Dalton board to review proposed zoning change to allow data centers at vacant Cottage Grove site

Developers who own the vacant property at 13850 Cottage Grove Avenue asked the Village of Dalton on Monday to add “data center” to allowed uses in heavy-industrial zoning so the site can be marketed to potential data‑center operators.

Troy Bullock, who said he leads underwriting and development at Ironhorn, and Greg Cleghorn, identified by the administrator as the company’s CEO, told trustees the site has significant existing electrical and natural‑gas infrastructure that could appeal to mid‑sized data centers. “Our ask is that if if if this ordinance could be passed, it would allow for data center use,” Cleghorn said, adding that the change would let developers show potential users that the municipality would permit the use before those users spend on utility studies.

Why it matters: presenters estimated construction-phase employment could reach into the hundreds on a sizable conversion and that long‑term employment might be “30 to 75” jobs depending on project scale. Ironhorn estimated a lower-end conversion could begin around $300 million, though they cautioned project size could be far larger depending on the user.

Trustees pressed for details on local impacts. Trustee Belcher said she had “a lot of controversy around data centers” and asked specifically how many local residents would be hired and whether household electric bills could rise. Cleghorn said some projects use on‑site generation and that utilities and existing rules (he cited ComEd procedures) influence which customers are prioritized during shortages; he also said final protections and conditions would be handled through site planning and development agreements. “Is this something that's common that you make an ordinance to do it, or normally do they look and say this is somewhere that we want to have the center and then ask for the ordinance?” Belcher asked.

Trustee Steve described the proposal as an authorization to solicit interest rather than an approval of a concrete project. “This is just giving you the permission to solicit a potential data center,” he said, adding that a site plan, power study and development agreement would follow if a user expressed serious interest.

Next steps: The board did not vote on any zoning change Monday (the session was a discussion‑only committee meeting). Mayor Ward asked for bullets on the item to be placed on the June 1 agenda for a formal vote and additional review. Ironhorn agreed to return with more detailed responses and technical studies if requested.

What remains unresolved: trustees asked for specifics on utility capacity, firm commitments for local hiring, and guarantees that residential power and rates would not be harmed — details Ironhorn said would depend on the eventual user and utility surveys. The developers emphasized there is no guarantee a data center will locate on the site even if the ordinance is adopted; the ordinance would only permit solicitation and streamline whether potential users invest in formal utility studies.

The item will return to the board’s June 1 meeting for further consideration.