US data center firm DC Blox has secured financing to build a new campus outside Atlanta, Georgia.

The company this week announced it has closed $1.15 billion in green loan financing for the construction of a data center campus in Douglas County, Georgia.

The funds will support the development of a 120MW data center and include campus expansion to support an additional 80MW, available as early as 2027. Although it was announced as a green loan, the sustainability targets to which the financing is tied weren’t shared.

“Securing this capital confirms confidence in our execution track record,” said Melih Ileri, SVP of capital markets & strategy at DC Blox. “Continuing to deliver our projects on-time and with excellence has earned us the trust of our customers and investors, leading to this historic growth in our business.”

The company announced plans for a campus in Douglas County – known as Atlanta West – in November 2023. The site was originally set to host two buildings; the 80MW Building A and the 40MW Building B, along with a substation; DC Blox filed to add a third, 80MW, building earlier this year. At full build-out, it will total some 1.25 million sq ft on 100 acres.

This latest financing follows the prior $265 million green loan secured in October, as well as equity investment secured from Post Road Group last year.

“With this latest project announcement, DC Blox continues to deliver on its mission to build the foundational digital infrastructure needed to drive the Southeast’s growing economy,” said Jeff Uphues, CEO of DC Blox.

“Atlanta is the fastest-growing data center market in the US today, and we are proud to enable our customers to expand their footprint in our region.”

ING Capital LLC served as the Structuring and Administrative Agent. ING, Mizuho Bank, Ltd, and Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking (Natixis CIB) served as Initial Coordinating Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners.

First Citizens Bank served as Coordinating Lead Arranger. CoBank ACB, LBBW New York Branch, The Toronto-Dominion Bank New York Branch, and KeyBank National Association, NA served as Joint Lead Arrangers. The Huntington National Bank served as Mandated Lead Arranger. ING and Natixis CIB also served as Joint Green Loan Coordinators. A&O Shearman served as counsel to DC BLOX, and Milbank served as counsel to the lenders.

“The DC Blox management team has done a terrific job positioning the business for success in the Southeast with a consistent focus on serving the customer and community,” added Michael Bogdan, managing partner at Post Road Group.

“We are thankful to all our capital partners who have helped capitalize the company to meet the tremendous hyperscale and edge growth the company has experienced.”

DC Blox operates facilities at locations across Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama; and Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is planning another facility in High Point, North Carolina, as well as two sites outside Atlanta, Georgia. The company recently announced plans for a new 45MW data center campus in South Carolina's Berkeley County. It was planning a facility outside Richmond, Virginia.

In October 2023, the company launched its first cable landing station (CLS) and data center at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and now has a second CLS in the works. Another CLS is planned in Florida.

Sustainability-linked financing is becoming an increasingly popular way for data center firms and telcos to raise funds for projects. Green loans will have repayment interest rates tied to specific sustainability goals, while green bonds are used to fund projects that fit certain sustainability criteria.