Cyrus One, the data center on Aurora’s far East Side, is looking at an expansion that would include three new towers and two new buildings.
One of the towers would be built next to the current one the company has along Eola Road. Cyrus One is located on the southwestern corner of Eola and Diehl roads.
The other two towers would be on an expansion Cyrus One wants to build at 2725 Bilter Road, which is south of Bilter, west of Eola and north on Interstate 88. The property is along an exit ramp from I-88 to Diehl Road.
The two new towers on the new site would be 350 feet tall. The additional tower on the current site would be 300 feet – smaller so it does not conflict with the 350-foot tower already there.
The new development would be in two buildings, one 411,000 square feet and the second 150,000 square feet. Most of the building space would be for data center servers, although the front of the main building would include a lobby and some office space. That part of the building would include some glass to add light to the look of the building, officials said.
The new buildings would be on one of the last pieces of property left in the Butterfield Planned Development district, which was approved in the 1970s. It was at one time considered for hotel development, but city officials have said the data center use fits with the area. Not only does Cyrus One have its facility already nearby, the new site would be next to the Edge development, another data center facility.
Alex Alexandrou, Aurora’s chief management officer, said the new Cyrus One development would fit in, and bring a lot of revenue to the city. Not only would it bring in property taxes for all the taxing bodies, it would pay utility taxes. The current Cyrus One site generates about $90,000 a month in utility taxes.
The plan also includes detention basin development and a large landscaping plan, said Cyrus One officials.
Aldermen on the City Council Building, Zoning and Economic Development Committee recommended a conditional use for the site, both for the setbacks and the height of the towers.
Russ Whitaker, a Naperville-based attorney representing Cyrus One, said the 350-foot height is needed because the uses on the towers are shooting a specifically aimed beam, unlike cell towers, which shoot out in all directions.
The current tower at Cyrus One on Aurora’s far East Side reaches 350 feet into the air. Cyrus One may add three new towers in the city as part of an expansion plan. (Steve Lord / The Beacon-News)
“We need to get height,” he said.
The full City Council will consider the project at its June 4 Committee of the Whole meeting.
Cyrus One has been in Aurora since 2015, and it expanded its current campus several years ago. It has gotten some attention because one of its clients is Chicago’s Commodities Exchange.
slord@tribpub.com
