New data center planned for suburbs
(Crain's) — One of the firms that developed Microsoft Corp.'s new data center in Northlake wants to build a second center in the west suburb.
St. Louis-based Ascent Corp. announced plans Monday to build a 250,000-square-foot data center later this year just east of the Microsoft facility, which is about three times that size. Ascent's new data center would accommodate as many as a dozen tenants, most likely to be Internet companies, trading firms or banks.
The announcement comes five days after Crain's reported that Microsoft exercised an option to buy its property for more than $185 million.
Related story: Microsoft to buy its Northlake data center
Ascent CEO Phil Horstmann wouldn't comment on the Microsoft facility or the status of a sale. Sources say Microsoft has built about half of the interior space in the massive building and has begun moving ahead with operations after initially postponing use of the facility and a comparable one in Dublin, Ireland, to save money and await more demand.
Ascent hopes to break ground on its new facility in August, Mr. Horstmann says, and finish it by the end of the year. The company has about 20 acres under contract from Oak Brook-based CenterPoint Properties for the project.
Mr. Horstmann wouldn't disclose the sale price of the land or name his investors, but says financing won't be a struggle, despite the credit freeze that's stifling many commercial construction projects.
"Our financing is in pretty good shape," Mr. Horstmann says. "We're ready to go."
The new center, which could cost $1 billion when fully built out, will offer "suites" that allow tenants to have their own entrances, receiving docks and customized layouts as well as the ability to self-manage or outsource operations. In addition to the 250,000-square-foot new building, Ascent will erect a dedicated power substation.
"Customers can pretty much custom-tailor the arrangement," Mr. Horstmann says.
Ascent, in partnership with St. Louis-area real estate firm Koman Group LLC, built the 707,244-square-foot Microsoft data center in 2007 originally as a speculative project to accommodate a host of tenants. Mr. Horstmann wouldn't say whether Koman is involved in the new project.
