Custom build wholesale data center provider Compass Datacenters is building its first data center in Northern Virginia.
The 6MW Loudoun County facility is the first data center as part of a planned 75MW campus.
Swimming upstream
The facility will be brought up to the full 75MW incrementally, at the moment there is no timeline for when this will be reached or when the building will open.
Compass previously focused on building wholesale facilities, so this 500,000 square foot (46,500 sq m) campus is a new strategy for the company.
Located just five miles out from Ashburn, Compass' campus has managed to weather a hard fought battle over the site's location.
The site’s proximity to Goose Creek, located slightly upstream of the public water intake, raised concerns that the water supply might be affected by erosion or sedimentation.
Other objections with regards to the natural environment include worries about the area’s ancient forests and wetlands, and rare rock formations which can only be found around Loudoun.
The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation stated that the area hosts a very rare ecosystem, a Northern Piedmont Mafic Barren, believed to only exist in ten locations worldwide.
In response to concerns, Compass agreed not to use the public water supply, and offered to build new turn lanes at the center of roads as well as footpaths, to plant two acres of pollinator plants, and to preserve an area intact for the planned Goose Creek Trail.
Chris Crosby, CEO of Compass Datacenters, said: “Northern Virginia is one of the most dynamic data center markets in the world. Over the past several months, we’ve been working diligently on the site preparing pads for the first building.”
He added: “Our Northern Virginia data center campus is part of a strategic initiative to develop Compass campuses in high-demand cloud and hyperscale markets. In addition to construction beginning on our Loudoun campus, we also recently procured land in Phoenix and two other major markets to continue our campus development strategy.”
