Two US real estate companies have partnered to develop a large data center in Redmond, Washington, which will bring 46,000 sq ft of raised floor to the market.
 
The joint venture between Hines and North Pacific Realty Advisors has secured the land and all building permits for a 17MW campus and is currently in talks to secure funding for construction. Ed Doyne, director of technology services with Egis 7, which will oversee construction and operation of the data center, said the plan is to have a variety of offerings, from retail colo and managed services to large pod leases.
 
"It's our expectation that by the time we get the shells built, we'll have one or more of those pods already pre-committed to larger customers," Doyne told DatacenterDynamics. "Our objective is to build a facility that's in essence a colocation facility: neutral colocation, neutral connectivity, and open to any number of customers."
 
Ideally, at least a portion of one of the four pods at the site will be leased out on a wholesale basis to a retail colo provider, who will offer both colocation and managed services, Doyne said. "We don't mind if you only need a single cabinet ÔÇôÔÇô or if you need a quarter of the facility ÔÇô if it is your company's mission-critical equipment, we have the perfect place for it."
 
The campus will have two buildings, each split into two pods. One building will have 26,000 sq ft of raised floor and the other will have 20,000 sq ft. "The plan is to build the shells of both buildings right from the get-go."
 
Power will come from a nearby Puget Sound Energy substation.
 
Initial investment into the shell buildings and infrastructure will be north of US$120m, Doyne said, but how quickly the shells will be built out into data halls and brought online will depend on future tenant's requirements.
 
North Pacific Realty Advisors is owned by Bill Krippaehne, former CEO of Fisher Communications ÔÇô the company that built Seattle's large data center complex called Fisher Plaza. Hines is an international real-estate firm with presence in more than 100 cities around the world.