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Residents urge caution over possible data center at former Metro South Hospital site
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Summary
At a packed Blue Island council meeting, residents urged officials to reject or fully study any push to convert the privately owned former Metro South Hospital parcel into a data center, citing water use, noise, pollution and few local jobs; the mayor said no formal application has been submitted.
Mayor Fred Velado opened the public-comment period by reading a prepared statement saying the former Metro South Hospital site is privately owned and that no formal development proposal has been submitted to the city. He told the audience that any future proposal would have to go through planning, zoning, council review and public hearings.
Residents who spoke during an extended public-comment block urged the council to reject or slow any data-center plan for the 12-acre parcel near City Hall. Marie Nitteman said the parcel ‘‘fits their wallet’’ and warned that a data center would bring ‘‘industrial, thermal and audio pollution’’ that would harm property values and quality of life. ‘‘Please don’t fall for that tactic,’’ she said, urging the council to push investors toward community-centered alternatives.
Alex Del Santo cited national examples and industry statistics to warn about water and energy use, linked air-emission lawsuits involving a Memphis data center, and urged stricter regulation. ‘‘The lack of regulation for such a booming industry should be the biggest red flag for a development entering into any city or state,’’ he said. Michael Tucker, a resident who lives near Lake Michigan, told the council: ‘‘I do not want to see fresh water…exploited.’’ Shauna O’Connor and other neighbors said they feared 24-hour humming, higher utility bills and long-term environmental harm.
Mayor Velado reiterated that the city has received inquiries and pitches from several groups but that ‘‘nothing officially submitted to our PCBA’’ (planning and zoning) and that ‘‘no decisions have been made because nothing has been submitted.’’ He said the council had received a juvenile-education conversion proposal the prior day as well and would forward any full proposals to the appropriate review bodies.
The meeting produced no formal action on the hospital parcel. Residents sought clarity about how the city would evaluate water, noise and energy impacts if an applicant files for zoning or special-use approvals. The mayor said any final proposals would return to council after the Planning & Zoning (PCBA) review and public hearings.
