WARREN, Ohio – A developer affiliated with the construction of a proposed data center in Lordstown has been rebuffed by a town in central Illinois as it pursued a similar project there, according to reports.
The City of Pekin, Ill., on March 9 said it would not move forward with plans to build a data center in the community, according to National Public Radio affiliate WCBU.
According to reports, the proposal by Western Hospitality Partners last year would have constructed a new data center campus on approximately 330 acres of former farmland that is owned by the city.
Opposition to the project grew after the initial plans were announced in April 2025, reports say. Pekin is a town of approximately 30,000 residents and is located south of Peoria.
Mayor Mary Burress told attendees during a council meeting this week that rejecting the plan was a “difficult decision” after taking into consideration the sentiment of the community. “I truly believe there were aspects of this proposal that could have brought opportunity,” WCBU reported. “But it has become clear that, at this time, it’s not the right project for Pekin.”
The city land had not yet been sold to the developer. Nor were there any zoning or site plan submissions filed with the city.
Western Hospitality has faced backlash in other communities, most recently in Kentucky, where it withdrew plans for a data center in that state.
Meanwhile, Bristolville 25 Developer LLC, an entity related to Western Hospitality Partners, is engaged in litigation with the village of Lordstown regarding the company’s proposal to build a $3.6 billion data center campus on 133 acres, most of which is located in Lordstown.
According to documents filed with the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office, Bristolville 25 Developer initially organized in Ohio as Western Hospitality Partners – Bristolville LLC in September 2024. In April 2025, the entity reorganized as Bristolville 25 Developer LLC.
Bristolville applied Oct. 20 for a site plan review process that outlines the data center project and site plan, according to a letter drafted by attorneys representing the company and sent to Lordstown officials. During construction, the $3.6 billion project would employ an estimated 1,600 laborers at peak, and once operational it would employ 120 full-time employees with an average wage of more than $84 per hour.
Bristolville estimates the project would generate $21 million in direct wages annually and $11.4 million in indirect wages in the region, the company has said. It also is expected to generate more than $1 million in new state and local income tax revenues annually and millions of dollars in local property taxes.
Still, the project has elicited backlash within the Lordstown community from those who are concerned with higher utility costs, since data centers require an abundance of electrical power and water to operate.
In November, Lordstown Village Council voted to ban all data centers after Bristolville filed its site plan. In January, council repealed its ban and instead placed a six-month moratorium on such projects.
Bristolville and landowner BHGH Properties sued the village in the Ohio Supreme Court after Lordstown council approved the ban. The complaint requests a mandamus to force the village to move forward on the developer’s application for a zoning permit.
The village has said that since the ban is now rescinded, the developer’s lawsuit is moot, according to court papers. The village also argues that it has already begun the review process, so there is no reason to issue a court order, according to documents.
However, in a filing March 9, Bristolville responded that the mandamus should still be issued since Lordstown imposed the moratorium only after the lawsuit was filed and is using the moratorium as means to squash the entire project.
“They are now relying on the moratorium not just to delay Bristolville’s project but to stop the project in its tracks,” the latest filing says.