Microsoft is exploring building a data center in Cherry Valley, Illinois.

First reported by the Rockford Register Star, the technology giant is set to lay out plans for the data center during an open house on August 19.

While details are sparse, the data center could bring dozens of full-time jobs to the area.

Cherry Valley Village Administrator Jim Claeyssen said of the project: "It'll be a number of jobs and, from the research I have done, they are a quiet neighbor. In the early beginnings of these data centers, they used a lot of water for cooling, but they don't do that anymore. From what I've seen, the center kind of like the one they're proposing only uses maybe the equivalent of the water 30 homes a day use for cooling."

Besides construction jobs, the data center will hire computer technicians, engineers, and logistics managers among others.

Microsoft is also developing a campus in Plano, Illinois.

In 2023 Microsoft acquired 30 acres of land in the Hoffman Estates area of Chicago for $41.5 million. The acquired land is adjacent to the 53-acre site on Lakewood Blvd where Microsoft is currently developing two data centers. The first 250,000 sq ft (23,200 sqm) building is under construction. The company gained permission for the two buildings in May 2021; the second will span 150,000 sq ft (14,000 sqm).

Cherry Valley is a village located along the border of Winnebago County and Boon County in Illinois on the outskirts of Rockford, around 82 miles west of Chicago.

According to Data Center Map, Rockford is currently home to a DataPoint colocation facility.

The Chicago area is one of the largest data center markets in North America, but the availability of server space is low. According to a report from Newmark released earlier this month, data center inventory in the region has increased 35 percent over the last five years, but availability is running at just 1.6 percent.

CyrusOne is developing a major campus in the Chicago area.