Data center operator 1547 Critical Systems Realty and real estate investment firm CIM Group have acquired a 220,000 square foot industrial campus in Chicago, planning to turn it into a 26 MW data center.

The site, known today as the Midway Technology Center, was built more than a century ago by the Schulze Baking Company and has hosted a number of prominent businesses including the Wanzer Milk Company and the Hostess Brands.

If you think this announcement sounds familiar, you’re right: 1547 announced plans to purchase and redevelop the property way back in 2015, and expected to open a data center there in 2017. It’s not clear what derailed the original plan, but the company is ready to try once again, this time with financial support from the CIM Group.

Once more unto the breach

1547 has more than 800,000 square feet of data center space under development and management across the US and Canada.

Its latest project is located at 40 East Garfield Boulevard in the Washington Park neighborhood. The 4.69-acre campus consists of a five-story building and surface parking lots, taking up an entire city block.

The building, present on the US National Register of Historic Places, is a hardened warehouse with reinforced floors and a white terra cotta exterior, offering a total area of 230,000 square feet.

It is located in close proximity to 350 E Cermak, the most interconnected data center in the central US, and will be aimed primarily at wholesale colocation customers.

“Midway Technology Centre’s connectivity directly to the primary interconnection facilities will appeal to providers of low latency applications and cloud services to the greater Chicago community,” said J. Todd Raymond, CEO of 1547.

“Additionally, with its location in both an Enterprise Zone and an Opportunity Zone, Midway Technology Center is positioned to be a highly desirable option for all users of data center services. The acquisition of Midway Technology Centre further expands the partnership’s portfolio of premier data center assets in or adjacent to population centers to serve the growing data needs of businesses.”