Data center proposed on 132 acres in DeKalb

DeKALB – An applicant has proposed a data center on DeKalb’s south side, the second of its kind, and is eyeing 132 acres at the northeast corner of Peace and Gurler roads to help make it happen.

The DeKalb Planning and Zoning Commission will take up for consideration a petition by Jake Finley, who is representing Karis Acquisitions LLC, during its next regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at the DeKalb Public Library, 309 Oak St. No decision on the actual development is up for a vote.

The petitioner at this stage is seeking amendments to city code, which in 2023 rezoned the 132-acre property to build a data center consisting of seven buildings and a 17.5-acre electrical substation at the northeast corner of Peace and Gurler roads, documents show.

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A field between Webster Road and Peace Road along East Gurler Road with the Kraft Heinz Company distribution center in the background Friday, July 12, 2024, in DeKalb. (Mark Busch)

An interested party – which has not been identified by the city as of Friday – has come forward as time has progressed with the proposed development for the city’s south side, city documents show.

Plans for the site would satisfy the city’s 2022 Comprehensive Plan recommendations, which city staff said call for industrial uses for the property.

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In the lead-up to Monday’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, the city received a letter of public input from Jerry Krusinski, manager of the ChicagoWest Business Center. In the letter, Krusinski expressed concerns over the proposed location of the electrical substation but noted that he does not object to a data center on the property. Krusinski also cited the high-quality image of the existing business park and requested that the substation be located in an area that screens and minimizes the visual impact to adjoining properties.

City staff said they are supportive of the data center but would like to see the substation relocated to a more interior location away from the intersection of Peace and Gurler roads.

City documents show that by comparison, the Meta electrical substation is 8.4 acres and located at the far south end of the property and out of view from Gurler Road. However, the proposed ComEd substation for the Kraft Heinz site is situated on a 2.1-acre lot located at the northwest corner of Peace and Gurler roads. The ComEd substation along the north side of Pleasant Street west of Peace Road is 9.4 acres, city documents show.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, among others, took its five-building data center online in November. The expansive space fills more than 2.3 million square feet and has promised to bring with it more than $1 billion of investment in the area.

Ferrara Candy Co. opened a 1.6 million-square-foot distribution and packaging facility in mid-2021, bringing a $100 million investment to the city. Kraft Heinz announced in July 2023 that it would build a 775,000-square-foot automated distribution facility, a $400 million investment, with a 2025 projected completion date.

A preliminary and final development plan need to be submitted and reviewed by both the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council before construction of a new data center.