About seven months after buying a 210-acre property in Richmond, Virginia, data center provider QTS is launching the first phase of its 1.3m-sq-ft data center complex at the site. Its first client is a government agency, which has taken 6,000 sq ft of space and 1MW of power at the facility. The agency’s data center will launch toward the end of this year.

The first phase opening this week provides a total of 50,000 sq ft of data center space and up to 18MW of power, according to a QTS news release. Suites at the complex are customizable from 1,000 sq ft to 50,000 sq ft. Additionally, the company offers retail-size colocation space and managed services in Richmond.

QTS has launched a new government-services division in its Washington, D.C., offices and at the Richmond complex The QTS Government Services unit will develop service packages tailored for government agencies and private organizations that work in the public sector.

Tesh Durvasula, chief marketing and business officer at QTS, said the new division would build on the company’s experience in “other regulated markets”, such as finance and healthcare.

“Both government agencies and others recognize the excellence of our new QTS Richmond Data Center, and with a dedicated team to create government solutions located so close to D.C., we expect to see continued demand and leasing following on the heels of the first government customer to occupy our new facility,” Durvasula said in a statement.

QTS acquired the 210-acre property in April for $12m through a bankruptcy-court auction. Its former owner was Qimonda. Durvasula told DatacenterDynamics FOCUS in April that Qimonda had built more than 200,000 sq ft of raised floor at the site. A total of 110MW was available at the site when the data center provider bought it and the capacity was expandable to 200MW.

The site has capacity to provide about 800,000 sq ft of data center floor.