Ascent Gets Funding for Chicago Project

Data center developer Ascent Corporation has secured funding to build a second major data center in Northlake, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, the company said today. The 280,000 square foot facility, which was announced in May 2009, is being built adjacent to Ascent’s first Northlake property, an enormous Microsoft Corp. data center.

Ascent said its CH2 Data Center will be a multi-tenant data center facility offering build-to-suit "Dynamic Data Center Suites" that can be customized for customer requirements. The company is building an onsite dedicated substation which will deliver 54 megawatts of power via dual diverse electrical transmission lines.

"Our facility will provide tenants with a purpose-built data center solution designed to meet their specific IT requirements, allowing global customers to remain at the forefront of the economy," said Phil Horstmann, CEO, Ascent Corporation. "Giving customers the opportunity to drive their design will help our customers maximize their efficiency while cutting investment and operational costs. Additionally, our power capacity and cost advantages are among the best in the country."

The Dynamic Data Center Suites model allows customers to lease a basic powered shell or a fully constructed, turn-key space. Finished suites are fully customizable units that can maintain their own shipping and receiving docks, entrance doors, branded lobbies and personnel. Tenants can choose between a raised floor or slab environment, chilled water or air-side cooling, or standard racks or container-based computing units. Data halls in CH2 will range from 10,000 to 250,000 square feet.

There was over 9 megawatts of data center space absorbed in the suburban Chicago market during the first four months of the year, according to a new analysis from Grubb & Ellis' National Data Center Practice. About 7 megawatts was leased at DuPont Fabros Technology's CH1 data center in Elk Grove Village, another western suburb of Chicago. The DuPont Fabros facility is now 100 percent leased, meaning companies seeking wholesale space in suburban Chicago will need to consider other facilities.

Headquartered in Saint Louis, Ascent specializes in advanced mission critical facilities and offers clients a broad range of delivery models spanning shell & core, build-to-suit, turnkey, and outsourced critical systems operations. Ascent’s clients include Fortune 500 firms, and service providers.