Server Farm Realty Opens Chicago Building

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Chicago's Mayor Emanuel tours Peerless Network's data center Facility in Server Farm Realty's new building at 840 South Canal Street. (Photo: Server Farm Realty)

Data center developer Server Farm Realty (SFR) this week opened its new Chicago facility at 840 South Canal Street, hosting local officials for a tour of new space for anchor tenant Peerless Network.

840 South Canal is a 450,000 square foot facility that previously housed a General Electric factory and served as Northern Trust's data center and operations hub. Server Farm Realty says it has has invested more than $220 million to redevelop and transform the building into a Tier III data center. The eight-story building currently has 4 megwatts of critical power available over five data center floors, with the potential to support 20 megawatts of critical power and up to 138,000 square feet of raised floor data center suites.

"Server Farm Realty's selection of Chicago reiterates the strength of what our city offers businesses," said Rahm Emanuel, the Mayor of Chicago, who cut the ribbon to open the facility and took a tour of the Peerless Network data center. "Our workforce, coupled with accessible real estate, an abundance of power all centrally located with extensive communications infrastructure leading in all directions, there is no doubt that the city is well positioned to continue to attract businesses, create more job opportunities and to grow economically today and in the future."

Server Farm Realty is the data center development arm of the Red Sea Group, an investment group based in Israel. The company is developing new facilities in Santa Clara, Chicago and Washington State. The company acquired the Canal Street site in early 2011.

Ideal for Low-Latency Infrastructure

"Chicago is the ideal location for secure, low latency network infrastructure," says Avner Papouchado, CEO of Server Farm Realty. "Aggressive power rates with a low carbon fuel mix and efficient, free cooling conditions throughout much of the year align well with what today's technology and media companies, healthcare organizations, financial services firms, and many others are looking for a data center. We welcome Peerless into our expanding portfolio, now spanning seven facilities with more than 1.3 million square feet of hardened, state-of-the-art and scalable data center space."

Peerless Network is a privately held company headquartered in Chicago, which currently offers service in Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets in 36 states and over one hundred Local access Transport areas (LATAs). It has occupied the top floor of the Server Farm Realty building, where it operates 1.5 megawatts of space.

"SFR's newest facility is located in one of the world's most strategic markets for data center development and connectivity," said John Barnicle, President and CEO of Peerless Network. "As the first tenant in the building, we have already enjoyed highly personable service, customized to meet our business’ unique needs while implemented in a timely and extremely professional manner.

"Peerless, SFR, and the Mayor are all bringing big data to the city of big shoulders," Barnicle added. "And Peerless helps bridge the gap between carriers, service providers and enterprises as they transition their networks to cloud-based applications using internet protocol."

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Participating in the ribbon cutting are (from left to right): Avner Papouchado (CEO of Server Farm Realty), Rahm Emanuel (Mayor of Chicago), Darren Thurber, (VP of Critical Infrastructure, Server Farm Realty) and John Barnicle (CEO of Peerless Network).