Project Steel Data Center Campus
Yorkville, Kendall County, IL
- Rumored
- Proposed
- Approved
- Under construction
- Operating
Follow this project
New dated changes arrive in your feed reader or calendar. No account, no email address, no tracking.
- RSS feed for any feed reader
- Atom feed
- Hearings calendar (.ics, subscribes in Apple, Google or Outlook Calendar)
Project Steel is a data center campus proposed by Prologis, L.P. on approximately 540 acres in Yorkville, Illinois, revised to 16 two-story buildings totaling about 6.8 million square feet. The Yorkville City Council approved the project in March 2026 with one dissenting vote, and a residents' group filed a lawsuit in Kendall County Court asking that the rezoning be declared void.
Key facts
Size & schedule
| Site size | 540 acres [1] approximately 540 acres across sixteen parcels Source excerpt“preliminary PUD Plan approval for approximately 540 acres across sixteen (16) parcels” |
|---|---|
| Floor area | 6.8 million sq ft [2] about 6.8 million square feet Source excerpt“The remaining warehouses will be slightly larger than the original plan, meaning the total square footage remains about 6.8 million square feet.” |
| Buildings | 16 [2] reduced from 18 in the original application Source excerpt“To make room, the original number of 18 warehouses is being reduced to 16, two-story warehouses.” |
| Target completion | Developers aiming to begin construction by summer 2027 [2]Source excerpt“The developers are aiming to begin construction by the summer of 2027.” |
How big is that? Data center sizes compared with football fields and Central Park.
Water
| Water use | 25,000–42,400 [3] range stated by city official Olson Source excerpt“Addressing residents concerns about water consumption, Olson said Project Steel is an air-cooled system that will only use about 25,000 – 42,400 gallons per day.” |
|---|---|
| Cooling | air-cooled [3]Source excerpt“Addressing residents concerns about water consumption, Olson said Project Steel is an air-cooled system that will only use about 25,000 – 42,400 gallons per day.” |
Money & incentives
| Payments / community benefits | $30 million of the payment pledged to Yorkville School District 115 [3]Source excerpt“Within the check, $30 million is being pledged straight to Yorkville School District 115.” |
|---|
Local decisions & site
| Deciding vote | Yorkville City Council approved Project Steel; only Alderman Rusty Corneils voted no [3]Source excerpt“The Project Steel project received approval votes from every council member except Alderman Rusty Corneils.” |
|---|---|
| Zoning | Rezone from R-1 Single-Family Suburban Residence District to M-2 General Manufacturing District [1]Source excerpt“The proposal aims to rezone the parcels from R-1 Single-Family Suburban Residence District to M-2 General Manufacturing District to facilitate the development of a high-tech data center campus” |
| Nearest homes or schools | 1,670 feet from houses on Corneils Road [3]Source excerpt“Project Steel is 1,670 feet from houses on Corneils Road.” |
Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.
Water and power
Water
- 25,000–42,400 gallons per day [3]Projection or estimate. Range stated by a city official for an air-cooled system.
Power
Not disclosed. No capacity or power-supply figure is on the record.
Disclosed figures only, each as the cited source states it. Many are projections or permit limits, not metered use. How data center water and power use is measured, and every disclosed figure →
Lawsuits
| Preserve Our Yorkville and Community lawsuit over Project Steel rezoning | pending [4] The lawsuit contends the city did not give residents proper notice by mail and that the rezoning conflicts with the city's comprehensive plan, and it asks the court to declare that the rezoning is void. · filed May 2026 Source excerpt“The lawsuit argues that Yorkville City Hall failed to properly notify residents by mail and that the rezoning is inconsistent with the city's comprehensive plan. The suit asks the court to declare the rezoning void.” |
|---|
Timeline
Plans are reported for a 540-acre campus of 24 two-story data center buildings with a combined total of more than 9 million square feet [5]
Yorkville City Council approves Project Steel, with only Alderman Rusty Corneils voting no [3]
The group suing over Project Cardinal files another lawsuit targeting the Project Steel campus [4]
Issues raised
- Residents asked the council for a moratorium on data center approvals, citing cumulative sound, light and environmental impacts [3]
- After feedback from ComEd, the developer increased the number of new electrical substations from three to four [2]
- Construction is planned in three phases over 20 years [2]
- Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the Teska Family Farm and Yorkville residents [6]
Issues are concerns and claims raised by the parties, officials or residents named in the cited sources. They are reported as attributed, not as findings by the Census.
Sources
- Project Steel Data Center Campus (Annex Agreement, Rezone, Preliminary PUD & PUD)United City of Yorkville · 2026 · government
- Yorkville could approve 2 more data center projects, including 540-acre Project SteelShaw Local · Mar 23, 2026 · news
- 'Nobody wants to live in data center row' - Residents speak out after Yorkville approves 540-acre data centerShaw Local · Mar 26, 2026 · news
- Group files second lawsuit over Yorkville data centersWSPY News · May 27, 2026 · news
- Two data center campuses totaling 38 buildings proposed in Yorkville, IllinoisDatacenterDynamics · Mar 24, 2025 · news
- Yorkville farm, residents sue to stop second massive data center projectCBS News Chicago · May 29, 2026 · news
Cite this page
Last updated Sep 23, 2026. Figures may change as records are updated — include the date you retrieved them.
| APA | Data Center Census. (2026). Project Steel Data Center Campus. Retrieved from https://datacentercensus.com/dc/project-steel-yorkville-il |
|---|---|
| MLA | “Project Steel Data Center Campus.” Data Center Census, Sep 23, 2026, https://datacentercensus.com/dc/project-steel-yorkville-il. |
| Link | https://datacentercensus.com/dc/project-steel-yorkville-il |
Republishing a figure or table? Attribute it to Data Center Census with a link to this page. The underlying data is downloadable as JSON and CSV; the press kit has standing figures and contact details.