Data Center Investment News — 14/04/2023
Peterson Companies proposes 5.5 million sq ft data center park in Stafford County, Virginia
A company affiliated with US real estate firm Peterson is aiming to develop a massive data center campus outside Fredericksburg in Virginia’s Stafford County.
First reported by Potomac Local, Stafford Technology LC is aiming to rezone 524 acres on the east side of Richmond Highway within the Falmouth Election District to allow for data center development.
The aim, according to county documents, is to develop a “phased data center campus” close to Stafford Regional Airport which will contain approximately 5.5 million square feet (511,000 sqm) of data center buildings at full build-out. The site is currently greenfield woodland.
The project, known as the Stafford Technology Campus, would span more than 25 buildings of varying sizes and include at least one on-site substation, according to general development plans submitted by engineering firm Bohler.
Empyrion DC secures Korean loan for new hyperscale data centre
Asia data centre operator Empyrion DC Pte. Ltd. has reached an agreement with three Korean financial institutions to finance the construction of a facility in Seoul.
The financial close was reached between the Seraya Partners’ portfolio company, KEB Hana Bank and Hana Capital Co Ltd. The syndicated loan was arranged by KEB Hana Bank and Hyundai Asset Management Co., Ltd.
Located in the South Korean capital, the Gangnam Data Centre (GDC) is Empyrion DC’s second data centre project after establishing a footprint in Singapore.
GDC will house a 29 MW IT capacity green data centre with the first phase of the 10-floor building expected to be “ready-for-service” in H1 2025, slightly later than the originally announced 2024 target.
Brookfield acquires Data4 from AXA IM
European data center firm Data4 has been sold to Brookfield Infrastructure. AXA IM Alts this week announced the sale, though the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The news comes weeks after reports surfaced that Brookfield was in ‘exclusive talks’ to buy a majority stake in Paris-based Data4 that could value the operator at €3.5 billion ($3.77bn).
“AXA IM Alts remains highly confident in the long-term value creation potential of sectors related to the storage and communication of data and will continue to actively seek acquisition and development opportunities in these asset classes in key markets across the globe,” the company said.
Established in 2006 by Colony Capital (now DigitalBridge), Data4 currently operates around 30 data centers in France, Italy, Spain, Poland, and Luxembourg. The company is also developing a former army barracks in Hanau, Germany, that could reach 200,000 sqm (2.1 million sq ft) and 180MW.
Indonesia’s Astra forms joint venture with Equinix for Jakarta data center
Indonesian conglomerate Astra has joined Equinix’s plans to develop a data center in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Astra this week announced a new joint venture with the colocation firm, with Equinix holding 75 percent of the new venture.
The initial plan is for this joint venture to develop and operate an International Business Exchange (IBX) data center in the central business district of Jakarta named JK1, then expand further in Indonesia.
Set to launch in H2 2024, JK1 will span eight floors and is expected to provide more than 1,600 cabinets and more than 5,300 square meters (57,050 sq ft) of colocation space once fully developed.
Microsoft files for six-building data center campus in Virginia’s Mecklenburg County
Microsoft has filed to build another data center in Southern Virginia’s Mecklenburg County.
The US Army Corps Of Engineers’ Norfolk District this week received a joint permit application for Federal and State permits from the company.
According to the application – listed as LYH03 Bailey – Microsoft is proposing to construct a new data center facility to house servers used in cloud-based computing on land located west of Skipwith Road and north of Butler Farm Road.
“This facility will be constructed as an addition to Microsoft’s established southern Virginia Regional Network Group, which has outgrown current capacity faster than anticipated,” the application said.
Panattoni to build 48MW data center campus outside Barcelona, Spain
European industrial real estate developer Panattoni is planning a data center outside Barcelona, Spain.
The company announced this week that it has acquired a 60,000 sqm (645,830 sq ft) plot of land in Cerdanyola del Vallès to the north of Barcelona and aims to develop a 42MW two-building campus.
Construction on the first building is set to begin before the end of the year. Panattoni reportedly aims to invest around €300 million ($328m) in the project.
The two 8,542 sqm (91,945 sq ft) buildings will each contain three 1,608 sqm (17,300 sq ft) data halls and will include an on-site substation.
DataBank completes fresh round of California data centre investments
Colocation data centre operator DataBank has completed the expansion of its SNA2 facility in Irvine, California.
The additional 24,000 square feet of raised floor space—featuring 4 megawatts of critical power and a dedicated catcher reserve block—has brought the facility’s total build-out to 57,700 square feet and 8 megawatts of IT power.
Located at 17400 Von Karman Avenue in downtown Irvine, DataBank increased the capacity of SNA2 to continue supporting the growing technology ecosystem in Orange County.
The facility is located less than a half-mile from DataBank’s other Irvine data centre, SNA1. Combined, the two data centres offer nearly 89,000 square feet of raised floor space and almost 11 megawatts of power.
Cirion planning three new data centers across Latin America
Latin American digital infrastructure firm Cirion is planning three new data centers in the region.
This week the company announced plans for the construction of a new data center in the Quilicura region in Santiago (Chile), another data center in the industrial district of Macropolis in Lurin, Lima (Peru), and a new building in Cotia, São Paulo in Brazil. The three sites will total more than 6MW of capacity.
The company first announced that it had acquired a 25,000 sqm (269,100 sq ft) area in Santiago for the development of a second data center in August last year.
“We believe in the development of the economies of the region, supporting digital business models,” said Facundo Castro, CEO of Cirion Technologies. “As Latin America’s leading digital infrastructure and technology provider, we are dedicated to providing our customers with the highest quality services and technologies, and these expansions reflect Cirion´s continued commitment to providing our customers with the most comprehensive suite of solutions to support their digital transformation across the region.”
DataBank finishes expansion project for data center in Irvine, California
US data center firm DataBank has completed the expansion of a data center in Irvine, California.
The additional 24,000 square feet (2,200 sqm) of raised floor space and 4MW of capacity brings the facility’s total build-out to 57,700 square feet (5,360 sq m) and 8MW of critical IT power.
“Both of our Irvine data centers are ideal for companies that need robust data center performance,” said DataBank vice president of construction, Tony Qorri. “By providing Tier III facilities with redundant components and distribution paths, we can assure uptime for mission-critical IT environments.”
DataBank announced plans to expand the data center, known as SNA2 and located at 17400 Von Karman Avenue in Orange County, in April 2022.