Plans considered for backup data center site in Yorkville

The Racine County village of Yorkville will hold a public hearing and pre-application conference for a “proposed backup data center” at its upcoming plan commission meeting on Monday, Dec. 8, according to an agenda for the meeting posted Friday.

When asked Friday if the plans for the backup data center are connected to Microsoft, village administrator Michael McKinney said, “Yes, I believe so.”

The company has been considering building a backup data center on land that is owned by the Kuiper Farm, according to emails obtained by BizTimes. The land is located about a mile west of I-94. It is bounded on the north by Spring Street and on the south by Highway 11.

However, when reached Friday a company spokesperson said, “Microsoft is not currently evaluating any sites for data center development in Yorkville.”

The Monday hearing is a “very preliminary meeting,” according to Ken Nelson, a local real estate broker and developer,…