CityNAP Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

San Antonio interconnection provider CityNAP has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reporting just $100,000 in assets and $460,000 in debts, according to local media. The company, founded in 2006, told customers that it will continue to operate as it attempts to reorganize.

While the San Antonio suburb of Westover Hills has developed into a booming hub for single-tenant corporate data centers, CityNAP sought to build a network access point (NAP) in downtown San Antonio to provide interconnection services to telecom providers. CityNAP operates a 10,000 square foot carrier neutral data center at 415 North Main Street and has 18 customers, according to the San Antonio BizJournal, which said the company owes at least $230,000 to its landlord, Pecan Paragon Ltd.

CityNAP was founded by Frank Robles, a telecom industry veteran who was an early employee of pioneering ISP NetCom and later founded metro network provider Yipes Communications. Graham Weston, the executive chairman of San Antonio-based managed hosting firm Rackspace (RAX), reportedly encouraged Robles to establish a NAP in the city.

Last year CityNAP touted its status as a "green" data center by signing a new contract with CPS Energy to purchase all of its power from renewable wind-generated electric sources. In January 2008 CityNAP signed a management agreement with Neopolitan Networks, another San Antonio company founded and headed by Robles. Neopolitan, which specializes in metropolitan area networks connectivity, agreed to assume full management of CityNAP.