T5 Data Centers’ Morse Avenue Purchase Sparks Elk Grove Industrial Space Demand
Elk Grove Village is once again proving itself as one of the most important commercial real estate markets in the Midwest. With the recent acquisition of 950 and 1050 Morse Avenue by Atlanta-based T5 Data Centers, a new 36-megawatt, 220,000-square-foot facility is now in the works. Valued at over $21.3 million, the deal adds more momentum to Elk Grove’s ongoing transformation into a national data center powerhouse.
But this isn’t just a single development—it’s a signal of how Elk Grove industrial space is being redefined for the next generation of tenants: data, cloud infrastructure, AI, and high-capacity tech platforms. It presents a significant opportunity for anyone working with a commercial real estate agent in Elk Grove to help tenants and investors understand what’s coming next.
Why Elk Grove Village Is the Epicenter of Chicago’s Data Center Boom
Located minutes from O’Hare International Airport and within reach of Chicago’s dense fiber infrastructure, Elk Grove Village has become a preferred submarket for data center development. It combines powerful utility capacity, industrial zoning flexibility, and unusually large, development-ready parcels, making it nearly unmatched in Illinois for hyperscale infrastructure.
T5’s Morse Avenue purchase builds on their expanding footprint in the region, which includes additional developments in Grayslake and Northlake. According to a company statement, they’ve already secured utility power through ComEd and plan to open the facility by 2028.
This deal follows several major announcements:
Stack Infrastructure committed to a new 36-megawatt facility on 27 acres nearby.
Digital Realty Trust and GI Partners refinanced part of their Elk Grove campus with a $185 million loan.
And now T5 has joined the mix with their CHI V facility, strategically situated at the heart of Elk Grove’s industrial corridor.
What It Means for Elk Grove Industrial Space
The demand for Elk Grove industrial space is rapidly evolving. Historically home to traditional warehousing, light manufacturing, and logistics companies, the market is now attracting advanced digital infrastructure players at an unprecedented pace.
Data centers bring a different kind of industrial tenant, requiring power redundancy, fiber access, and high land-to-building ratios. These users also tend to sign long-term leases and make substantial capital investments in each property, often spending more on infrastructure than on real estate.
This shift is tightening supply. With land prices soaring—T5 paid over three times what the site previously sold for—traditional users are being priced out, and developers are increasingly repurposing former industrial or warehouse sites into digital campuses.
Local zoning bodies and utility providers are adapting quickly. Elk Grove Village officials have embraced this trend as a long-term revenue generator, recognizing that data centers, while low-traffic, offer enormous tax base potential.
The New Playbook for Investors and Developers
T5’s project is part of a broader national trend of capital shifting from office and traditional retail toward logistics and digital infrastructure. But few places have been as successful in positioning for that shift as Elk Grove.
Landowners and investors in the area are now looking at their holdings with fresh eyes. Parcels once viewed as mid-tier warehouse opportunities are now being considered for tech conversions, new power supply installations, or even multi-building campuses.
For property owners or tenants trying to understand this, now is the time to consult with a commercial real estate agent in Elk Grove. These brokers understand the nuances of local utility capacity, data corridor overlays, and which parcels are best suited for advanced redevelopment. They’re also plugged into tenant demand, including firms not yet publicly disclosing their interest in the area.
Big Money and Bigger Commitments
The math behind these deals is eye-popping. T5’s $21.3 million land acquisition—up from Bratt Capital’s $6.7 million original price—is a prime example of the value appreciation happening around O’Hare and in Elk Grove Village in particular.
Data infrastructure has become the physical foundation of AI, cloud computing, and the entire digital economy. When construction and long-term infrastructure spending are considered, T5’s project alone represents hundreds of millions in investment.
These facilities rarely sit idle. Demand is outpacing supply not just in Chicago, but nationally. Industry watchers like CoStar and DataCenter Frontier report vacancy rates for hyperscale-ready space are near zero in core U.S. markets. As a result, developers are locking up land well in advance of confirmed tenant commitments.
Even without a signed tenant at this stage, T5 is confident enough in demand that it’s already announced its 2028 delivery date. In this environment, speed to market is more valuable than preleasing.
The Future of Elk Grove
The future of Elk Grove industrial space lies in diversification, and digital infrastructure is leading the way.
While logistics and manufacturing will remain essential to the area, the rise of data centers is redefining the industrial skyline. Rooftop HVAC arrays, utility substation expansions, and hundreds of thousands of square feet of high-performance server space are now as much a part of the landscape as loading docks and forklift operators.
For Elk Grove itself, the implications are massive:
Stable tax revenues from long-term digital users
National visibility as a top-tier data market
Higher land values, particularly for parcels with scalable utility access
Job growth, especially in tech-adjacent construction and facilities operations
Elk Grove’s transformation is well underway as one of the Midwest’s most development-ready industrial zones.
Navigating the Shift
The data center wave is just beginning, and more developers will follow T5’s lead. Working with a commercial real estate agent in Elk Grove will be critical to navigating this transition for landowners, users, and builders in the area.
Zoning, power access, fiber overlays, and evolving land valuations are highly technical and fast-changing, making experienced representation not just helpful but necessary. For industrial users seeking to stay competitive in the area, awareness of this new frontier in real estate is a strategic advantage.
Final Thoughts
T5 Data Centers’ latest investment at 950 and 1050 Morse Avenue is more than another new data facility, a marker of Elk Grove Village’s ascent as a digital infrastructure powerhouse. As national developers turn their attention to this market, the demand for Elk Grove industrial space will continue to grow, and landowners who are ready to move with the market will be the ones to benefit most.
If you want to position your property or business to take advantage of this shift, now’s the time to connect with a top commercial real estate agent in Elk Grove who understands where this market is going and how to help you get there.
