After removing over 2,400 cubic yards of debris, Lifeline Datacenters ended demolition and began construction on its new datacenter and office facility at the former Eastgate Consumer Mall in Indianapolis. Lifeline is transforming the 40-acre, former retail mall into 450,000 square feet of datacenter space supported by 200,000 square feet of office space. The project is a partnership between the principles of Lifeline Datacenters and Marvin Slomowitz, president of mark development in Kingston.
Alex Carroll, co-owner of Lifeline, said: "The Eastgate facility is designed to house primary or secondary computer room space for large and small companies from all over the nation. Lifeline is also providing office and storage space in addition to the datacenter facilities so companies can bring Information Technology staff and staging to a single campus environment. Indianapolis offers a central geographic location, some of the lowest power rates in the nation, a favorable construction climate and the most affordable housing in the top fifty markets. The Eastgate facility provides additional infrastructure that makes Indianapolis more attractive to companies looking to relocate their business."
Industry trends show that both large and small companies continue to outsource their computer datacenter facilities. Based on a recent study conducted by Trinity Information Systems, half of all companies will relocate or outsource some of their datacenters or computer applications in the next five years. American Power Conversion (APC) believes that in the next five years, 90% of all companies will experience at least one interruption in computer operations because of power limitations, power faults, or power availability. Companies that outsource the facilities side of their computer operations can significantly reduce these risks.
Lifeline's first phase of the build out includes fourth quarter 2008 availability of the first 60,000 square feet of datacenter floor space inside the former mall. The remaining mall space will be refit as customized office space and staging/storage facilities for datacenter clients' Information Technology staff and employees. Lifeline will then build free-standing tornado resistant-buildings to bring the total datacenter space to 450,000 square feet. Rich Banta, co-owner of Lifeline, said "Lifeline builds all hardened datacenter facilities to the Uptime Institute Hybrid Tier IV and TIA-942 specifications. There are no single points of failure for power, cooling, or data connectivity." Lifeline also plans a green campus environment by employing hydrogen-assisted diesel generators, reflective roof technologies, returning of old parking lots to green space, as well as implementing innovative HVAC technologies.
Lifeline's total investment in the project will be $50 million. Lifeline secured financing for this expansion from M&I; Bank in Indianapolis. "M&I; Bank is excited to be involved in this project. Lifeline Datacenters has been a valued customer of our bank and we expect an overwhelming success," stated Tim Massey, executive vice president of M&I; Bank.