Stream swaying Elk Grove homeowners to assemble data center site

Stream Data Centers appears on track toward more success with assembling dozens of properties in an Elk Grove Village neighborhood than had by a previous developer who wanted to build an industrial warehouse and later backed off.

The Dallas-based firm has convinced most homeowners in the Roppolo subdivision north of Landmeier Road to sell the area’s 57 single-family homes that have been left untouched since the 1950s despite commercial development swallowing up nearby land, with plans to replace the sites with three data center buildings and an electric substation, the Daily Herald reported.

Stream, which already operates two of the computer storage sites in Elk Grove Village, has requested annexation of the land and special use from village officials to allow the development. 

Stream told the village that it’s struck an agreement with almost all of the property owners in Roppolo and that it plans to close on the sites in August, but officials are waiting until it’s a done deal before ramping up discussions. 

“As we’ve said from day one, when Stream gets control of the property, then we’ll work with them on development of the data center,” Mayor Craig Johnson told the outlet. “Until then, nothing’s happening.”

Developers have been trying to acquire and redevelop the homes for years, but Roppolo homeowners have resisted. Logistics Property Co. in 2019 got 23 homeowners to agree to sell their homes, which would have made way for a 210,400-square-foot trucking warehouse on 11.5 acres. But neighboring homeowners held out and sued, arguing that some properties fall under a 1957 land covenant that permits only single-family houses to be built there, and the developer bowed out.

Logistics Property made offers that ranged from $239,500 for vacant land to $750,000, the outlet reported. While Stream’s offers are unclear, it’s possible that the firm is willing to pay significantly more for the properties than Logistics did.

The village board and Stream have agreed to meet to discuss the zoning and annexation process. No date for a new village meeting has been scheduled. The firm hasn’t formally submitted design plans to the village, but it has described a proposal that calls for subdividing the neighborhood into four lots for the three data centers and substation.

— Quinn Donoghue 

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