Civic and corporate leaders presided over the start of demolition in Hoffman Estates, Ill., as 273 acres are in the process of being converted from the headquarters of Sears to a massive data center.

“Dallas-based Compass Datacenters hosted a kickoff event on the property, where it and its future customer will invest $10 billion to build five hyperscale data centers — each more than a quarter-million square feet — and provide the supply of electricity they’ll require,” reports The Daily Herald.

“We’re super excited to be here,” Compass CEO Chris Crosby said. “These data centers are akin to the highway systems of the past.”

Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod said the village was fortunate to attract Sears from Chicago’s Sears Tower in the early 1990s to build the utility infrastructure for the site that a new industry will now benefit from. “We wouldn’t have much of a west side without Sears,” McLeod said. “We salute Sears. And now we move forward into a new era with Compass Datacenters.”

“Compass’ data centers will use water-free cooling and hydrogenated vegetable oil-based fuels for backup power, as well as taking additional sustainable measures. Construction of the campus is anticipated to create about 1,000 jobs,” reports the article. “Northern Illinois has become a top location for data centers in the United States, adding nearly 30 data centers over the past five years.” Many companies have come for the availability and reliability of the necessary electricity supply, ComEd officials said.