Scott Greenberg Plans Chicago Data Center After Scrapping E-sports Plan

A data center development is in the works on Chicago’s Near South Side, as Lincolnshire-based developer Scott Greenberg moves forward with adaptive reuse plans on land he’s owned since 2020.

The $40 million privately funded project will transform a truck-trailer parking lot site at 2500-2540 South Wabash Avenue into a 76,000-square-foot data center catering to research institutions, universities and government agencies, Block Club reported.

The two-story facility was previously zoned for a 108,000-square-foot esports stadium, but Greenberg’s $30 million plan for that fell through. Greenberg has owned the land eyed for the data center since 2020, when he paid a total of nearly $7 million across two different transactions for the properties.

The increasing demand for data centers is driven by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and cloud storage needs, which require substantial computing power and infrastructure.

Chicago has 94 data centers, including Digital Realty’s massive South Loop center. However, data center expansions have faced pushback from residents concerned about noise and environmental impact. They use massive amounts of power and clean drinking water.

The data center story is different in rural Illinois, though, where municipalities and residents are more likely to trade negative environmental impacts for jobs and property tax revenues.

Greenberg’s data center redevelopment will include seven backup generators enclosed in noise-reducing housing and a high fence for privacy.

Greenberg also owns nearby production studio SMASH Virtual at 2617 South Wabash, and aims to integrate community amenities into the data center project. Plans include a 1,500-square-foot coffee shop on the ground floor, which will be offered to a tenant at cost, with no base rent, to encourage a local business presence.

The project, led by Gensler Architects, Terra Engineering, Power Construction and Thorton Tomasetti, is expected to employ 15-20 people.

A construction start date has not been set, but the project has an estimated 18-month completion timeline.

Greenberg is a longtime Chicago-area real estate player whose holdings also include the 310-key hotel at 201 North State Street in the Loop.

—Rachel Stone