Data center development and management company Power Loft has sold one of its data center properties to Corporate Office Properties Trust. COPT, whose focus is on serving US-government clients, has agreed to pay about $115m for Power Loft's data center in Manassas, Virginia (about 30 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.). 

COPT President and CEO Randall Griffin said the acquisition would serve to speed up growth of the company's data center business. "The Northern Virginia data center market is among the strongest and most stable in the U.S., with demand expected to significantly outpace supply for the next several years,"he said in a statement. 

The 233,000 sq ft data center sits on a 20-acre site in Manassas' Innovation Park and provides 100,000 sq ft of raised floor. The data center floor is on the second level of the two-story building and the supporting infrastructure is housed on the ground level. 

Power Loft also has a 23-acre property near San Antonio, Texas, where it plans to deliver another 100,000 sq ft of raised floor sometime in 2011, according to the company's website. 

Two tenants have long-term leases in the data center, using 16 percent of the space combined. Both have long-term lease agreements for a combined initial power commitment of 3MW of critical power, with options to expand up to 5MW combined. According to news reports, one of the tenants is data center service provider Horizon and the other is an IT consulting and outsourcing company whose name has not been disclosed. 

COPT said in a news release it would complete remaining development of the site up to 18MW of critical power, with additional development costs estimated to be $166m. The building has the potential to provide up to 30MW at full build-out. 

Further development, management and leasing of the facility will be overseen by Powerloft Services, a joint venture COPT has formed with Power Loft founder James Coakley.