New public records substantially change what we know about the New Lenox data-center story. Emails obtained from the Village of New Lenox confirm that Cielo Digital Infrastructure actively explored a major data-center project in New Lenox, considered multiple properties, entered negotiations involving a Village-recommended 120-acre site, investigated utilities and road access, planned a site visit, and discussed the municipal approval process with Village officials.
What the records do not establish is whether Cielo ultimately acquired the property, filed a formal development application, moved the project somewhere else, or abandoned it. An additional public-record request remains outstanding, and this page will continue to be updated as new information becomes available.
So, was there really something behind the New Lenox data-center rumor?
Yes.
That does not mean a data center is currently approved, under construction, or even still active.
But the Village records make one thing much clearer than it was before.
Cielo Digital Infrastructure was actively pursuing a major data-center opportunity in New Lenox.
The company was not simply mentioned in an outside database.
Cielo representatives were communicating directly with New Lenox officials, discussing properties, reviewing infrastructure, contacting brokers, negotiating with a property owner, planning a site visit, and asking how a data center could move through the Village approval process.
- Cielo Digital Infrastructure directly contacted New Lenox officials in June 2024.
- Cielo described its search as involving a potential data center of more than 1 million square feet.
- The company initially identified two New Lenox-area properties for consideration.
- One of those properties was located along Gougar Road.
- New Lenox told Cielo the original properties were designated for residential growth.
- Village officials said they were willing to discuss other possible data-center locations.
- Village staff subsequently provided Cielo information about another property.
- Cielo later told the Village it was negotiating with the owner of that property.
- The property was marketed as a roughly 120-acre New Lenox data-center site with 250 MW of potential capacity.
- Cielo investigated road access, water, sewer, infrastructure costs, zoning and annexation requirements.
- Cielo planned an August 2024 visit to the proposed site and a follow-up meeting with Village officials.
- The records reviewed so far do not show whether the project ultimately moved forward.
Cielo Contacted New Lenox About a 1 Million-Plus-Square-Foot Data Center
The strongest evidence now comes directly from Village records.
On June 26, 2024, a real-estate analyst representing Cielo Digital Infrastructure contacted New Lenox officials.
In the email, Cielo explained that it was in the early research stages of a potential project in the Village of New Lenox.
The company described what it was looking for as a:
1,000,000-plus-square-foot data center.
Cielo also provided the Village with two parcel identification numbers it was considering as potential locations.
That correspondence answers one of the most basic questions surrounding this story.
Cielo really was looking at New Lenox.
The Gougar Road Connection Was Real
The original industry research surrounding this project had pointed toward the Gougar Road and Haven Avenue area.
At the time, that location was far from confirmed.
The outside tracker that placed Cielo there explicitly labeled its location confidence as low.
The Village records now provide an important piece of context.
New Lenox staff identified one of the properties Cielo had asked about as land located along the east side of Gougar Road, south of New Life Christian Church.
The second property was identified near the southwest corner of Illinois Highway and Nelson Road.
So the Gougar Road theory did have a legitimate connection to Cielo's actual property search.
But that does not mean Gougar Road became the final site.
In fact, the records point in the opposite direction.
New Lenox Told Cielo Those Original Sites Did Not Fit
Village officials told Cielo that the two original properties were located in areas intended for residential growth under New Lenox's planning framework.
That could have ended the conversation.
It did not.
The Village told Cielo that New Lenox would be interested in discussing possible sites for a data center.
That distinction matters.
The records do not show New Lenox approving a data center.
They also do not show the Village rejecting the idea of a data center coming to New Lenox.
Instead, Village officials appear to have been willing to help Cielo identify a location that better fit the Village's land-use plans.
The Search Shifted to Another Property
By July 2024, the correspondence had shifted toward another site.
Village staff provided Cielo with information about a property and contact information for the broker involved.
Cielo subsequently responded that it had contacted the broker and that:
"the land is still available, fingers crossed."
That alone does not establish that a deal existed.
But what happened next moved the project well beyond a preliminary inquiry.
Cielo Said It Was Negotiating With the Property Owner
On July 30, 2024, Cielo emailed the Village again.
The company wrote:
"Thanks to your assistance, we are now in negotiations with the owner of the property you recommended."
That is one of the most significant records in the entire FOIA response.
At that point, Cielo was no longer simply asking New Lenox whether land might be available.
The company said it was negotiating with the owner of a property that Village staff had recommended.
Cielo also raised questions about access from West Harvey Drive and South Center Avenue and whether the property to the east could use those roads.
Village staff confirmed that both were public roads.
The same correspondence includes an aerial image marking the road locations Cielo was investigating.
The 120-Acre "Hartz" Property
The records repeatedly refer to the second site as the 120-acre Hartz property.
The associated property marketing materials identify two parcels:
- PIN 15-08-25-200-003
- PIN 15-08-25-200-006
The property was in unincorporated Will County and was being marketed specifically as a data-center opportunity.
A Cushman & Wakefield marketing page included in the records uses the title:
NEW LENOX DATA CENTER SITE
It prominently identifies:
- 120 Acres
- 250 MW Potential
- Existing major electrical infrastructure in the area
- Immediate site availability
The property materials also reference nearby 345 kV and 138 kV electrical infrastructure.
For a large data-center developer, access to electrical capacity is one of the most important pieces of site selection.
A Conceptual Data-Center Campus Was Already Laid Out
The property package also included a conceptual campus plan.
The plan depicts multiple large data-center buildings, internal roads, stormwater areas and space identified for major electrical infrastructure.
The plan is still significant because it shows that the property was being evaluated specifically for large-scale data-center development.
It also aligns geographically with the Harvey Drive and Center Avenue access questions Cielo had raised with the Village.
Cielo Began Investigating Whether the Site Could Actually Work
The correspondence then moves into a less dramatic but important phase.
Cielo began asking the kinds of questions a developer asks when it is performing site due diligence.
The company requested information involving:
- Water service
- Sanitary sewer service
- Road access
- Existing utilities
- Infrastructure obligations
- Potential recapture payments
A New Lenox civil engineer provided utility information and discussed possible water and sanitary sewer connections.
Cielo also asked whether the Hartz property would be subject to an existing infrastructure recapture agreement.
Village staff ultimately told Cielo that the Hartz properties were not subject to that agreement and that no recapture payment was due.
None of those items individually means a project was approved.
Taken together, however, they show that Cielo was performing practical due diligence on a specific property.
Cielo Planned to Visit the Property
By August 2024, the discussions were moving beyond email exchanges.
Cielo informed Village staff that representatives planned to visit the proposed site on August 21, 2024.
The company also wanted to meet with New Lenox officials after visiting the property to discuss the project in more detail.
At the same time, Cielo began asking how a data center would move through the Village's zoning and development process.
New Lenox Explained How a Data Center Could Move Forward
The proposed property was located in unincorporated Will County.
Village planning staff explained that a development would therefore need to go through several municipal steps.
Those included:
- Annexation into the Village of New Lenox
- Rezoning to an industrial classification
- Concept-plan review
- Development Review Committee consideration
- Plan Commission public hearings
- Village Board consideration
- Site-plan review
- Engineering review
The Village specifically discussed rezoning the property to I-1 Limited Industrial.
This does not mean New Lenox approved the project.
It does show that Village staff provided Cielo with a road map for how a data-center proposal on the property could potentially move through the municipal process.
So What Happened After August 2024?
This is now the central unanswered question.
Based on the records obtained so far, we know that Cielo:
- Was looking for a major data-center location in New Lenox.
- Initially evaluated multiple properties.
- Actually considered a property along Gougar Road.
- Was told the original properties were intended for residential growth.
- Was offered information about another potential site.
- Contacted the broker for that site.
- Said it was negotiating with the owner.
- Investigated road access and utilities.
- Reviewed development-related costs.
- Planned a site visit.
- Asked how annexation and industrial zoning would work.
And then, in the records produced through this FOIA request, the trail largely stops.
I have not yet found documentation establishing whether:
- Cielo purchased the property.
- Cielo obtained an option or other contractual control of the land.
- The negotiations were successful.
- The proposed site changed again.
- A formal development application was submitted.
- The project was abandoned.
- Another company became involved.
- Any version of the project remains active today.
Those are now the questions worth investigating.
Where Does the Original 141-Acre, 300 MW Project Fit Into This?
This is another unresolved piece of the story.
Industry reporting from 2025 described Cielo as pursuing a New Lenox project of approximately 141 acres and 300 MW.
Cleanview has also listed a Cielo New Lenox project with those general specifications.
A separate data-center tracker placed that project near Gougar Road and Haven Avenue, while labeling the location as low-confidence.
New Lenox records separately show an approximately 141.83-acre property east of Gougar Road and south of Haven Avenue.
Before the FOIA response, that acreage match was one of the most intriguing pieces of evidence connecting the industry listing to a possible local property.
The FOIA records now give us more context.
Cielo really did consider land along Gougar Road.
But Village officials also told Cielo that its original candidate properties were in areas planned for residential growth.
The correspondence then moved toward the separate 120-acre Hartz property.
What we still do not know is whether the later 141-acre, 300 MW industry listing represents:
- The same project after its specifications changed.
- A different Cielo site in New Lenox.
- A later attempt to revive the project.
- An industry listing that continued carrying older or incomplete development information.
I do not currently have enough evidence to combine the 120-acre, 250 MW property and the 141-acre, 300 MW industry listing into one confirmed project.
A Separate 2026 Data-Center Listing Still Raises Questions
There is also a newer industry record that may or may not be connected.
In August 2026, ConstructConnect published a conceptual project listing titled "New Lenox Data Centers."
The listing described private new construction and site work for a data-center facility in New Lenox and referenced a possible 2027 construction start.
The public listing did not identify a developer or disclose the location.
At this point, there is no documentation establishing that the ConstructConnect listing is connected to Cielo, the 120-acre Hartz property, or the earlier 141-acre project.
It remains another lead rather than confirmation.
Who Is Cielo Digital Infrastructure?
Cielo Digital Infrastructure is a U.S. data-center development company backed by infrastructure investment firm Arroyo Investors.
The company's business centers on identifying and developing sites capable of supporting large-scale data-center infrastructure.
That is an important distinction because a company like Cielo does not necessarily have to be the eventual operator whose name appears on a completed facility.
A developer can identify land, secure infrastructure, work through entitlement and zoning, and potentially transfer or sell a development opportunity to another data-center operator.
That means the absence of Cielo's name from a future project would not automatically prove that the original development effort disappeared.
It is also why current ownership and development records matter.
What the FOIA Does Not Prove
The new records are significant, but they also have limits.
The FOIA response does not establish that:
- A data center is currently being built in New Lenox.
- Cielo currently controls the 120-acre Hartz property.
- Cielo currently controls the 141.83-acre Gougar/Haven property.
- The Village approved a Cielo data center.
- Will County approved a Cielo data center.
- Cielo secured final electrical capacity for the project.
- The conceptual campus plan was formally submitted for approval.
- The 120-acre and 141-acre project references are definitely the same development.
- The project remains active today.
This is why I am not reporting that a New Lenox data center is definitely coming.
What I am reporting is that the public records now confirm that a serious data-center development effort took place.
Another Public-Records Request Is Still Outstanding
This investigation is not finished.
I have another public-record request outstanding that may provide additional information about the properties, companies and activity connected to the project.
When those records arrive, I will compare them with what New Lenox has already produced.
If they answer what happened after August 2024, this page will be updated.
If they contradict any part of the current understanding, that will be updated too.
Why This Matters for New Lenox
A large data center would represent a significant land-use decision for New Lenox.
The records discussed here involve projects measured in hundreds of acres, hundreds of megawatts of potential electrical demand, and potentially more than one million square feet of development.
A project at that scale could raise legitimate local questions involving:
- Land use
- Electrical infrastructure
- Water and cooling requirements
- Road access
- Tax revenue
- Municipal incentives
- Noise and surrounding land uses
- Future residential and industrial development patterns
Those questions should be answered with project-specific information if a formal proposal surfaces.
At this point, we do not have enough evidence to responsibly assign those impacts to a specific active project.
But we now know there was substantially more behind the data-center discussion than an online rumor.
The Bottom Line
The New Lenox data-center rumor was not simply a rumor.
Cielo Digital Infrastructure directly approached New Lenox about a major data-center project.
The company evaluated multiple properties.
One really was along Gougar Road.
When New Lenox said the original candidate sites were intended for residential growth, Village officials remained open to discussing other locations.
Cielo then evaluated another approximately 120-acre site, contacted its broker, said it was negotiating with the owner, investigated utilities and roads, planned a site visit, and discussed how the property could potentially be annexed and rezoned.
What we still do not know is what happened next.
Did the deal fall apart?
Did Cielo move to another property?
Did another company eventually take over the opportunity?
Or is some version of the project still alive?
That is where the investigation stands today.
- Cielo directly contacted New Lenox about a potential 1-million-plus-square-foot data center in 2024.
- One of the company's original candidate properties was along Gougar Road.
- New Lenox said the original properties were intended for residential growth but expressed willingness to discuss other data-center sites.
- Village staff recommended another property of roughly 120 acres.
- Cielo later told the Village it was negotiating with the owner.
- The property was marketed as a New Lenox data-center site with 250 MW of potential capacity.
- A conceptual campus plan and infrastructure information were included in the property materials.
- Cielo reviewed utilities, road access, development costs, zoning and annexation requirements.
- The current FOIA records do not show whether the project ultimately moved forward.
- Another public-record request remains outstanding, and this page will be updated as additional information becomes available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was the New Lenox data-center rumor real?
There was real development activity behind it. Village records confirm that Cielo Digital Infrastructure directly approached New Lenox about a major data-center project, evaluated properties and later said it was negotiating with the owner of a Village-recommended site.
Is a data center definitely being built in New Lenox?
No. The records reviewed so far establish that Cielo actively pursued a New Lenox opportunity, but they do not establish that a project received final approval, entered construction or remains active today.
Did Cielo really look at property near Gougar Road?
Yes. Village correspondence identifies one of Cielo's original candidate properties as land along the east side of Gougar Road. New Lenox later told Cielo that its original candidate properties were in areas planned for residential growth.
What is the 120-acre Hartz property?
The Village records refer to a separate roughly 120-acre property that Cielo evaluated after the original sites were discussed. Marketing materials describe it as a New Lenox data-center opportunity with 250 MW of potential capacity. The records also show Cielo asking about road access, utilities, infrastructure costs and the municipal approval process for that property.
Where is the 120-acre property?
The records identify the property through PINs 15-08-25-200-003 and 15-08-25-200-006 and include references to Harvey Drive, Center Avenue and Laraway Road. The property was outside the Village limits at the time of the correspondence and would have required annexation into New Lenox.
What happened to the 120-acre project?
That is currently unresolved. The records show Cielo negotiating with the property owner, conducting due diligence and planning a site visit in 2024. The records reviewed so far do not establish whether a purchase, option, development filing or other transaction was completed.
Is this the same project as the 141-acre, 300 MW Cielo listing?
That has not been established. Industry records later described a 141-acre, 300 MW Cielo project in New Lenox. The Village FOIA documents involve a roughly 120-acre site marketed with 250 MW of potential capacity. Additional records are needed before those two project descriptions can be confidently treated as the same development.
Did New Lenox approve a data center?
Not in the records reviewed so far. Village staff discussed potential sites and explained the annexation, zoning, planning and Village Board process that would be required, but the FOIA response does not contain a final approval for a Cielo data center.
Are more records coming?
Yes. Another public-record request remains outstanding. This page will be updated if additional records clarify the project's location, ownership, developer involvement or current status.
Sources & Public Records
- Village of New Lenox FOIA production, September 2026. Records include Cielo correspondence, property materials, utility discussions, conceptual site plans and municipal zoning guidance from 2024.
- Data Center Dynamics: Cielo project portfolio, June 24, 2025
- Cleanview: Cielo New Lenox Data Center
- Data Center Watch: Cielo Digital Infrastructure, New Lenox
- Village of New Lenox: NL Gougar Solar 1 & 2 Site Plan and Property Information
- Village of New Lenox Board Minutes, January 27, 2025
- ConstructConnect: New Lenox Data Centers, August 2026
- Arroyo Investors: Cielo Digital Infrastructure and infrastructure investment portfolio
Living Development Investigation: This article is based on public records, Village of New Lenox materials and industry development records available as of September 2026. FOIA records confirm that Cielo Digital Infrastructure actively evaluated potential New Lenox data-center sites in 2024, but the records reviewed so far do not establish whether the project ultimately moved forward, changed locations, changed developers or was abandoned. Another public-record request remains outstanding. This page will be updated as additional information becomes available.