Karis Critical Explores Potential Data Center Development on Former BP Campus in Naperville, Illinois
June 22, 2026
Karis Critical Explores Potential Data Center Development on Former BP Campus in Naperville, Illinois
Real estate firm Karis Critical is evaluating a potential data center development on a 168-acre property in Naperville, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, marking the company’s renewed interest in a region where it previously faced local opposition. The move underscores the growing demand for data center capacity in the greater Chicago area, one of the largest data center hubs in the Midwest.
According to a report from the Naperville Sun and Chicago Tribune, Karis Critical is considering the purchase of the INEOS property, formerly the BP campus, located at 150 W. Warrenville Road in DuPage County. The company briefed local officials on its plans at a meeting last month, seeking feedback on the potential development. Karis spokesperson Patrick Skarr confirmed the meeting to the Sun but emphasized that discussions remain in early stages, with no finalized plans. "We have no pending proposal for the 168-acre campus," Skarr said. "We’ve made no decision about whether to pursue an investment in the corridor or not … we still are not the owner of the property. We don’t have rights to propose anything on the property. We’re just exploring it."
The proposed development could include a 125,000-square-foot (11,613-square-meter) data center, alongside more than 1 million square feet (92,903 square meters) of manufacturing space. The site, located west of Chicago, currently has 27 megawatts of potential grid capacity, which could be expanded to more than 100 megawatts, according to the Illinois Economic Development Corporation. The property, originally operated by Amoco in the 1960s and 1970s and later acquired by BP in 1998, became part of a $5 billion deal when BP sold its petrochemicals business to INEOS in 2020. CBRE was tapped to find a buyer for the site in 2021, and JLL is currently listing the property.
This is not Karis’ first attempt to develop a data center in Naperville. The company previously sought to build on the site of a former Alcatel-Lucent campus but was denied by local officials following resident backlash. The new exploration comes as the company positions itself as an investor in land, energy, and infrastructure for data centers, with ongoing projects in DeKalb, Illinois, and potential sites in Ohio, South Carolina, and Alabama. The Naperville project, if realized, would add significant capacity to the Chicago data center market, which remains a key hub for cloud and enterprise services in North America.
Source: datacenterdynamics
