Prologis has sold a data center development in Chicago, Illinois to HMC Capital.
Terms of the deal were not shared.
Prologis, in partnership with Skybox Datacenters, is converting one of its warehouses into a turnkey data center with a marketed capacity of 32MW.
Announced this week, the industrial real estate giant said the warehouse is held in the US Logistics Fund, a Prologis co-investment vehicle focused on premier logistics real estate, including higher and better-use conversions.
Skybox said the facility was located in the Elk Grove Village area of the city. Images shared by Skybox and Prologis suggest it was Chicago 1, the data center the two companies completed in early 2022.
DCD reached out for more information. Prologis confirmed Chicago 1 has been sold; the powered shell has been completed, with the turnkey development is in process.
The facility spans 190,000 sq ft on a ten-acre site. Prologis filed to redevelop a vacant warehouse at 800 E. Devon Ave in Elk Grove Village back in February 2021 and officially announced the plans the following month.
HMC Capital CEO and managing director, David Di Pilla, said: "We are proud to be acquiring this world-class turnkey data center, which is located in a tier one market and underpinned by long-term contracted cash flows.
"This will be a marquee asset for our newly established DigiCo Infrastructure REIT, which will own an AU$4.3 billion (US$2.75bn) portfolio of data centers in Australia and the United States. The asset is well suited to DigiCo's investment mandate which will target high-quality data center assets across the risk-return spectrum."
Australian investment firm HMC has quickly established a sizable data center portfolio. After acquiring North American digital infrastructure investor StratCap in February, HMC acquired Global Switch’s Australian unit and local operator iseek. HMC has since launched DigiCo Infrastructure Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), a new company to hold its data center assets. The REIT manages 13 data centers serving 586 customers, and said it had agreed deals for the acquisition of three North American enterprise and hyperscale data centers for AU$2.29 billion ($1.5bn).
"The data center industry is at a pivotal moment, experiencing unprecedented growth fueled by the demands of today's evolving digital economy," said Rob Morris, CEO of Skybox Datacenters. "By leveraging proven development expertise, innovative design partnerships, and deep utility relationships, Skybox and Prologis have delivered a world-class facility in Illinois. Skybox is dedicated to exceeding our customers' expectations as we continue to build our next generation of PowerCampus solutions for the world's largest companies."
Prologis targets data centers
Prologis said it has been rapidly scaling its power procurement to support demand for new data center development – it has some 490MW of data center capacity currently under construction. The company has reportedly secured 1.6W of power globally and has another 1.4GW in the advanced stages of procurement.
“We see great potential for warehouse conversions in key markets and properties in our portfolio," said Dan Letter, president of Prologis. "The end-to-end capabilities of our unique data center platform enable Prologis to capitalize on this compelling growth opportunity while delivering outsized returns to our investors and meeting customer demand for digital infrastructure."
Over the next four years, Prologis expects to develop approximately 20 data centers with $7-8 billion in additional investment.
"We are working with the largest hyperscalers and generative AI thought leaders to facilitate their growing data center needs," said Chris Curtis, global head of data centers for Prologis. "Because we have the world's largest portfolio of warehouses, our in-house expert team is identifying higher-value conversion opportunities across our approximately 5,600 buildings and 12,400 acres of land. We have delivered 29 projects dating back to 1999."
