New CBRF factors into plan for Port data center

A proposal to build a community based residential facility on Port Washington’s south side is the latest step in Cloverleaf Infrastructure’s plan to build a massive data center campus on the city’s north side.

Aaron Bilyeu, Cloverleaf’s chief development officer, said Tuesday the building will replace an existing residential facility operated by Individual Growth Services on Highland Drive in the Town of Port.

Cloverleaf is purchasing the Highland Drive property currently occupied by the CBRF for its data center, and as part of its purchase agreement is working with IGS to relocate the CBRF to a new facility, Bilyeu said.

“We’re working with them to get it built and to enhance the services they offer,” he said. “They are a group home that provides services for adults with developmental disabilities. They need to relocate those clients into another state-licensed facility.”

The new facility, he said, will allow the facility to continue operating and provide a better experience for its clients.

A building, site and operating plan for the eight-bed CBRF was recommended for approval Tuesday by the city’s Design Review Board and will be presented to the Plan Commission on Thursday, May 15.

The new facility will be constructed on a 1.6-acre lot at the corner of Woodridge Lane and East Sauk Road currently owned by Town Supr. Greg Welton, who also owns a lot next to the site.

“I know very little about it,” Welton said of the project. “I haven’t even seen the plan.

“They (IGS) were kind of caught in the data center thing.”

His property met the requirements for the CBRF, Welton said, and since he didn’t have immediate plans for it, he agreed to sell the land.

“I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t think it would fit,” he said.

The CBRF is expected to be a single-story, 6,380 square feet facility for adults ages 18 to 80 with special needs. It will be staffed around the clock.

Four of the bedrooms will have en-suites while the other four will have access to a spa room.

There will also be a four-season room, exercise room and a kitchen designed to allow residents to participate in meal preparation.

Members of the Design Review Board were enthusiastic in their praise of the plan.

“It’s a wonderful residential scale. I think it will fit nicely in the neighborhood,” Jeremy Hartline, board chairman, said.

“It seems you thought this through well,” City Engineer Roger Strohm, a member of the board, said. “I really appreciate the detail.”

As plans for the CBRF move ahead, so too are plans for the data center complex.

Bilyeu said Cloverleaf, which plans and secures permits for data center projects, then sells those projects to technology companies to build and operate, is close to reaching an agreement with the end user for the Port project.

“We haven’t locked down the end user yet, but we’re close, super close,” he said. “We’re working with a limited number of parties. We’re talking weeks, not months (for a decision).”

The Port Common Council is expected to act Tuesday, May 20, on three ordinances that would pave the way for the data center complex, which would span nearly 2,000 acres and use as many as 3.5 gigawatts of power.

One of the ordinances to be considered Tuesday would annex 562 acres for the first phase of the project.

Another would amend the city’s comprehensive plan to include 1,910 acres for business park and industrial uses, while the third ordinance calls for rezoning 489.5 acres to a technology campus district to accommodate the data center’s initial stages.

The zoning code includes standards for everything from lighting, noise and landscaping to setback and building heights.