Comcast Heads to Oregon with T5
Sources tell us the telecom giant is planning to take the bulk of Atlanta-based T5 Data Center's T5@Portland facility that's now under construction.
Comcast will take half of the 220k SF facility in Portland, sources say. The Oregonian reported in September that a Fortune 100 company was poised to move into the facility, but did not identify it. T5's Frank Lyles, here at our recent data center event in Atlanta, declined to comment on news of Comcast. T5's Portland play--which will ultimately involve two buildings --comes with a lot of confidence in the market. As we previously reported, its second data center at T5@Portland will go completely spec.
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Carter Validus Raising Second Billion-Plus Fund
Carter Validus is raising another fund as it prepares to go on yet another buying spree in 2015. Carter Validus' John Regan says after closing on Mission Critical REIT I, the firm is now funding its Mission Critical REIT II, and it plans to raise much, much more this time. REIT I raised $1.6B-plus for its shopping spree in the past few years, including the firm's recent purchases of GE's and ETrade's data centers in metro Atlanta. REIT II, John tells us, looks to raise $2.25B, and with leverage could exceed $4B in buying power as it hunts for more medical facilities and data centers.
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Internap Sees Customers Chill Over US Spying
The revelation of US spying on private data has had its effects on customer demand, says Internap's Andy McBath. He cites how in 2013, Internap purchased Canadian company iWeb, and learned that a lot of companies were moving data to Canada due to the scare from The Patriot Act and revelations of spying. “The perception is that the data could be sort of seized,” Andy says. “Whether that's a perception or reality, it's there.” Domestic surveillance and its impact on customer demand for US data center space has been a bubbling topic in recent months. Back in October, Internet Infrastructure Coalition's David Snead listed it among the four biggest issues facing data center operators. |
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Equinix's Unique Canadian Data Center Look
 Bisnow got a sneak peek at a new super cool (both temp wise and image wise) data center north of the US border. The Parliament Street Data Centre, nearing completion at the edge of Toronto's Distillery District, is the first purpose-built data center downtown in decades. It's also an awesome-looking building designed to resemble a punch card. We met up with the guys who created it: WZMH Architects principals Nicola Casciato and Zenon Radewych. Developed by Bresler, the center is a five-story, 237k SF facility designed for lead tenant Equinix, which announced way back in 2012 that it was planning to lease about one third of the building's white space. The duo tell us it was a challenge to make the data center look interesting when design requirements meant extremely limited use of windows. “There are privacy issues involved, but also heating and ventilating issues,” Nicola explains. “Putting windows into a building like this compromises the mechanical systems.”
 The data center features black metal cladding and terra cotta panels that tie it in with the red-brick character of the surrounding area, while also evoking the look of an old-school computer punch card. Though there are few windows, it has glass on the ground level for the tenant's offices. There's also a glass cube at the southwest corner that houses conference rooms on the upper floors, with great city views. (Conference daydreamers: beware.) Nicola notes glass is used here to connect the building with street life on Parliament and the pedestrian traffic coming from the Distillery District. The facility's interior isn't shabby either...so we're told. While we weren't granted entry to the top-secret data center, Nicola tells us “there's a high level of design inside—it's not just some basic space.” He notes the lead tenant values good design. “We visited a couple of their buildings in New York and the interiors are really cool, so we're lucky to be able to implement that here.” |
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