51ºÚÁÏ

ST. CHARLES — The proposed 440-acre data center in St. Charles will be used by an American-based Fortune 100 caliber company, officials connected to the project say.

That announcement came Thursday night during a town hall meeting at the St. Charles Foundry Art Centre, but project spokesperson Korb Maxwell said he could not disclose the company’s name that will ultimately use the facility.

He said more details about the facility, which is described as Project Cumulus, will be released in the coming weeks and months. It is slated to be built in a largely industrial area between Huster Road and Harry S Truman Boulevard.

However, the name of the company won’t be released before the St. Charles City Council votes on the project next week, he said. The name of the company is part of a non-disclosure agreement that city officials, Maxwell and the company have signed.

“That’s very standard in this industry and very standard in economic development as a whole,� he said. “The company will come forward and unveil itself, and it will do that, but after we have the necessary approvals for entitlements, permitting and other approvals that we need.�

Hundreds of people came out to learn more about the proposed facility, including Marcia and Michael Echele. They have many questions and concerns about the data center, which they would be able to see from their home.

“I don’t sleep at night,� Marcia Echele said. She worries how the dust generated by the construction will blanket her home, and how the facility will affect the resale value of their home.

“When the farmers are out in the field, they stir up enough dust that we can write our names in it,� she said. “How much more dust is this going to create?�

Other residents at the meeting said they worry its power demands could overwhelm the region’s electrical grid. Others doubt whether the city can provide enough water for the data center.

Other residents worry the diesel fuel needed to power generators could contaminate nearby wetlands, farms and the city’s drinking water.

Some attendees said they worry about how the noise and lights from the data center, which is set to operate around the clock will impact the area’s wildlife.

But some — including the St. Charles County Regional Chamber of Commerce — say the data center project would be a boon for the region, creating dozens of construction-related jobs. The data center — when operational — is expected to employ 250 people.

The regional chamber has endorsed the project, saying it will generate “significant economic growth, create high-quality jobs, and strengthen the region’s position as a hub for technology and innovation.�

“This project represents the type of forward-thinking economic development that benefits our entire community,� said Scott Tate, CEO of the regional chamber. “We are proud to support this investment and the positive impact it will have on our residents and businesses.�

There are already seven other data centers in St. Charles County. BJC Healthcare and companies such as MasterCard, Enterprise Mobility and the financial business Citi all have data centers there, according to the county’s Economic Development Council.

The Cumulus campus would consist of five 285,000-square-foot warehouses that would be architecturally similar to Amazon’s fulfillment center in St. Peters, according to city documents.

Fifty full-time jobs would be created in each warehouse, said Maggie Kost, Chief Business Attraction Officer for Greater 51ºÚÁÏ Inc.

With the town hall over, some residents said they left with more questions than answers. Others said they left even more motivated to try and block the data center at the Aug. 19 meeting of the St. Charles City Council.

The data center will require seven of 10 votes to pass because the city’s zoning board recommended denying the project’s hazardous materials permit for the 1 million gallons of diesel fuel that the company plans to house on site in order to power the backup generators.