Insurance giant Allstate, the largest publicly held personal lines insurer in the US, has announced it is to build a data center near Interstate 39 and Illinois 38, in Rochelle, Illinois next year.
Local press reports suggest that the company will anchor the New Rochelle Business and Technology Park, a 160-acre development next to a high-speed fiber-optic line being installed down Interstate 39. The city is building a 10,000-square-foot facility for its municipal electric utility, Internet service provider and phone provider. The city is using 20 acres, and Allstate is using 25 acres, leaving 115 acres for development.
Local officials hope that the data center will attract further investment from Fortune 100 companies.
Officials say Allstate, which is receiving a five-year tax abatement for the project and assurances from the city that its electrical utility can keep up with the demand, was attracted by the fiber-optic line being installed as part of the Northern Illinois Technology Triangle. When finished early next year, the line will connect with ones along Interstate 90 and Interstate 39.