$18M AI Data Center in Chicago: 7 Low Voltage Systems Power HydraVault's Purpose-Built Facility

An $18 million data center in Chicago requires 7 low voltage systems, creating an estimated $1.8 million opportunity for contractors in the Illinois market.

Project Overview

Chicago's Near South Side is getting its first purpose-built, ground-up AI data center — and the low voltage scope is substantial. HydraVault's 20-megawatt facility at 2538 South Wabash Avenue received its full building permit from the City of Chicago in February 2026, clearing the way for construction to proceed from foundation through completion.

The two-story data center addition will be built on the site of a formerly planned esports arena that never materialized. Located at the corner of South Wabash Avenue and East 25th Street in the South Loop, the facility is engineered for next-generation computing workloads including AI inferencing, large-scale model training, and ultra-low latency financial trading. Permit records from the City of Chicago indicate an estimated project value of $18 million.

What sets this facility apart is its cooling infrastructure. HydraVault is implementing a closed-loop, waterless cooling system with hybrid air and liquid cooling — including direct-to-chip and rear-door heat exchangers — targeting a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.19. That positions it among the most energy-efficient data centers in the world. For low voltage contractors, this means the environmental monitoring and power monitoring systems will need to be tightly integrated with the mechanical cooling plant.

The strategic location matters, too. The South Loop's proximity to Chicago's primary fiber interconnects makes it ideal for latency-sensitive operations like high-frequency trading and real-time AI inference. Early user access is expected in December 2026.

Project	HydraVault AI Data Center
Location	2538 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL
Total Value	$18 million
Project Type	Data Center
Capacity	20 MW, up to 200kW per rack
Status	Full building permit issued (Feb 2026)
LV Score	10/10
Source	Chicago Building Permits

Key Players

This is a well-credentialed project team with deep experience in mission-critical facilities. The combination of a specialized data center developer, Chicago's top-ranked general contractor, and a global architecture firm signals a high-quality build with demanding specifications — which typically translates to higher standards (and higher contract values) for low voltage subcontractors.

Role	Company	Details
Developer / Owner	HydraVault	Founded by Scott Greenberg (also president of ECD Company and Dreamweaver Hotels). Positioning the facility as "a fortress built from the ground up" for AI and high-frequency finance, with rack densities up to 200kW.
General Contractor	Power Construction	Ranked #1 on Crain's Chicago Business List of Largest General Contractors. $1 billion annual revenue, 270+ professionals. Their Data Structures Group is led by Certified Data Center Professionals (CDCP). Managing Director Matthew O'Hare brings experience from Element Critical Data Centers.
Architect	Gensler	One of the world's largest architecture firms. Their involvement signals a design-forward approach to what is typically a purely functional building type. Extensive data center design portfolio across multiple markets.
Structural Engineer	Thornton Tomasetti	Globally recognized structural engineering firm providing the structural design for the facility's heavy floor loads and specialized mechanical systems.
Civil Engineer	Terra Engineering	Chicago-based civil engineering firm handling site development and infrastructure.

Low Voltage Systems Breakdown

Seven low voltage systems span security, life safety, environmental monitoring, and data infrastructure. For a purpose-built AI data center with 200kW rack densities and a 1.19 PUE target, every system operates at a higher tier than a typical commercial build. Uptime is everything — and the LV infrastructure is what makes uptime possible.

System	Category	Scope Description	Complexity
Structured Cabling	Data/Voice	The backbone of the entire operation. Extensive Cat6A and fiber optic infrastructure connecting server cabinets, meet-me rooms, and carrier interconnection points. The facility's proximity to Chicago's primary fiber nodes means direct fiber paths from data halls to carrier facilities. Expect high-density patching, overhead cable tray systems, and meticulous cable management to maintain airflow in hot/cold aisle containment zones.	High
Fire Alarm	Life Safety	NFPA 72-compliant fire detection with early warning aspirating smoke detection (VESDA or equivalent) in data halls — critical for protecting millions of dollars in computing equipment. Zone mapping integrated with the building automation system, and coordination with the clean agent fire suppression system. Data centers require detection speeds measured in seconds, not minutes.	High
Access Control	Security	Layered physical security is non-negotiable for a facility handling AI workloads and financial trading. Biometric readers, mantrap vestibules, cabinet-level electronic locks, and full visitor management integration. Every zone — from the loading dock to individual data halls — will need independently controlled access points with complete audit logging and real-time alerting.	High
CCTV / Video Surveillance	Security	Full IP camera coverage at all entry points, data halls, mechanical rooms, and the exterior perimeter. Network video recorders with 90+ day retention policies, video analytics for motion detection and intrusion alerts. Data center tenants typically require live camera feeds accessible from their own dashboards, adding integration complexity.	Medium
Environmental Monitoring	Building Automation	With a PUE target of 1.19 and a hybrid liquid/air cooling system, precision environmental monitoring is mission-critical. Temperature and humidity sensors at the rack level throughout data halls, coolant leak detection under raised floors and around liquid cooling infrastructure, and real-time alerting to the Network Operations Center. Tight integration with the mechanical cooling plant is essential.	High
Power Monitoring	Building Automation	Twenty megawatts of capacity means serious electrical infrastructure requiring granular monitoring. Power metering at every distribution panel, power distribution unit (PDU), and bus duct. Real-time tracking of load balancing, power factor, harmonics, and energy consumption per tenant. Integration with BMS for automated failover monitoring and capacity planning.	High
Network Infrastructure	Data/Voice	Beyond structured cabling, this includes the active network layer: fiber distribution panels, carrier cross-connects, and backbone switching infrastructure tying data halls to external networks. Given the facility's financial trading use case, ultra-low latency network paths — measured in microseconds — are a core design requirement.	High

Estimated Low Voltage Value

With no published LV contract value, we can estimate using industry benchmarks for data center construction. Data centers typically allocate 6% to 10% of total project value to low voltage systems, with the midpoint at 8%. Given seven integrated systems — well above the typical three to four — the system count multiplier pushes the estimate higher.

Total Project Value	$18,000,000
Estimated LV Percentage	8% (Data Center midpoint)
System Count Multiplier	1.25x (7+ systems)
Estimated LV Contract Value	$1,800,000

The data center's high-density design and mission-critical requirements push the LV scope toward the upper end of typical ranges. Between the extensive structured cabling plant, precision environmental monitoring, layered security systems, and early warning fire detection, the estimated $1.8 million in low voltage contracts could break down roughly as follows:

• Structured Cabling + Network Infrastructure: $450,000–$540,000 (25–30%)
• Fire Alarm (with aspirating detection): $270,000–$360,000 (15–20%)
• Access Control: $180,000–$270,000 (10–15%)
• CCTV / Video Surveillance: $180,000–$270,000 (10–15%)
• Environmental Monitoring: $180,000–$270,000 (10–15%)
• Power Monitoring: $140,000–$180,000 (8–10%)

For a mid-sized low voltage contractor, this represents a solid single-award opportunity. Alternatively, the scope could be broken into system-specific subcontracts — fire alarm and life safety as one package, security (access control + CCTV) as another, and data infrastructure (cabling + network + monitoring) as a third.

Skills and Certifications Required

This project's seven LV systems span multiple disciplines, and the data center environment demands a higher level of precision than standard commercial construction. Here is what contractors need in their workforce to compete for this work.

System	Key Certifications	Critical Skills
Structured Cabling	BICSI INST2 (Copper/Fiber), RCDD for design	Cat6A termination, fiber splicing, Fluke DSX certification testing, high-density rack building
Fire Alarm	NICET Level II+, State FA License	NFPA 72 compliance, VESDA programming, clean agent system coordination, SLC/NAC wiring
Access Control	PSP (ASIS), Manufacturer certs (Genetec, HID)	Biometric reader installation, IP networking, mantrap configuration, audit system setup
CCTV	Manufacturer certs (Axis, Avigilon, Milestone)	IP camera deployment, PoE networking, VMS configuration, video analytics setup
Environmental Monitoring	BACnet certification, Manufacturer training	Sensor deployment, BACnet/IP integration, leak detection systems, NOC alerting
Power Monitoring	Manufacturer certs (Schneider, Eaton)	PDU metering, power quality analysis, BMS integration, capacity planning tools
Network Infrastructure	BICSI RCDD, CompTIA Network+	Fiber distribution, cross-connect management, low-latency path design

Entry-level technicians with BICSI Installer 1 certifications can contribute to cable pulling, device mounting, and basic terminations throughout the facility. Mid-level techs with NICET Level II or BICSI INSTC will handle system wiring, testing, and commissioning. The project will need at least one RCDD for cabling design oversight, a NICET Level III+ for fire alarm system engineering, and technicians with data center-specific experience for the environmental and power monitoring integrations.

One certification that stands out for this project: the Certified Data Center Professional (CDCP) designation. Power Construction's own team holds this certification, and subcontractors who can demonstrate CDCP-level knowledge of data center operations will have a competitive edge in the bidding process.

Contractors should verify their Illinois low voltage contractor licensing is current before bidding, as the state requires specific credentials for alarm and security system installation.

Market Signal

Chicago's data center market is experiencing explosive growth driven by AI and cloud computing demand. The city absorbed 368 megawatts of data center capacity in 2025, ranking it among the top five markets nationally. Even more significant: approximately 4 gigawatts of new data center capacity is currently in the pipeline for the greater Chicago area.

HydraVault's project is part of a broader trend of purpose-built AI data centers moving into urban cores — a departure from the traditional suburban data center campuses that have dominated the market for decades. The South Loop location, with its fiber interconnect proximity and power grid access, represents a new playbook for high-performance computing facilities. This is not an isolated project: the former Cboe headquarters in the Loop is also being converted into a 33-megawatt data center, and several other adaptive reuse projects are in various stages of planning throughout downtown Chicago.

For low voltage contractors in the Chicago metropolitan area, this trend signals sustained, multi-year demand across all major LV system types. Data centers require high-quality installations with zero tolerance for downtime, which means certified technicians, rigorous testing protocols, and formal commissioning processes. Contractors who invest in data center-specific certifications — particularly CDCP designations and manufacturer training on precision monitoring systems — will be well-positioned to capture work not just on HydraVault's facility, but across the dozens of similar projects coming online through 2027 and beyond.

The message for contractors in the Midwest is clear: data center LV work is no longer a niche specialty. It is becoming a core market segment, and the firms that build their capabilities now will have a significant head start.

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