Illinois approves first permit for $18 billion data centre campus
The village of Grayslake, Illinois, has issued a building permit for a massive $18 billion data center campus. Local residents have expressed frustration, claiming they were not adequately informed about the project's scale before approvals were granted.
Why it matters
This highlights the growing tension between large-scale infrastructure development and local community transparency and land-use concerns.
A massive data-centre campus planned in Grayslake, Illinois, has moved a step closer to construction after the village issued its first building permit, paving the way for an 800,000-square-foot facility. The larger development is expected to involve as much as $18 billion in private investment, but the project has also triggered opposition from residents who say they were not given a meaningful opportunity to weigh in before approvals were granted.The T5 Data Centres project, known as the Cornerstone development, is planned on land along Peterson Road in Grayslake. The latest plans call for about 6.7 million square feet of data-centre space to be built over 7 to 10 years. Earlier approvals allowed for a larger development of up to about 473 acres and as much as 10.1 million square feet, according to village documents.
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