Dallas-based Compass Data Centers has received initial permission to build a new facility in Chaska, a small town in North Minnesota.

Chaska is a suburb of Mineappolis, and despite a population of just about 25,000 people already hosts four data centers, operated by the likes of Stream Data Centers and ViaWest.

According to the Chaska Herald, the facility would be located on eight acres of land in the West Creek Corporate Center. It is currently not clear who might take ownership of the facility if the project goes ahead.

Made to order

Compass specializes in design and construction of data centers for large organizations. All of its projects are Tier III and LEED certified, and can be built on a suitable piece of land in as little as six months.

After the data center is complete, customers have three options: to lease the land and the facility, to purchase the facility or a hybrid option, where customers lease the building but maintain ownership of some elements of infrastructure.

The initial building in Chaska would offer 20,000 square feet of space, with plenty of room left for future expansion.

In addition to facilities owned by Stream and ViaWest, Chaska is home to a $100 million data center operated by the UnitedHealth group, used to provide remote healthcare services and a medical records repository.

Councilor Greg Boe said he was pleased to see a new data center within the Chaska Electric boundaries, but acknowledged that such projects do not provide many jobs in the community.

The construction work is expected to begin in Autumn, pending final approval from the council.