A rendering of the planned Compass Datacenters campus on the former site of the Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates. | Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
By Eric Peterson | Daily Herald
Though demolition and construction still lie ahead, Thursday marked a significant milestone in the transition of 273 acres in Hoffman Estates from Sears’ corporate headquarters into one of the largest data center campuses in Illinois.
Dallas-based Compass Datacenters hosted a kickoff event on the property, where it plans to invest $10 billion to build five hyperscale data centers — each more than a quarter-million square feet — and provide the supply of electricity they’ll require.
Among the attendees were the CEOs of Compass and ComEd, Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod, and representatives of community organizations, trade workers, and the seven-county Greater Chicago Economic Partnership.
“We’re super excited to be here,” Compass CEO Chris Crosby said. “These data centers are akin to the highway systems of the past.”
He was among the speakers who addressed the legacy of Sears, but said the goal is to exceed the company’s tenure in Hoffman Estates. The modular design of the data centers makes them easy to update, with a 100 years not out of the question, he said.
“One of our core concepts at Compass is that this will be a place to last,” Crosby added. “The economic effect of this is pretty massive.”
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