Joliet Data Center Plans Presented to Public

- The primary development, known as the Joliet Technology Center, is a joint venture between Hillwood (a Dallas-based firm chaired by Ross Perot Jr.) and PowerHouse Data Centers, with a projected investment of $20 billion. - Plans for the Hillwood project call for a campus of up to 24 buildings on approximately 800 acres of what is currently farmland, located near the Chicagoland Speedway. - The project is expected to generate 7,000 to 10,000 construction jobs over a five-to-seven-year build-out, and more than 700 permanent operational jobs with estimated salaries of $125,000 or more. - This development is part of a larger trend in the Chicago market, where data center vacancy rates dropped to a record-low 1.9% in 2024 and average rental rates climbed 33% year-over-year due to intense demand. - Illinois' data center boom is heavily fueled by state tax incentives passed in 2019, which provide a 20-year sales and use tax exemption on data center equipment, attracting billions in capital investment. - To meet the project's significant power needs, a new ComEd substation will be constructed on-site, with the cost covered by the developer rather than utility ratepayers. - The massive energy consumption of data centers is a growing regional issue, as ComEd anticipates the load from these facilities on its grid will increase from about 400 MW to nearly 5 GW. - Other major tech and data center firms are expanding in Chicago's suburbs, including Microsoft in Plano, Compass Datacenters at the former Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates, and CyrusOne in Aurora.