Digital Realty Accelerates its Building Plans

It's already been an active year for new data center projects. One of the industry's largest players is now stepping up its development efforts.

Digital Realty Trust announced plans to add data center space in nine cities across the globe, citing increased demand for wholesale data center space. The company, which is the world's largest data center developer and landlord, rolled out plans to develop 170,000 square feet of its plug-n-play Turn-Key Datacenter space across five key markets - New Jersey, London, northern Virginia, San Francisco and Dallas.

Digital Realty also announced construction plans to expand the data center space in five other properties it owns: 600 Federal (Chicago), 210 North Tucker (St. Louis), 113 North Meyers (Charlotte), 2323 Bryan Street (Dallas) and a property it owns in the Boston market.

"In response to the increased demand for our Turn-Key product, we are accelerating our development plans in these key markets and expect construction to be completed by mid-year," said Michael Foust, CEO of Digital Realty Trust. "Our redevelopment program is an essential component of our growth strategy. We are also focused on optimizing space in existing operating facilities to meet local demand for highly improved datacenter space while maximizing the returns to our shareholders."

The turn-key program offers customers finished ”plug and play” raised-floor data center space, which shifts the data center development costs from the tenant to the landlord, and allows for much quicker deployment than if the customer built a new facility on its own. Here are the details of how much turn-key space Digital will be building in each market:

With a portfolio of 84 properties and nearly 15 million square feet of space, Digital Realty is already the largest provider of data center space. It has become a leading example of the incumbent advantage available to companies with deep pockets in a capital-constrained environment.

"Our strong balance sheet enables us to fund our development program to meet the demand for our Turn-Key product," said William Stein, CFO and Chief Investment Officer. "Our financial strength and ability to access capital are significant advantages for customers seeking space in our global portfolio."