Cologix and Tract founder Grant van Rooyen has launched a new data center company to develop large-scale campuses in the US.
Van Rooyen’s Tract Capital, which describes itself as an alternative asset manager focused on “creating businesses that enable rapid scaling of digital infrastructure,“ this week announced the launch of Fleet Data Centers.
Fleet will be focused on “mega-scale campuses with a prioritized target of single-user campuses” of 500MW and above.
Fleet will reportedly be starting with up to 3GW of development in North America. Details on where Fleet will be developing, beyond “key US markets,” were not shared.
Chris Vonderhaar has been appointed as president at Fleet Data Centers. He was previously Tract's president of development. He joined Tract last year from Google Cloud, where he served as VP of demand and supply management. Prior to Google, Vonderhaar served more than a decade at Amazon Web Services (AWS) where he was responsible for the design, planning, construction, and operations of AWS’ data center platform, including energy and sustainability.
“Our team has direct insight into the challenges hyperscalers face as they scale. Designing, building, and operating these platforms is getting harder while demand is accelerating,” said Vonderhaar. “Hyperscalers need infrastructure that is going to deliver predictability and flexibility decades into the future. Our collaborative, long-term model backed by our engineering, system, and operational excellence positions Fleet Data Centers to be an integrated extension of our customers’ data center platforms. Grant and the Tract Capital team have been successfully starting new and innovative businesses for decades and have a proven and respected record of success. I am thrilled to be their partner.”
Colorado-based Tract was founded by former Cologix CEO Grant van Rooyen and describes itself as a company that acquires, zones, entitles, and develops ‘master-planned’ data center parks. After launching in Nevada, Tract has plans for large-scale campuses across Texas, Virginia, Arizona, Minnesota, and Utah.
Rather than building its own data centers, Tract is focused on preparing land for other developers and operators to develop their own facilities on Tract-owned land. Talking to DCD last year, van Rooyen said Tract wouldn’t be engaging in its own data center development.
A spokesperson for Fleet told DCD there will be times where the company will be building on Tract-owned land, but Fleet will not have the first option, and Tract will continue to sell land to other companies, even if they compete with Fleet.
This week’s announcement was the first mention of Tract Capital, which currently owns Tract and Fleet.
“We are focused on meeting the capacity and scale needs of tomorrow. Predictable and flexible data center delivery on large-scale contiguous campuses is the logical solution for customers trying to navigate divergent demand forecasts,” added Tract Capital CEO and executive chairman of Fleet, Grant van Rooyen. “The scope of our opportunity is expanding daily as customers search for new models to replace legacy building blocks and to meet the pace of demand for new infrastructure. Chris and I first worked together 26 years ago. I have immense admiration and respect for his body of work, his leadership anchored by a bias for action, and his character. It is a privilege to welcome him to our business family and to entrust the Fleet business into his capable hands.”
