The new phase of the QTS data center complex is under construction next door to its existing facility. (Photo courtesy of the Henrico Economic Development Authority)
On the heels of an eight-figure land deal, construction of a sizable expansion of the QTS data center campus in Henrico’s White Oak Technology Park is underway in earnest.
The add-on will bring an additional 1.5 million square feet of data center space for QTS, which already operates an existing 1.4 million-square-foot data center next door.
Construction of the new leg began in the last two months on 200 acres at 3731 Portugee Road. QTS bought the land from the Henrico Economic Development Authority in March for nearly $18 million.
Anthony Romanello
Anthony Romanello, executive director of the Henrico EDA, said the expansion is another big get for the tech park, as it capitalizes on its status as a hub for QTS’s so-called Richmond Network Access Point, an inland landing spot for several transcontinental subsea cables that are said to provide some of the fastest internet speeds on the planet.
“Things are coming together nicely out there at White Oak,” Romanello said. “We’ve been working hard to build on our digital infrastructure and this is an indication that we continue to make really good progress.”
The cables, which come ashore at Virginia Beach and snake up Interstate 64 through QTS at White Oak, connect internet that reaches South America, Africa and Europe.
“Because of those, 18 percent of East Coast internet traffic comes through QTS,” Romanello said. “Five years ago that number was zero.”
He added, “The volume of the data coming through is going to increase dramatically” with this latest expansion.
Planning for the QTS expansion has been in the works since at least 2019 and construction is expected to be a multi-year process, Romanello said.
The contractors on the project are DPR Construction and HITT Contracting.
It’s unclear how much of a financial investment QTS is making into the expansion. A company spokesman did not return a call Wednesday afternoon.
QTS already has a 1.4 million-square-foot data center at White Oak. (BizSense file photo)
Rising next door to the QTS site is the second phase of Facebook’s massive $2 billion data center. It’s expected to be completed next year with a total of more than 2 million square feet of data center space.
The momentum in data center deals has been spurred in part by the county’s decision last year to slash its data center tax rate by 88 percent to 40 cents per $100. Romanello said data center tax revenue across the county has gone from $2 million five years ago to $10 million in fiscal year 2022.
The sale of the 200 acres to QTS leaves only about 700 acres left in White Oak to be actively marketed, Romanello said. The 2,300-acre tech park was conceived by the county in the 1990s. Other tenants in the park include LL Flooring, Bank of America, and Hewlett-Packard.
The new phase of the QTS data center complex is under construction next door to its existing facility. (Photo courtesy of the Henrico Economic Development Authority)
On the heels of an eight-figure land deal, construction of a sizable expansion of the QTS data center campus in Henrico’s White Oak Technology Park is underway in earnest.
The add-on will bring an additional 1.5 million square feet of data center space for QTS, which already operates an existing 1.4 million-square-foot data center next door.
Construction of the new leg began in the last two months on 200 acres at 3731 Portugee Road. QTS bought the land from the Henrico Economic Development Authority in March for nearly $18 million.
Anthony Romanello
Anthony Romanello, executive director of the Henrico EDA, said the expansion is another big get for the tech park, as it capitalizes on its status as a hub for QTS’s so-called Richmond Network Access Point, an inland landing spot for several transcontinental subsea cables that are said to provide some of the fastest internet speeds on the planet.
“Things are coming together nicely out there at White Oak,” Romanello said. “We’ve been working hard to build on our digital infrastructure and this is an indication that we continue to make really good progress.”
The cables, which come ashore at Virginia Beach and snake up Interstate 64 through QTS at White Oak, connect internet that reaches South America, Africa and Europe.
“Because of those, 18 percent of East Coast internet traffic comes through QTS,” Romanello said. “Five years ago that number was zero.”
He added, “The volume of the data coming through is going to increase dramatically” with this latest expansion.
Planning for the QTS expansion has been in the works since at least 2019 and construction is expected to be a multi-year process, Romanello said.
The contractors on the project are DPR Construction and HITT Contracting.
It’s unclear how much of a financial investment QTS is making into the expansion. A company spokesman did not return a call Wednesday afternoon.
QTS already has a 1.4 million-square-foot data center at White Oak. (BizSense file photo)
Rising next door to the QTS site is the second phase of Facebook’s massive $2 billion data center. It’s expected to be completed next year with a total of more than 2 million square feet of data center space.
The momentum in data center deals has been spurred in part by the county’s decision last year to slash its data center tax rate by 88 percent to 40 cents per $100. Romanello said data center tax revenue across the county has gone from $2 million five years ago to $10 million in fiscal year 2022.
The sale of the 200 acres to QTS leaves only about 700 acres left in White Oak to be actively marketed, Romanello said. The 2,300-acre tech park was conceived by the county in the 1990s. Other tenants in the park include LL Flooring, Bank of America, and Hewlett-Packard.
This makes me miss my old White Oaks Semiconductor/Infineon/Qimonda days that was such a beautiful building and great place to work back in the day.
Yes it was. Many fond memories.
Perhaps I don’t understand (or maybe I’m missing something), but if this is THE best place on the planet to get data flowing that fast, why is there not a line of companies not clamoring for the remaining 700 developable acres at White Oak? Also, why are there so many data centers in NOVA if eastern Henrico is the best spot to access the new transatlantic cable? Can someone explain?
Richmond Network Access Point, an inland landing spot for several transcontinental subsea cables “Because of those, 18 percent of East Coast internet traffic comes through QTS,” Romanello said. “Five years ago that number was zero.” because it is new under 5 years. Take years of capital gains and planning to build a plant. So the reason is only been a factor for 5 years means newer than other data points and only house 18% of traffic means others are pulling the other 82%
Ah! Got it now. Thanks for the explanation. So there is still lots of competition out there that Henrico is up against. Now, this makes sense.
QTS bought the White Oaks Semiconductor facility for peanuts, and converted it to a data center. It was a brilliant move, and the expansion is equally brilliant .
I have toured the building and it’s still beautiful! The difference today is that far fewer workers are needed for the data center than for a chip plant.
So why are they getting such a nice taco break?!?