Interior Design for Chicago Suburbs Data Center Housing

In June 2024, Compass Datacenters kicked off development of five hyperscale data centers on a nearly 200-acre former Sears headquarters site in Hoffman Estates, which the company said would represent about $10 billion in local investment once operational. In March 2026, the Joliet City Council voted 8-1 in favor of the Joliet Technology Center, a Hillwood and PowerHouse Data Centers campus on 795 acres planned for 1.8 gigawatts at full use. Also in the southwest suburbs, the Village of Minooka published a data center fact sheet in July 2026 that refers to an approved Equinix data center in the village.

Campuses like these are multi-year build-outs, and the workforce follows the schedule. Trades crews come first and rotate through. Operations and technical staff arrive later, and many of them rent while they work. Both groups look for housing near the job, which is why demand in the west and southwest suburbs reaches past apartments into extended-stay hotels near project sites and rental homes on the metro edge.

Winter writes the brief for every shared space. Entries absorb a full season of road salt and slush, long gray stretches flatten a room that looked warm in a summer rendering, and heavy heating seasons followed by lake-driven humidity swings are hard on solid wood and some veneers. We design for those conditions first and for style second, then bring the style back through the region's own materials.

Brick, limestone and terra cotta define the older housing stock, and newer suburban buildings borrow that warmth through masonry accents and darker metals. Inside, we carry the idea with deep wood tones, bronze and blackened steel hardware and textiles with real weight, so a new building feels like it belongs to its town.

The winter checklist for a clubhouse, lobby or leasing office typically covers:

• Vestibules where the plan allows, with recessed walk-off matting sized for salt and slush
• Porcelain or sealed stone at entries, mail rooms and fitness areas
• Layered warm lighting with ambient, task and accent sources on separate controls
• Casegoods and millwork selected for stability through long, dry heating seasons
• Coat hooks, benches and boot trays where residents stop to shed winter gear

We run Chicago-area projects the way we run most of our work, outside Southern California. Our designers work from Irvine and travel to the property for the visits that need someone in the room. FF&E ships from manufacturers to our own receiving warehouse in Southern California, where we receive, inspect and store it before releasing coordinated deliveries once the building is ready. Installation crews we work with across the country provide labor on site, with our designers there to place and finish each room.

Winter shapes the delivery plan. Freight and installation in a Chicago January need a closed-in building, dry heated space to stage cartons and a clear path through the entry, so we set delivery windows against the general contractor's turnover dates rather than vendors' ship dates. Laura Velasco, our Owner and Principal Designer, managed multi family and senior living design projects earlier in her career, and both property types are part of the housing this market needs.