Naperville, Illinois city council denies plan for Karis Critical data center on vacant Lucent campus off Warrenville Road
NAPERVILLE, Ill. (WLS) — The Naperville city council voted to deny the proposal of a Karis Critical data center in a late-night decision.
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Naperville City Council members rejected a proposal for a data center development late Tuesday night.
The vote came after months of heated public debate.
The council denied the roughly 145,000-square-foot facility. It would have been located along the Interstate 88 corridor, near Naperville and Warrenville roads on the former Lucent campus.
An attorney for the data center developer, Karis Critical, proposed reducing the number of diesel generators on the property from 24 to 12, but that did not assuage the several dozen residents who signed up to speak against the project.
The data center’s developer, Karis Critical, says generators would only be used in a power outage and during monthly tests.
In a late-night decision, the board eventually voted “no” 6 to 1, while two members abstained from voting.
A spokesperson for Karis Critical, released the following statement:
“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.”
“Over the past year, we committed to investing hundreds of millions of dollars to develop a best in class facility at a site that has long served as an anchor of Naperville’s technology and jobs corridor. We are grateful for the support shown by residents, our partners in the union building trades, and the many organizations that worked with us as we tailored this proposal for this unique property in Naperville.”
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