RagingWire Plans Major Data Center Campus in Ashburn

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The exterior of the RagingWire data center in Ashburn, Virginia. The company is buying 75 acres of land to build up to 750,000 square feet of additional data center space. (Photo: Rich Miller)

Another major data center is coming to "Data Center Alley" in Ashburn, Virginia. RagingWire Data Centers has agreed to buy 75 acres of land from Loudoun County, and plans to build up to 750,000 square feet of data center space on the property.

The project will continue the data center building boom in Loudoun County, which is already home to more than 5 million square feet of data center space, with several more projects under way or in the development pipeline. It also will create a larger East Coast beachhead for RagingWire, a colocation specialist based in Sacramento which opened a data center in Ashburn in July.

RagingWire has agreed to pay $20 million to buy 75 acres of vacant land owned by Loudoun County, which is adjacent to existing data center campuses for Verizon Business and DuPont Fabros Technology. The company said the expansion reflects the strong demand for its services in the northern Virginia market.

"RagingWire is thrilled to continue its investment in Loudoun County and expand its business coast to coast," said George Macricostas, founder and CEO of RagingWire. "We believe that Loudoun is the right location for us to expand our business operations, complimenting our flagship 500,000 square-foot data center in Sacramento, California and our newest facility in Ashburn, Virginia.”

Economic Boost for Loudoun County

The sale of the property has multiple benefits for Loudoun County. The revenue from the sale will go to capital improvement projects in the county, and RagingWire will begin paying property taxes of at least $200,000 a year on the vacant land. Annual property taxes from the project could exceed $16 million a year once the campus is developed for data center use, the county said.

"With their continued investment, RagingWire is helping to grow high tech in Loudoun County," said Scott York, Chairman of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, which approved the deal Tuesday night. "This land sale is good for Loudoun and good for RagingWire's customers. Now we look forward to breaking ground on a second RagingWire data center campus in the heart of ‘data center alley.’"

The new data center is scheduled to be built in phases, with a first phase of 350,000 square feet. The structure of the deal allows the campus to be developed in phases, but provides timelines for completion of development milestones. The buyer must submit plans for development approvals for phase one within 24 months of closing, and commence construction on phase one within five years of closing. If those timelines are not met, Loudoun County will have the right to repurchase the property for the $20 million sale price.

"We appreciate RagingWire’s commitment to Loudoun," said Buddy Rizer , Assistant Director of the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development. "Their investment in this campus is significant as we work hard to remain a world-class choice for technology companies."