Hoffman Estates’ planning commissioners declined to recommend that the suburban village west of Chicago rezone the old Plum Farms property for a data center proposal.
If rejected by the village’s full board later this month, it would be the second rejection that landowner Karis Critical has faced in the Chicago area. Hoffman Estates plan commissioners voted 4-2 on Wednesday evening to recommend against rezoning Karis’s 186-acres for a data center proposal, according to the Daily Herald.
The recommendation will head to the village board for a decision, but not until at least June 15. According to the publication, over 40 members of the public present for the planning commission meeting were in lockstep: reject the rezoning request.
The news hasn’t just sparked backlash in Hoffman Estates. Barrington Hills residents, who live just north of Hoffman Estates and the proposed development site, sent letters in opposition to putting a data center on the property.
In February of last year, Karis purchased the 186-acre site from developer Anthony Iatarola. Plum Farms was envisioned as a mixed use development, set to bring thousands of single and multifamily housing units, restaurants and walking trails to Hoffman Estates. The land at the intersection of Higgins Road and Route 59 was sold to Karis for $45 million after years of delays and struggles with tax increment financing to get the mixed-use development off the ground. Karis paid more than $240,000 per acre, according to the publication.
New Albany, Ohio-based Karis specializes in data center construction, but has not explicitly said they want to use the land for a data center. However, around 30 miles away, Naperville shot down the firm’s data center proposal for a site in that city after Karis was forced to dramatically reduce its plans due to local backlash. At the time, a Karis spokesperson said the firm was committing hundreds of millions into a facility, and was evaluating other sites in the Chicago area.
The rezoning request in Hoffman Estates suggested that the land should be rezoned for manufacturing buildings and industrial pursuits. The same outcome came in Naperville, where local residents and city officials pushed for the rezoning request to be denied.
— Hunter Cooke
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