From his Aurora backyard, John Mars can see the massive data centers along Diehl Road, and he’s far from alone.
While he can clearly see them, he also shares that he can hear them. Loudly.
“It’s like rushing traffic. If you were to go stand out on the interstate in rush hour, when cars were moving, constant…constant noise,” he said.
Mars lives across a power company right of way from where a cluster of data centers have grown since he moved in in 2021.
Aurora is rapidly becoming a hub for data center activity. At least four major facilities have already built and more in the planning stages.
At a special meeting Wednesday night to discuss new zoning for data centers, city officials got an earful from residents. Some complained that their power bills are going up. Others expressed concern about the water supply and the harmful effects caused by excess heat from the computers that host cloud computing and make artificial intelligence searches possible.
Right now, Aurora is operating under an 180-day moratorium on new warehouse and data center construction. That moratorium ends at the end of the month.
Many residents hope that new rules will be in place soon. At the Wednesday night meeting, at least one former council member voiced praise for the proposed data center ordinance.
The biggest concerns for many area residents are the large, diesel generators outside the data centers that power the computer servers inside when they lose power or do maintenance on the lines.
Other suburbs are also struggling to balance the needs of lucrative data centers with the concerns of their residents.
In Washington, D.C. Wednesday, a number of major data center operators signed a pledge that they will pay the full costs of their energy and water use so they aren’t passed on to consumers.
Still, residents like John have more immediate concerns.
“We want the noise to stop. We want our dream back which is the property we have and the home that we live in. We want to live in peace again,” he said.
NBC Chicago did reach out to CyrusOne, the data center nearest Mars’ home, and they issued a statement Thursday afternoon.
“CyrusOne has been building and operating data centers for more than 25 years, and we are committed to being a responsible and engaged partner in every community where we operate.
“The Aurora campus was originally constructed in 2017 under the design standards in place at that time. Since then, our engineering standards have evolved, and all new CyrusOne data centers incorporate enhanced, purpose-built sound attenuation as part of their standard design to further minimize off-site noise.
“Following the equipment-related event in April 2025, we initiated a multi-phase sound mitigation project at the Aurora facility. Permanent sound walls and generator enclosures have been completed, and additional attenuation work for the rooftop chillers is currently underway. We expect these final improvements to further reduce sound levels once construction is complete.
“We remain committed to working closely with the City of Aurora and our neighbors and to continuously enhancing our facilities to align with evolving community expectations.”
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