Jun 26, 2026 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
A shuttered incinerator in Robbins, near Chicago, is attracting interest from multiple data center developers. According to NBC and the Chicago Tribune, at least five potential buyers have approached owner Paul Duggan this year about acquiring the 16-acre Robbins Resource Recovery Center site at 13400 S Kedzie Ave for data center development. The property is reportedly being marketed for $25–30 million.
“The model we are looking at is three buildings on the property,” said Duggan. “Or it could be one owner and three tenants or one owner and one tenant, like a Microsoft.”
“I know there are a lot of negative stories out there, but my job as mayor is to be innovative,” he told NBC. “Water, electricity, noise, pollution, and environmental all are concerns of mine too, but we are in the discovery phase. If we cannot solve those issues, it will never enter Robbins. We are in talks with the owner to explore.”
Robbins is a village in Cook County, about 18 miles south of downtown Chicago. The incinerator site spans seven buildings along the Cal-Sag Canal and originally opened around 1997, closing in 2000 after tax subsidies were removed. Designed to process over 1,000 tons of waste per day, it was later considered for conversion into a natural gas and fertilizer facility around 2021.
