Georgia-based T5 Data Centers broke ground on a 250,000-square-foot data center in Northlake Tuesday, underscoring Chicago’s growing prominence as one of the fastest-growing markets for such facilities.
The center will be T5’s third in the Chicago area once its complete in 2027. Company leaders believe the three-story building, at 11650 W. Grand Ave., will become its flagship data center as it looks to further increase its presence in the region.
“This will be the nicest data center we’ve built,” said Robbie Sovie, T5’s executive vice president of development. “We’re going to have a lot more in the next five to 10-plus years, but this is going to be a great project.”
The building, called T5 Chicago III, will serve an undisclosed user, though T5 CEO and President Pete Marin said the customer is “the best at what they do.”
Companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, Google, Meta, Apple and ByteDance currently use data centers in the Chicago market, according to a report from commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
Chicago is a key market for T5 given its strategic location and business friendly environment, Marin said.
“Chicago is one of the top markets that we see continuous demand,” he said. “We know our large technology customers want to be here.”
The facility will offer 36 megawatts of total IT capacity, according to T5. It includes air and liquid cooling systems for optimal performance and is a “Forever On” center with 100% up-time, meaning the amount of time the center is available to users.
There are a lot of data centers that meet or exceed 100 megawatts, Marin said, but T5 Chicago III is still “pretty big.” T5’s first data center in Elk Grove has a capacity of 20 megawatts, and its second facility, also in Elk Grove, supports up to 30 megawatts.
While Marin said it’s too soon to say how many jobs the project will create, the positions will be long term — T5’s data centers have a life of over 40 years.
Dallas-based Corgan and T5’s longtime architecture partner will design the facility. Chicago-based Clune Construction will build it.
“We always want to have architecture that has impact,” Marin said. “This design evolved the architecture, the exterior of the building and the presence that we’ll have right here on the interstate. … We will replicate this. You’ll see this building going forward.”
Marin said the company will continue to look in Northlake and Elk Grove for future opportunities. The company announced in May plans for a massive expansion of its local footprint through a 160-acre data center campus in Grayslake. The 2 million-square-foot campus will be home to multiple buildings and support over 500 megawatts in IT load.
A proposed city ordinance to incentivize developers to set up data centers in Chicago passed the city’s Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development this month. Supporters say it could generate more opportunities for developers and more revenue for the city.
A 2024 data centers report from Cushman & Wakefield found the Chicago market hit record levels in the first half of the year with about 346 megawatts added with 1,279 centers in operation. Vacancy in shared location data centers is at 1%, as demand continues to surge.
Lewis Binswanger, ComEd’s senior vice president of governmental, regulatory and external affairs, said data center growth shows “no signs of stopping.” But Illinois is ready for it, he said, as the local power grid continues to be enhanced.