Sangamon County is vetting a proposed CyrusOne data center campus that would add over 500 construction jobs and extended build timelines of 12–18 months per building, signaling a sizable, multi-phase deployment.
CyrusOne already has more than $1.2 billion invested in Illinois, so this looks like another step in scaling regional capacity for cloud and AI workloads rather than a one-off site.
The county’s focus on public Q&A, hearings, and a dedicated info site suggests zoning, power, and community impact questions—especially energy demand and grid upgrades—are very much in play.
The mention of McKinsey’s 3.5x job multiplier underlines the expected knock-on effects for local infrastructure contractors, utilities, and services, which matter for long-term operational support.
A project labor agreement with local unions points to predictable labor supply and cost structures, which reduces construction risk but may limit schedule flexibility if supply chains get tight for AI-heavy builds.
Local electric providers are directly involved in the information process, a strong tell that power provisioning, reliability, and possibly new transmission or substation work are central to the project.
For anyone tracking where future AI and high-density GPU capacity may land in the Midwest, the ongoing hearings and document updates here are worth watching.
