Naperville: Developer Behind Rejected Data Center Eyes Former BP Campus for New Proposal

The developer whose data center plan was rejected by Naperville last year is exploring a second chance in the city. Karis Critical is considering a proposal for the vacant 169-acre former BP campus along Warrenville Road, according to a city memo and multiple sources.

The company met with Naperville officials last month to discuss the possibility of building a data center and advanced manufacturing facility on the site. No formal proposal has been submitted.

A site that will not stay vacant forever

The INEOS property at 150 W. Warrenville Road has sat empty for about eight years. It was previously operated by BP and before that by Amoco. The site covers roughly 169 acres between Washington and Mill streets, immediately north of Interstate 88.

Naperville City Manager Doug Krieger called the campus the city's largest redevelopment opportunity. He said the property has struggled to attract developer interest.

"The pool of potential users is pretty small. People aren't banging down the door to get that property," Krieger said.

Two other developers have inquired about the property in the past year. Neither has submitted plans for review.

The city's message: data centers are not welcome

Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli said he and Krieger told Karis representatives during the May meeting that a data center would not be well-received by the community.

The Naperville City Council rejected Karis's previous data center proposal in January. That plan would have placed a facility on a former Nokia property at 1960 Lucent Lane. Residents and local officials pushed back against the project.

"We provided them feedback that would suggest that a data center is not something we believe would be favorable in the city at this time," Wehrli said.

Kris spokesperson Patrick Skarr said the company took that feedback into consideration. He said Karis is not limited to data center development. The company also builds cold storage, industrial, and advanced manufacturing facilities.

"This was never a data center only evaluation," Skarr said. "There were a variety of concepts that we discussed."

What is on the table

According to the internal city memo, Karis discussed several potential uses for the site. The concept included a data center component with a maximum capacity of 100,000 to 125,000 square feet. The remaining space would be dedicated to advanced manufacturing.

At full buildout, the property could support about 1.5 million square feet of advanced manufacturing facility space. That could bring 1,000 to 1,500 new jobs to Naperville, according to the memo.

Karis also explored adding a recreational use to the site. Options included a health club or an adaptive dive pool.

Skarr emphasized that Karis has made no decision about whether to pursue the property.

"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."

A contaminated site that needs cleanup

The former BP campus has environmental challenges. The property was previously used by the U.S. Army and BP Amoco. It is contaminated and would require remediation before development can begin.

Krieger said Karis representatives indicated during the meeting that the company would pay for the cleanup. He did not say how long that process might take. Skarr said he does not know the timeline for remediation. Buildings on the site would also need to be demolished.

Why the corridor matters

The Naperville Development Partnership is a nonprofit public-private group focused on economic development in the city. A 2025 consultant report identified five target industries for the I-88 corridor. Those industries include financial tech, energy, biotech or pharmaceutical, agricultural or food production, and quantum or advanced manufacturing.

Monica Conners, president of the Naperville Development Partnership, said the group is not actively seeking data center projects.

"The Naperville Development Partnership is not actively working to attract data centers," Conners said.

She described the meeting with Karis as a logical step in the development process. The partnership facilitated the meeting to discuss the site's history, current condition, and potential future uses.

Wehrli said reactivating the vacant site is important for the city's affordability. He said growing commercial investment is the only way to keep Naperville affordable for residents.

"When you had thousands of employees and all those buildings that were there for years, it had a huge impact on our city," Wehrli said. "And now that it sits vacant, trying to replenish that and reactivate that site, it's important."

Karis is currently developing a data center in DeKalb, Illinois. The company's website lists potential projects in Aiken, South Carolina; New Albany, Ohio; DeKalb, Illinois; and Birmingham, Alabama.

No timeline was provided for when Karis might make a decision about the Naperville property.