ROCKFORD — The city of Rockford on Wednesday confirmed a developer is eyeing a site in the city’s industrial park for a data center project.
That now makes three proposed developments along the Rock River corridor, including Janesville and the recently revealed town of Beloit project.
A statement posted to the city’s Facebook page says there are no site-specific plans to date, but the city will keep the community informed.
(Read our FULL DATA CENTER coverage HERE)
“We understand that Monarch Energy has gone public with its proposed plans for a data center, and that announcement has understandably raised questions among residents,” read the social media post from March 4. “At this point, there are still many unknowns.
“We do not yet know who the intended operator or customer will be, and key details are still being determined.
“However, it’s also important to note that this area has been planned for industrial development since it was annexed into the City in 2008 and zoned I-2, General Industrial for job creation and its access to the existing rail line.” READ THE FULL STATEMENT HERE
This latest development follows news also revealed last week that the Town of Beloit has entered into a pre-development agreement with Cambrin LLC, the company currently developing a Meta data center in Beaver Dam.
“No applications, site plans, or proposals have been submitted to town staff or elected officials,” read a statement from the town. “Just like any project, the town takes very seriously the potential positive and negative impacts to town residents and our neighbors and, as a result, we look forward to learning about this potential project as details emerge.”
The town of Beloit site is roughly 15 miles south of a proposed data center on the former GM/JATCO property in Janesville.
In November, the Janesville City Council approved by a non-binding letter of intent with Veridisn Partners, which proposes bringing a data center to the city.
Then last month, the Janesville City Council voted to put a direct-legislation ordinance referendum on the November ballot. The ordinance was spearheaded by the grassroots group No Janesville Data Center.
If passed, the ordinance would require a referendum for any development project at the publicly-owned GM/JATCO site with project costs exceeding $450 million.