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Data center developer drops proposal after losing Yorkville City Council support · Kendall County News - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Data center developer drops proposal after losing Yorkville City Council support.
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  Speaker 1: Written by Joey Weslow, This article is being read by
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  Speaker 1: an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. Residents opposing
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  Speaker 1: data centers in Yorkville erupted in applause when the mayor
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  Speaker 1: announced the developers behind the proposed data center near the
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  Speaker 1: Caledonia subdivision have withdrawn their plans after losing city council support.
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  Speaker 1: Mayor John Purcell indicated at the Tuesday meeting there's no
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  Speaker 1: more appetite from the City Council for data center proposals
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  Speaker 1: outside of what's already been approved. The eighty acre Meyer
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  Speaker 1: data center proposal by Yorkville Nexus VLLC Greendor Capital had
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  Speaker 1: recently been downsized further away from the subdivision after unanimously
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  Speaker 1: being voted down by the city's Planning and Zoning Committee.
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  Speaker 1: Purcell said the developer's changes to the proposal were not
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  Speaker 1: enough to seek secure city council support, even though the
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  Speaker 1: city gave near unanimous approval to three other large data
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  Speaker 1: center projects, the one thousand, thirty four acre Project Cardinal,
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  Speaker 1: the five hundred and forty acre Project Steel, and the
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  Speaker 1: two hundred and twenty eight acre Cyrus One data center,
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  Speaker 1: with the city originally eyeing three thousand acres of data
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  Speaker 1: center development along the Eldamain Corridor that included around a
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  Speaker 1: dozen separate proposals. The news of a pauses on future
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  Speaker 1: proposals comes as a major shift in the city's economic
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  Speaker 1: development plans. The developers communicated with us the other day
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  Speaker 1: they wanted to withdraw their petition, Purcell said at the
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  Speaker 1: April fourteenth City Council meeting. That means that petition will
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  Speaker 1: not be considered further. It really hinged on the conversation
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  Speaker 1: we've had with the developers the last several days. There
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  Speaker 1: just wasn't the support from the council to put data
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  Speaker 1: centers there. The announcement comes in the wake of several
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  Speaker 1: consecutive city meetings stretching long into the night, with residents
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  Speaker 1: voicing opposition to data centers. It also comes after a
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  Speaker 1: group of residents staged a public protest over the weekend
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  Speaker 1: and hired an attorney to fight future approval of more
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  Speaker 1: data centers, and last week's State Rep. Jed Davis R.
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  Speaker 1: Yorkville said his polling show's residents are overwhelmingly against the projects,
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  Speaker 1: leading him to oppose future data centers as proposed. Purcell
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  Speaker 1: said the city can't stop developers from applying in the future,
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  Speaker 1: but the message by the city is clear. The council said,
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  Speaker 1: we've approved what we're willing to approve. Now I know
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  Speaker 1: there's some others interested in coming, Purcell said, the message
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  Speaker 1: has been given real clearly that there's no more appetite
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  Speaker 1: at this point. We've approved several and I think the
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  Speaker 1: council did a wonderful job reviewing all those. Purcell indicated
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  Speaker 1: the loss of city council support will effectively shut down
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  Speaker 1: all other proposals that have not already been approved. He
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  Speaker 1: said several data center proposals have already been in various
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  Speaker 1: stages of the rezone process but have not submitted p proposals.
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  Speaker 1: Other than the project tonight and cyrus One's second project,
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  Speaker 1: we have no one who's communicated with us that they're
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  Speaker 1: ready to apply or start a new project. Purcell said
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  Speaker 1: there has been rezoning approved, but no PUD for those
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  Speaker 1: specific properties. I think if somebody comes on those, the
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  Speaker 1: message will be the same. We feel like we've got
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  Speaker 1: plenty right now. Let's see if the proof is in
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  Speaker 1: the pudding. When asked what made the Meyer proposal different
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  Speaker 1: from the three previously approved projects, Purcell said there was
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  Speaker 1: several different reasons it lost council support, and that the
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  Speaker 1: proximity to the subdivision was probably one of them. He
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  Speaker 1: said the other projects had been discussed by the city
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  Speaker 1: for about two years when the other projects came in later.
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  Speaker 1: During the meeting, residents continued to voice their frustrations for
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  Speaker 1: the city pursuing the projects in the face of such
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  Speaker 1: vocal public opposition. The people of Yorkville see what's happening.
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  Speaker 1: We see the scale well, we see the money, we
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  Speaker 1: see the pressure, and we see the lack of transparency.
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  Speaker 1: Resident Karen Masex said, We're done being treated like the obstacle.
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  Speaker 1: You work for us, so please act like it. Ma
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  Speaker 1: Sx said this can serve as a watershed moment for
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  Speaker 1: the city. This is the moment where you decide what
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  Speaker 1: kind of council you're going to be remembered. As Masex said,
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  Speaker 1: the council that listened to its residents, respected the public,
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  Speaker 1: demanded full transparency, made the decisions inopen or. The council
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  Speaker 1: that let billion dollar interests reshape Yorkville Mayor data centers
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  Speaker 1: have benefits. Purcell said. The city council approved the other
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  Speaker 1: three projects because they felt the benefit to the community
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  Speaker 1: definitely outweighed the potential negatives. He said. Allegations of under
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  Speaker 1: the table payments from developers to city officials is slander.
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  Speaker 1: I get people get frustrated, but I can promise you
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  Speaker 1: that's not happening with any alderman and myself, Purcell said.
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  Speaker 1: He said the other p projects are far enough from subdivisions,
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  Speaker 1: are paying for one hundred percent for their road, sewer,
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  Speaker 1: and water infrastructure improvements, and are contributing around ninety one
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  Speaker 1: million dollars upfront total to the city as part of
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  Speaker 1: their development agreements. Purcell said, if they get built out,
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  Speaker 1: Project Cardinal and Projects steal With become two of the
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  Speaker 1: largest private sector employers in the city. The city has
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  Speaker 1: towed out the five hundred thousand dollars to one million
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  Speaker 1: dollars each individual building could generate in annual tax revenues.
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  Speaker 1: They're going to do great things for Yorkville. As far
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  Speaker 1: as the tax base, Percell said, you can't have property
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  Speaker 1: taxes go down with only houses and new schools. Seventy
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  Speaker 1: percent of your property tax bill is for schools. Schools
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  Speaker 1: are expensive, the state funding doesn't work. Those are the
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  Speaker 1: cards we were dealt. I've heard people say taxes are
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  Speaker 1: high here for years. We need industry, he continued. We
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  Speaker 1: have industry with the data centers that will provide minimal impact.
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  Speaker 1: Their water needs will be seventy five eighty five percent
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  Speaker 1: less than a residential subdivision on the same property. Purcell
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  Speaker 1: said the city council has been very transparent and city
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  Speaker 1: staff have answered residence concerns like water usage several times already.
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  Speaker 1: He said, things like electricity rates are out of their
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  Speaker 1: control and are increasing regionally regardless of the city's data
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  Speaker 1: center plans.