CyrusOne could open a third data center in Aurora, Illinois, and has opened talks with officials in the city over a 428,000 sq ft (39,700 sqm) facility.
The Dallas-based data center operator wants to develop a 30-acre site on Biltner Road, adjacent to Interstate 88.
According to the Chicago Tribune, representatives of Aurora and CyrusOne have been in discussions with the city council over a deal that would see CyrusOne granted permission for the development in exchange for refunding some of the public money that was spent upgrading the nearby Eola Road interchange.
“We have an opportunity to leverage a change in market conditions,” said Alex Alexandrou, Aurora’s chief management officer. “We could recapture some of the infrastructure cost and any opportunity cost.”
CyrusOne has had a presence in Aurora since 2016, when it purchased a 428,000 sq ft (39,700 sqm) facility at the intersection of Eola and Diehl roads from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group. It has since opened a 440,000 sq ft (40,800 sqm) data center next door. In total, the company operates 24 sites across the US.
The expansion “would certainly be a nice addition to the community,” said Russ Whitaker, an attorney representing CyrusOne, in comments reported by the Chicago Tribune. “It’s a large-scale win all around.”
Members of the Aurora City Council finance committee have recommended that the local authority sign a memorandum of understanding with CyrusOne for the reimbursement of funds. This will now be considered at a full council meeting on Tuesday, February 6.
The Chicago area is one of the largest data center markets in North America, but the availability of server space is low. According to a report from Newmark, released earlier this month, data center inventory in the region has increased 35 percent over the last five years, but availability is running at just 1.6 percent.
