Wally Siegal has lived in Perry in Lake County his entire life. He’s seen a lot of changes, but he said he’s never seen so many residents upset.
“Angry, very angry,” said Siegal.
Angry, Siegal said, about a proposed six-building data center campus in the heart of the community.
Siegal said he is not opposed to a data center in Perry, but he is opposed to the proposed location.
“It should go down by the nuclear plant. If they build it down there, I don’t think anyone would complain," he said.
Morris Beverage III is a Lake County Commissioner. He also lives in Perry, and speaking as a resident, he said he doesn’t like the location either.
"I’m personally against this project at this time, at this location. I’m not necessarily against data centers,” said Beverage.
The land, owned by Perry Village, neighboring Perry Township and a government partnership called the Perry Joint Economic Development District, is a former nursery.
Province Group, a California-based developer, recently wrapped up a lengthy investigation of the site.
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Mayor James Gessic hopes to have clarity on the path forward this summer.
But he wasn’t expecting all this pushback.
"I kind of was proud of this project at the beginning,” Gessic said during an interview on Friday. “And I still am. But it’s disheartening that a lot of people think that data centers are evil.”
“It’s a hot topic in Perry,” said Todd Porcello, Superintendent of Perry Local Schools. “At the end of the day our role is to advocate for the kids and our school district,” he added.
He said the school board has been doing its homework, learning about data centers. As for how much money the school district could expect from the project, it is too early to tell.
"The village in their meeting said we could receive up to 10 million, that is just a very basic calculation, we believe it will be much less,” Porcello said.
Now, village officials are waiting to see the developer’s request for local tax breaks or public financing.
