300 West Adams Data Center, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago investor Igor Gabal wants to convert the second through sixth floors of the landmarked office building at 300 W. Adams St., in the Loop, Cook County, into a data center. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks' Permit Review Committee signed off on the plan on August 6, 2026, but the full commission still has to give final approval, and no construction timeline has been set. The developer, Chilled AI, would fill in the building's light court, install ten backup generators on the roof, and build a ComEd vault that Gabal says will supply no more than 50 megawatts of power, though the building's brochure lists the vault at 20.4 megawatts.

Preservation Chicago, which backed the building's 2009 landmark designation, opposes the conversion; executive director Ward Miller called it a "dangerous precedent" for other landmarks and wants the space turned into housing instead. Gabal, who bought the 1927 building for $4 million in 2023 when it was nearly 60% vacant, says "no one wants to lease space" in Class C office towers like this one. In July 2026 his venture sold its interest for $12.5 million to a new joint venture with Greenwich, Connecticut-based Strategic Value Partners, which is partnering with him on the data center, according to Illinois property records. The Chicago Tribune editorial board has also come out against the plan.

On August 11, 2026, days after the committee vote, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order asking for a moratorium on new or expanded data centers in Chicago, but the city's planning department says the Adams Street proposal is not subject to the new review because data center use is already allowed under the building's zoning. Zoning committee chair Gilbert Villegas called the mayor's order a "political stunt."