Golf courses · Illinois

Mountain Branch Golf Course

Imported, unreviewedRedevelopedRetrofit proposedJoppa, IL

Proposed 275-acre data center redevelopment (AI energy campus) on former golf course; status 'proposed' with no confirmed approvals or construction. · summary, model-written

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Site profile6 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Finance and pipeline

Retrofit in the pipeline

This site: …proposed newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

Place

County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012

This site: -18% census-cbp · all sites with this

Shrinking county

This site: -3.3% census-acs · all sites with this

Scale

60+ acre site

This site: 275 acres newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

Strategy

Redeveloped

This site: AI energy campus record · all sites with this

New use

Education

This site: AI energy campus newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

Status	Retrofit proposednewtypes-extraction reported
Strategy	Redevelopment, proposedWikipedia no source
New uses	data centerWikipedia no source
What is there now	AI energy campusnewtypes-extraction reported
Redeveloper	Bill Vasilakopoulosnewtypes-extraction reported

Site context

Housing permits, Massac County (IL), 2024	0 units in 5+ unit buildings, 0 in 2–4, 8 single-family; 2023: 0 in 5+Census BPS
Other atlas sites nearby	0 within 10 km, 1 within 25 kmcomputed
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)	337 jobs in 32 establishments; average annual pay $33,854; employment location quotient 1.20; employment +5.0% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 2022	925 jobs; 33 in retail trade, 70 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 17127970100)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)	children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 41th income percentile as adults; 0.1% incarcerated at the 2010 count (403 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)	not a low-access tract at 1 mile; 99% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 11.0%; median family income $72,436; 209 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
Schools	Joppa-Maple Grove Unit District 38 (PK-12); 1 public school within 1 mile: Joppa Jr & Sr High SchoolNCES EDGE
Elevation	355 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025	85 county-logged events: 31 flood, 31 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 5 tornado; $2,448,000 property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 62953, 2026-09	median list price $110,000; 1 active listings; median 23 days on market; 0% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023	32 establishments (-18%); 315 jobs (-4%)Census CBP
Housing market in the county	typical home value $117,414 (+3% 1 yr, +7% 5 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)	1,133 vehicles a day on JOPPA ST (major collector, 2 lanes); 3 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Mountain Branch Golf Course (275 acres, Joppa, IL) is proposed for redevelopment as a data center (labeled 'AI energy campus'). Developer Bill Vasilakopoulos is listed. Status is 'proposed'.

Why. Record shows county housing market (ZHVI $117,414, +3.1% YoY) and retail decline (-18% establishments since 2012). County population shrank -3.3% (2018–23). Traffic is low (1,133 ADT on JOPPA ST, major collector).

Where it stands. No construction permits or approvals confirmed. Peer sites (e.g., Central Manufacturing District, Chicago) have similar size/strategy but no direct relevance to this site's status. County permits show minimal residential activity (2023–2024).

For a planner

Status is 'proposed'—no permits or approvals noted.
County shrinkage and retail decline are contextual factors.
Traffic volume is low (1,133 ADT).

For a developer

Developer named but no timeline or funding details.
Peer comparisons exist but don't confirm feasibility.
No evidence of active construction or approvals beyond 'proposed'.

What we do not know yet

No confirmation of planning approvals or construction start.
County shrinkage and retail decline are noted but not linked to project viability.
Traffic data shows low volume; no access analysis provided.

Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

Central Manufacturing District, Chicago, IL · Industrial sites · similar size (265 acres); same strategy: redevelop; also in IL
Lakehurst Mall, Waukegan, IL · Malls · similar size (200 acres); same strategy: redevelop; also in IL
Wichita Falls Business Park, Wichita Falls, TX · Office parks · similar size (225 acres); same strategy: redevelop
Former Sears Headquarters, Hoffman Estates, IL · Office parks · similar size (273 acres); same strategy: redevelop; also in IL

Elsewhere on the web

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

already in play: under construction, approved, or sold to a developer with housing plans
275 acres
county shrank -3.3% 2018–23

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Acres	275newtypes-extraction
County	Massac County
Census division	3 · East North Central
Notes	Draft from foxbaltimore.com, model-extracted, unreviewed: Mountain Branch Golf Course, a 275-acre golf course in Joppa, Harford County, is proposed to be redeveloped into an AI energy campus data center.

Not yet recorded: GLA, year opened, original developer, retrofit year. Know it? Tell us.

Sources

As Harford County eyes data center ban, golf course owner defends ...
1 quoted sentence
Mountain Branch Golf Course

Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "Mountain Branch Golf Course, Joppa, IL." Record n-03ebe50c55, imported, unreviewed. Built on the public Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed. https://retrofitatlas.org/golf-courses/il/joppa-mountain-branch-golf-course/ (accessed 2026-10-20).

BibTeX

@misc{retrofitatlas_joppamountainbranchgolfcourse,
  title = {Mountain Branch Golf Course, Joppa, IL},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/golf-courses/il/joppa-mountain-branch-golf-course/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record n-03ebe50c55, release 2026.10.20, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-20}
}

How to cite, versioning

Link back

Paste on a project page: <a href="https://retrofitatlas.org/golf-courses/il/joppa-mountain-branch-golf-course/">Mountain Branch Golf Course on Retrofit Atlas</a>