Real estate firm Penzance has broken ground on a data center in Chantilly, Virginia.

The company announced it has secured construction financing and broken ground on Chantilly Premier, a 100 percent leased powered shell located in Fairfax County, Northern Virginia.

"Penzance is excited to break ground on this project, which will deliver critical digital infrastructure in the world’s largest and most important data center market. We continue to advance our development pipeline and scale our platform in the data center industry, which reflects our commitment to the sector and the strength of this core data center market," said Cristopher White, partner at Penzance.

News that Penzance was looking to develop in Chantilly first arose in October 2022, and in September 2023, the county planners recommended approval for the development. The company secured approval from the county board in January 2024.

Set on some 80 acres of vacant land off Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, the data center will span 402,000 sq ft (37,350 sqm) across three stories. Penzance said it secured a build-to-suit lease with an unnamed hyperscaler in February 2025. The building is reportedly set to be delivered in the first half of 2027.

The $100 million in construction financing was secured from real estate investor QuadReal Property Group, with assistance from Cushman & Wakefield.

“This latest debt financing is in direct alignment with QuadReal’s investment strategy and our conviction in alternatives, including data centers,” said Paul Stern, senior vice president, US debt investments at QuadReal. “We are excited to partner with Penzance as they continue to scale their platform in key markets.”

Founded in 1996, Penzance is focused on residential, industrial, office, and data center developments. It owns a number of office, industrial, and flex sites in the wider DC area.

“We are thrilled to advise Penzance on this pivotal transaction," said Cushman & Wakefield’s Marshall Scallan. “Chantilly Premier stands out as a best-in-class development due to its robust infrastructure, and premier location in Data Center Alley. Securing this financing highlights the strong market appetite for high-quality, preleased assets backed by experienced sponsors.”

A Penzance affiliate acquired the vacant Chantilly parcel in August 2022. The site was previously zoned for a car sales site.

Based in British Columbia, QuadReal Property Group is a global real estate investment, operating, and development company with $89 billion in assets under management. It is wholly owned by British Columbia Investment Management Corporation. QuadReal has previously partnered with T5, including recently for a 5GW data center joint venture.