected by this, but I’m just kind of unable to wrap my head around that one,” McGill said. “In the meantime, residents will have endured the sights and sounds of construction for years.”

William Bohne, president of Jacob & Hefner Associates, tried to address concerns about the potential for noise.

He said that from berms to soundwall installation, there is a host of solutions that can be employed to mitigate noise.

“The turbo cells do make noise,” Bohne said. “The HVAC systems do make noise. Traffic does make noise. So, what we’ve done here is part of it is the site planning. We’re able to set these buildings as far back as we can from the adjacent roadways and some of the adjacent residents with a site plan, as we talked about in the last meeting.”

Fifth Ward Alderman Andre Powell said he believes project leaders have done their best to help appease community concerns.

“I think you guys did your best to accommodate what runs people off with data centers, which is water and electric,” Powell said. “For that reason, I support it.”

Shaw Local’s Kelsey Rettke contributed.

This story was updated at 5:10 p.m. Dec. 9, 2025.