[[{“value”:”
Naperville City Council Rejects Proposed Data Center Plan
The Naperville City Council has voted to reject a proposed 145,000-square-foot data center, following months of public debate and opposition. The facility was planned for the former Lucent campus along the Interstate 88 corridor, near Naperville and Warrenville roads.
More than 5,000 residents signed a petition urging the council to reject the development due to concerns over its proximity to nearby residential areas. In response, the council voted against the proposal in a 6-1 decision, with two members abstaining.
“We are disappointed by the outcome of the vote, which overturned the city plan commission’s recommendation, and by the city council’s decision not to allow additional time for further studies to address concerns regarding our operations,” a spokesperson for Karis Critical, the project’s developer, said in a statement.
The decision comes at a time of rapid growth in the data center industry. According to JLL’s 2026 Global Data Center Outlook, global data center capacity is expected to nearly double by 2030—from 103 gigawatts to 200 gigawatts—driven largely by the growing demand for AI infrastructure.
“}]]
