Pekin Data Center is ‘done’ (Pekin, IL) — One of the tropes in most action films is the bad guy you think has been slain inevitably makes a comeback for one last attack at the end of the film.
Fortunately, real life is not the movies – which for the Pekin residents means the fate of a proposed datacenter project has been sealed and it won’t be making a comeback.
Pekin’s Lutticken Farms property will not be home to a data center as New York-based developer Western Hospitality Partners (WHP) has officially pulled the project.
“We are no longer under contract with WHP or any affiliate,” said Pekin City Attorney James Vasselli. “The contract has been terminated at their own volition,” Vasselli stated. “It’s a clean break. This contract is over. It’s terminated. It’s done. It’s a stake in the heart.”
The letter from Rachel Schwarz of the Chicago law firm Patzik, Frank & Samonty confirmed WHP’s decision to withdraw from its agreement to purchase 321 acres of the 1,000-acre Lutticken Farms property for $4.5 million, which equates to $14,000 per acre. The intended site was located at 3528 Edgewater Drive.
Pekin Mayor Mary Burress, who publicly opposed the data center project alongside a majority of the council, said the project termination is welcome news.
“We wanted to make sure we were doing things in the proper manner,” Burress said. “We wanted to bring this matter to a conclusion and avoid a legal dispute, and we were successful on all fronts.”
Vasselli also noted that the city would need to return $85,000 in earnest money to WHP, a move he expected the council to authorize without hesitation. He reassured council members that the city would not face any legal repercussions from WHP due to the manner in which the termination was handled.
With the data center project officially off the table, the city of Pekin will now focus on attracting developers for the Lutticken Farms property, which was purchased for $14 million last year. Residents have expressed their willingness to assist in this process, and Burress mentioned that developers have shown interest in the site.
As the city prepares for its first payment of $1.2 million on a $12.5 million loan from Morton Community Bank for the property acquisition, the future of Lutticken Farms remains optimistic and open to new possibilities.
“We are committed to developing this property in a way that is consistent with the values of our community,” Burress said. “As this process continues, will keep the public informed and seek their input. In the end, we want to responsibly grow our community and build our economy. We need new jobs and opportunities so that we can provide the services residents have come to expect.”
Pekin Data Center is ‘done’
