JANESVILLE — Following a public records request, the city of Janesville on Monday released one of the requests for proposals for a data center project at the former GM site on the city’s south side.
(TAP TO READ THE FULL DATA CENTER PROPOSAL)
The proposal comes from Viridian Partners, a commercial real estate company specializing in the acquisition, remediation and redevelopment of distressed or “brownfield” properties into industrial and mixed-use developments.
Founded in 2003, the company redevelops contaminated or challenging sites, often using its own risk-management protocols and environmental remediation expertise to return them to productive use, with a portfolio including over 1,000 acres and billions in project capitalization.
The city previously has said they have received two proposals.
The release comes a day before a community engagement forum hosted by City Manager Kevin Lahner for residents to ask questions about the project.
Here are items of note highlighted by the city in its release of this request for proposal.
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- Total project costs are estimated at $8 billion
- Estimated Direct Economic Impact is $2.05 billion, supporting 13,200 construction jobs and $870 million in wages and benefits (more impacts are estimated statewide)
- Fully operational impact is estimated at $130 million annually and 600 permanent jobs
- They are offering “first source” hiring, prioritizing local contractors and workers in Janesville
- Offering to work with Blackhawk Technical College to offer a customized training program
- Prioritizing LEED building design and renewable energy procurement
- They are estimating approximately 70,400 gallons per day of water use for a campus consisting of 11 buildings
- Proposing Noise and Exterior Lighting controls as part of a development agreement
- Viridian is proposing two scenarios, an 11-building data or 8-building hyperscale data center campus
- The proposal is based upon the availability of up to 800 megawatts of power delivered to the site by Alliant
- They are proposing remediating the entire site to an approved plan by the Department of Natural Resources (Estimated at $30+ million)
- On site infrastructure built by Viridian
- Land not used for redevelopment purposes will be deeded back to the city for other purposes
Earlier, the city said that at the council meeting on Monday, Nov. 10, city staff will present the council and community with the results of the request-for-proposal process.
The presentation also is expected to include a recommendation on whether the city should proceed with the exploration of a data center development for the site.