Dallas-based data center developer Skybox Datacenters has started construction on its Houston One facility in Katy, Texas.

Skybox said the 86,960 sq ft facility will initially offer four private 10,000 sq ft data halls and the ability to expand to 12 data halls within its 20 acre campus.

The Houston One facility is located within Houston’s Energy Corridor which houses oil & gas and energy companies including BP America and Shell Oil Company.

Houston One will benefit from access to Houston’s Interstate 10 fiber-optic backbone which Skybox said makes it ideal for users located in the Energy Corridor, Galleria and Downtown.

Skybox Houston One boasts 12.5 MW of critical load and is powered by a loop-fed, 300 MW electric utility substation immediately adjacent to the site.

The facility is designed to LEED Silver standard and the FM I-150 roof system with concrete roof deck is designed to resist 190 mph hurricane grade winds.

Skybox said it is providing unmatched power utility reliability by equipping users with both dual feed A/B utility power feeds in robust underground concrete encased duct banks and Premium Rollover Service in the power utility equipment configuration – it claims this is the first of its kind in the Houston colocation data center market.

The facility will also introduce its DoubleDense technology, which Skybox has specifically created for industry-unique requirements of users engaged in high-density computing.

Commercial real estate firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s global data center practice leader, Bryan Loewen said over the past two to three years Houston has become a very dynamic data center market.

“A meaningful contributor to the market has been major oil & gas firms and their need for fast, low-latency access to geoseismic data," Loewen said.

"Additionally, we expect the requirements for local data center product to only increase as the reliance and dependence on technology increases for all companies in the greater Houston market."

The facility is expected to be completed and available by this November.