Ground Breaks For $350M Data Center In Aurora

AURORA, IL — State, business and local leaders broke ground Wednesday on a new data center on Aurora's far east side.

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker joined CyrusOne CEO Eric Schwartz and ComEd CEO Gil C. Quiniones to usher in the two-building center off Interstate 88 at Bilter Road.

The $350 million project marks CyrusOne's second data center in Aurora. Its first is located at 2905 Diehl Road. The Dallas-based company is a global data center developer and operator specializing in state-of-the-art digital infrastructure solutions.

The two new buildings, totaling 446,000 square feet, will deliver an initial IT capacity of 40 megawatts, powered by ComEd, with scalable capacity to meet future growth needs, according to city officials.

One of the buildings will serve a partnership between CyrusOne, Chicago-based CME Group and Google, housing financial trading systems from CME customers, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune.

"CyrusOne selected Aurora for this $350 million investment with future growth and expansion capabilities in mind," Clayton Muhammad, senior advisor to the mayor, wrote in a news release.

At the groundbreaking, Schwartz said Aurora has been "established for some time as a major data center hub, and this will be the next step in that." Irvin said it's due, in large part, to CyrusOne's investment in the city.

Property taxes on the new facility are expected to generate $1.1 million per year, according to Irvin. Utility taxes will add another $1 million as annual revenue, bringing the total to about $20 million over the next 10 years.

The data center will create hundreds of construction jobs and more than 20 full-time positions, Muhammad said. It's set to open in early 2026.