Opposition wants ‘No deal’ on proposed data center settlement
The Urbana City Council postponed a vote on a proposed settlement with Thor over the company’s planned Urbana Technology Hub data center campus and related lawsuits. Opposition groups are urging the council to reject the agreement, while Thor’s original application was rejected as incomplete and a temporary data center moratorium and proposed citywide ban remain in play.
The Urbana City Council delayed consideration of a memorandum of understanding that would settle Thor’s federal lawsuit against the city over its proposed Urbana Technology Hub data center campus. The agreement would allow a phased development of up to 2 million net interior square feet, potentially including industrial-scale generators, and would provide Urbana and Urbana City Schools with up to $50 million in payments. The council is scheduled to revisit the settlement on Oct. 20.
The proposal faces organized opposition from residents and a Champaign County coalition, which is urging the council to reject the settlement. Thor’s initial application for a roughly 460,000-square-foot facility was rejected by the Urbana Board of Zoning Appeals as incomplete, and an administrative appeal remains pending in Champaign County Common Pleas Court. The city has also placed a temporary moratorium on data center construction, while Urbana voters are considering a charter amendment to ban data centers. The proposed project area was recently annexed into the city from surrounding Urbana Township territory.