DP Facilities has officially opened its 65,000 square foot (6,039 sq m) Mineral Gap data center in Wise County, Virginia.
Originally announced in 2015, and completed late last year, the $65 million project is set on 22 acres of the Lonesome Pine Business and Technology Park. During unveiling ceremony for Mineral Gap, DP Facilities added that it planned to increase the size of the data center and expected to create 40 jobs.
Armed guards and ticked boxes
“Mineral Gap will provide continuous operational continuity with experts available around the clock, cutting edge technologies, and back-up systems,” DP Facilities president Mark Gerard said.
The Tier III certified facility is designed with N+2 redundancy, has up to 15MW of power, and claims estimated PUE of 1.2. Electricity costs are low, at around 6 cents per kwh.
Based in Southwest Virginia, Mineral Gap is geared towards federal and state government agencies as well as commercial clientèle.
As part of its push for that market, DP Facilities has highlighted Mineral Gap’s anti-terrorism protection measures - it’s a high-strength, pre-cast concrete building with K-rated, US Department of State certified anti-ram fencing, wedge barriers, a perimeter blast berm and counter-IED protective measures.
The facility has its own dedicated force of armed security personnel, an advanced tactical command center and “extensive” surveillance systems.
When it comes to compliance, the facility meets SSAE16 and SOC 1 & SOC 2 type standards and is NIST compliant.
The next step
Phases II and III of Mineral Gap will bring the site to a size of over 200,000 square feet (18,580 sq m), including administrative support buildings, the company said. This expansion will take advantage of more than 50 additional acres on the technology park.
Virginia Secretary of Technology Karen Jackson said the company’s decision to choose the area “is great news for Southwest Virginia and the Commonwealth. Growing the technology based businesses in the Commonwealth and particularly in rural parts of the state, is key to our efforts to build the New Virginia Economy.”
The New Virginia Economy is an initiative by Governor Terry McAuliffe’s administration to increase private sector jobs. The Mineral Gap project was also backed by a $350,000 grant in Tobacco Region Opportunity Funds, approved by The Virginia Tobacco Commission.
County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Dana Kilgore said: “This project offers tremendous opportunities for additional development and we hope other high-technology companies will recognize, as DP Facilities did, that Wise County is committed to transforming the region into a secure technology corridor.
“Abundant broadband fiber, redundant electrical power, and collaboration with the University of Virginia’s College at Wise and Mountain Empire Community College make Wise County an ideal location for any number of strategic partnerships in technology.”