T5 Data Centers has topped out its data center in Northlake, to the west of the city of Chicago, Illinois.

“Topping out” means that the structural framework of a given project has been finished.

The three-story facility, called Chicago III, will span 250,000 sq ft (23,000 sqm) and offer 36MW of capacity. Announced in 2023, the data center was built by Clune Construction.

“This milestone represents more than just a construction achievement—it reflects the trust we’ve built with our client and the pride our people bring to the job every day,” said Brian Donahue, managing director at Clune Construction.

Chicago is one of the largest data center markets in North America, but available server space is low.

T5 has two operational data centers in the area. Chicago I, which offers 20MW of capacity, and Chicago II, which offers 30MW, are located in Elk Grove Village, just northwest of Northlake.

T5 is also set to finish the first phase of a 1.2GW hyperscale facility, Chicago IV, by 2027. Consisting of 20 60MW buildings, it will be located in Grayslake, a village between Milwaukee and Chicago. T5 announced in February 2025 that it had five gigawatt-scale campuses in the pipeline.

The company recently expanded its joint platform with QuadReal Property Group. The joint venture was announced back in 2019 to develop and acquire enterprise and hyperscale data centers.

Founded in 2008, T5 is an American data center operator with facilities in California, Oregon, Georgia, Illinois, Texas, and North Carolina.

Earlier this week, CyrusOne topped out a data center in Chicago. When completed, the campus will have two data centers spanning a total of 500,000 sq ft (46,500 sqm), offering an initial 18MW of capacity, scalable depending on demand.