QTS has bought a former semiconductor plant in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro it plans to turn into a data center for an undisclosed sum. This is the Overland Park, Kansas-based company’s first entry into the Dallas market.

The acquisition falls into the data center provider’s development strategy to obtain and revitalize large properties in high-demand and growing data center markets.

The facility sits on a 40-acre campus in the Irving-Las Colinas area. It measures 700,000sq ft - a footprint that can be doubled on the same campus.

The campus is powered by an on-site 140MW dual-fed substation. In addition, the facility's diverse fiber network connections will allow QTS to provide carrier-neutral connectivity.

"We conducted an extensive search when looking for the next site to add to our nationwide portfolio of data centers,” the company’s CEO Chad Williams said. “This facility provides the scale and flexibility to support our ... product offerings.”

Other markets QTS has presence in include Atlanta, Georgia, Richmond, Virginia, and Northern California. Similar to the mega data center developments at itsAtlanta and Richmond locations, the Dallas site will be brought online in phases, with expectations for enterprise tenants to move in in the first quarter 2014.

Dallas will be the second new market that QTS has entered in recent months, following its recent acquisition of the Herakles data center in Sacramento, California.