A massive data center development planned for Grayslake, Illinois, has cleared a significant milestone after village officials issued the first building permit for the project, authorizing construction of an 800,000-square-foot facility that forms the opening phase of a campus expected to draw as much as USD 18 billion in private investment over the coming decade.

A Campus of Unprecedented Scale

The project, known as the Cornerstone development and led by T5 Data Centres, is planned on land along Peterson Road in Grayslake. According to village documents, the latest plans call for approximately 6.7 million square feet of data center space to be built out over seven to ten years.

Earlier approvals had permitted an even larger footprint, allowing for up to roughly 473 acres and as much as 10.1 million square feet of development.

The T5 Chicago IV data center campus has received its initial building permit from the Village of Grayslake, allowing site work to begin on the first 800,000-square-foot facility. The campus is planned across up to 472 acres and could include more than 10 million square feet of data center buildings, with an electrical demand of approximately 1.55 GW.

That first building alone will encompass 800,000 square feet, establishing the foundation for what is envisioned as one of the largest data center campuses in the region.

The project is projected to generate approximately USD 1.4 billion in property tax and permit-fee revenue over its first 20 years. The development is proceeding without local tax incentives, exemptions, or tax-increment financing subsidies.

The additional revenue could support infrastructure, parks, trails, schools, and other community priorities. Grayslake operates with a balanced budget and no municipal debt.

Project Commitments and Community Considerations

The project includes continued engagement with the local community and provisions for incorporating community input into the development process. As part of this approach, an application related to the remediation of local wetlands was voluntarily withdrawn following concerns raised during the review process.

The development also includes work with the village to establish standards related to noise, water use, and electricity consumption. The project is projected to generate approximately USD 1.4 billion in property tax and permit-fee revenue over twenty years, aligning with estimates for the development's fiscal contribution.

Water, Power, and Environmental Requirements

The Grayslake project arrives at a moment when data centers across the United States are facing growing scrutiny over their demands on electricity and water supplies, driven in part by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and the computing infrastructure it requires.

Village officials said the planned campus will use closed-loop cooling systems. They estimate that an average data center building within the campus would consume approximately 2,500 to 3,500 gallons of water per day. For the full 6.75-million-square-foot campus, the village estimates total water consumption at approximately 50,000 gallons per day.

On the electricity side, the developer is expected to fund the electrical infrastructure the campus requires, including construction of an electrical substation on the property, according to the village.

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