CHI · Market 04 of 25 · Central · Data checked 2026-10-20
Chicago Colocation & High-Density kW Counter-Quote Desk
Send your power, space and redundancy spec. At least three Chicago facilities bid blind against it, and every quote comes back on one 36-month landed cost within one business day.
- 350 E Cermak350 E Cermak Rd, Chicago, IL 60616
- CoreSite CH1427 S. LaSalle St, Chicago, IL 60605
- 717 South Wells717 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607
Landed cost model
36-month Chicago colocation cost
Model the full contract before any sales call. Defaults come from this metro's published benchmarks; replace them with the numbers on your quote or renewal notice.
Rate: CBRE, North America Data Center Trends H1 2026 (Figures 1 and 2: H1 2026 Wholesale Primary and Secondary Market Fundamentals) (H1 2026), Quoted asking rental rates, USD per kW per month, for 250+ kW at N+1/Tier III requirements (wholesale). Ranges as published. Power: EIA industrial average, IL, July 2026 (preliminary). Cross-connects: Inflect, Colocation Pricing: What to Expect for Racks, Cabinets, and Cages in 2026.
Interconnection
Carrier hotels and exchanges in Chicago
Racks in or cross-connected to these buildings reach the most carriers and cloud on-ramps.
Carrier hotels and meet-me rooms
| Building | Address | Operator | Why it matters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 350 E Cermak (Digital Realty ORD10; Equinix CH1/CH2/CH4) | 350 E Cermak Rd, Chicago, IL 60616 | Digital Realty (ORD10); Equinix CH1/CH2/CH4 in the same building | PeeringDB lists 335 networks at Equinix CH1/CH2/CH4 and 102 at Digital Realty in this building; Digital Realty lists ORD10 at 1,005,500 sq ft. | Source |
| CoreSite CH1 | 427 S. LaSalle St, Chicago, IL 60605 | CoreSite | PeeringDB lists 75 networks; 365 Data Centers also operates CH6 in the building. | Source |
| 717 South Wells | 717 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607 | Netrality Data Centers | Carrier-neutral meet-me room with 29 on-net network providers and 2 peering exchanges. | Source |
| 600 South Federal | 600 S Federal St, Chicago, IL 60605 | Multi-tenant (Digital Realty, DataBank ORD1) | DataBank describes its ORD1 suite as a carrier hotel interconnection hub with 17 onsite carriers. | Source |
Market snapshot
Chicago had 910.6 MW of inventory and 20.0 MW of available capacity in H1 2026.
Operators
Who can bid in Chicago
Operators with a facility in the metro, and the deployments each facility is built for. We invite the ones that fit your spec.
| Operator | Example facility | Built for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equinix | CH1, Chicago, IL | Interconnection-dense retail colocation with Equinix Fabric, Network Edge and cloud on-ramps. | Source |
| Digital Realty | ORD10 (350 E Cermak), Chicago, IL | Data center suites, high-density colocation, cross connects and Internet Exchange in a 1,005,500 sq ft building. | Source |
| CoreSite | CH1, 427 S. LaSalle St, Chicago, IL | Partial, quarter and half cabinets through cages and suites; 60+ networks and direct cloud on-ramps across the campus. | Source |
| Netrality | 717 South Wells, Chicago, IL | Retail cabinets, cages, private suites and dedicated floors in a carrier-neutral building with a meet-me room. | Source |
| DataBank | ORD1, 600 S Federal St, Chicago, IL | Cabinet colocation in a carrier hotel; 10 kW+ air-cooled and 25 kW+ liquid-cooled per cabinet. | Source |
| QTS | Chicago 1, 2800 S Ashland Ave, Chicago, IL | Two-building campus near downtown with pre-leasing for its second building. | Source |
Chicago colocation questions
Published wholesale asking rents in Chicago run $195 to $225 per kW per month for 250 kW and larger requirements (CBRE, North America Data Center Trends H1 2026 (Figures 1 and 2: H1 2026 Wholesale Primary and Secondary Market Fundamentals), H1 2026). Smaller cabinet deals usually price higher per kW, and power is often metered on top. Retail full racks generally run $900 to $2,000 per month (Inflect, 2026-04-01).
The main interconnection buildings are 350 E Cermak (350 E Cermak Rd, Chicago, IL 60616), CoreSite CH1 (427 S. LaSalle St, Chicago, IL 60605), 717 South Wells (717 S Wells St, Chicago, IL 60607), 600 South Federal (600 S Federal St, Chicago, IL 60605). Buildings with more networks on site mean shorter, cheaper cross-connects to the carriers and clouds you need.
The industrial electricity average is 11.87 cents/kWh (IL industrial). Facilities that bill power separately pass this through with their PUE on top, so ask each bidder for its billed PUE and power rate.
Providers bid blind: they see the technical spec only, never your name, email, phone or company, and never a file you upload. We introduce you only to the provider you pick. We ask at least three facilities to price your power, space and interconnection spec, put every quote on one 36-month landed cost, and reply within one business day.