Developer says data centers more valuable to Yorkville than Bears stadium

The proposed 1,037 acre Project Cardinal data center in Yorkville is so large, it’s community impact is hard to capture. Mayor John Purcell attempted to put it in terms everyone can understand.

“Do you estimate the value the total project would be for the community would be more or less than a Chicago Bears stadium?” Purcell asked the developers during the project’s annexation public hearing on June 10.

“Yes, it would be more than a stadium,” Matt McCarron, a manager with Pioneer Development, LLC, said.

The plans propose 14-two story data center warehouses, totaling more than 17 million square feet, two electrical substations, and 3,750 parking spaces. The site, which requires 305 acres to be annexed by the city before all 1,037 acres are rezoned to manufacturing, is located northwest of Route 47 and Galena Road, south of Baseline Road, and east of Ashe Road.

Because individual data center warehouses can generate anywhere between $500,000 and $1 million annually in tax revenues, Purcell posed an interesting question regarding Project Cardinal’s phased construction that will take up to a decade to fully complete.

“Property taxes are a huge concern,” Purcell said. “We have a burgeoning school population. The school is going to need several hundred million dollars for buildings. I’d like you to consider up-fronting, writing a check to the school district for that.”

Yorkville School District 115 has a classroom capacity crisis requiring new construction ranging between $159 million and $281 million, according to the district’s facility master plan proposals.

Given the city’s rush to approve 3,000 acres for data center developments along the Eldamain Road corridor, resident Mitch Holtz asked a direct question.

“I wanted to ask that anyone who’s part of the decision making process, would any conflicts of interest related to these projects be disclosed to the public?” Holtz asked city council.

The mayor responded that city attorney Kathleen Field Orr, says “Yes.”

Past public hearings for data centers located near residential areas turned heated when residents said they did not want to live next to unsightly manufacturing warehouses.

Because of Project Cardinal’s proximity to residential areas, the developers were required to meet with local homeowners of Bristol Bay subdivision, Equestrian Estates at Legacy Farms, along Baseline Road, Eldamain Road and Galena Road.

Bernie Weiler, an attorney representing adjacent homeowners, said while talks with the developers have addressed several concerns, there is still much to be figured out.

“I don’t think we’re at the point where we have an annexation agreement that everyone can understand what’s going to happen and what this is going to look like,” Weiler said.

He said the city should slow down approval of the project while the residents’ concerns are addressed, including noise pollution concerns.

“It’s one thing to calculate decibels, it’s another thing to analyze noise at a constant frequency over a long period of time,” Weiler said. “Even though a humming might not reach a decibel level, it can also be deleterious to people. Some of our people are very concerned about that.”

The city is requiring all data center buildings to be more than 500-feet from the nearest residential or commercial structure. They must also have an eight-foot-tall berm along the perimeters, and a 100-foot landscape buffer from roadways.

Developers must adhere to a sound pollution mitigation study, and create plans ensuring they do not exceed the city’s current noise ordinance regulations.

While fielding questions, McCarron said the acquired land would only be used for data centers with no other type of manufacturing, industrial or commercial taking place.

He said a nature trail outside the security fencing will be accessible to the public.

“In regards to the trail to Bristol Bay, we’ve talked about that with our engineers,” McCarron said. “We’re going to talk with IDOT, but we’re definitely open to that. Since they are making an upgraded bridge on the corner of Galena Road and Route 47, we are thinking of having an entrance there, with a sidewalk on the eastern edge of Route 47 and a pedestrian crosswalk.”

With the city projecting more than 100 data center warehouses over the next few decades, resident Jack Schlueter, an engineer, said the massive warehouse complex would be the first thing drivers entering Yorkville see.

“I guess our sign can say, ‘Welcome to Yorkville, home of high tech data centers,’” Schlueter said. “That could be a good or bad thing. Do we want that much manufacturing in Yorkville? Is this the best thing we can do for the land and our community? Is there an opportunity cost in locking in that land to industrial use?”

Schlueter said city officials should carefully consider minimizing community access to such vast swaths of land.

“When you stick this development further north on Eldamain Road you squeeze out any other non-industrial development between the existing industrial corridor and the future development,” Schlueter said. “I wouldn’t want to live or run a business squeezed between two industrial parks. So, you’re committing to making that whole corridor industrial.”

The final public hearing for the project is July 9 at City Hall.