Montgomery Westland Bunker Adds Tenants

The Montgomery Westland Data Center, the ultra-secure data bunker near Houston, has recently signed up new tenants who will occupy about 5,000 square feet of data center space and 10,000 square feet of business continuity space, the company says.

Montgomery Westland, previously known as the Westlin Bunker, is located in Montgomery, Texas, about 40 miles from downtown Houston. The company has now filled 30,500 square feet of the 38,000 square foot first phase of the data center space at the campus. A second phase adding another 30,000 square feet is planned.

The Montgomery Westland property was initially built by Ling-Chieh Kung, a nephew of Chiang Kai-shek and founder of Westlin Oil. Fearing a nuclear war, the reclusive Kung built a 40,000 square foot underground facility from reinforced concrete, along with a 100,000 square foot office building. After Kung’s oil company collapsed, the facility stood vacant for years before it was converted to data center use in 2004.

In April 2007 the facility was acquired by an investor group led by telecom industry veteran Jymme Gomez, which has invested more than $15 million in improvements to the property. Customers include Continental Airlines, T-Systems, Hearst Corporation, ExpressJet and Level 3. The 55-acre site allows for long-term buildout of up to 500,000 square feet of data center space, the company says.

“It is our performance record that has allowed us to attract additional fortune 500 companies and Government agencies that demand optimal protection during disasters," said Gomez, the sole CEO and General Partner. "Montgomery Westland is directed by a forward thinking operations team of highly skilled professionals whose passion and commitment for excellence is second to none. The 55 acre campus is brimming with technology that will allow us to grow and move into the next generation of data center operations."

Gomez spent 32 years with Southwestern Bell Telephone/AT&T. After retiring in 1998, Gomez became President of AirLan Telecom Services, Mejia Personnel and Linares Resources, Inc. The three software companies were acquired by Quanta Services in 2001.