Big Projects Build Critical Mass in Data Sector
Published Mar 05, 2009
Microsoft’s $550 million facility is helping cement the Alamo Area’s reputation as a hub for data-center facilities.
Watch out, Silicon Valley. Step aside, Research Triangle. With the recent location of several technology companies and the imminent arrival of more, the Alamo Area is giving the nation’s two traditional centers for high tech stiff competition.
The area has rich natural resources that make it appealing for businesses with complex needs and large numbers of employees. A great deal of the region’s allure, though, comes down to an old-fashioned willingness to make doing business easy and a pleasure.
“Unlike most jurisdictions around the U.S., where procedures can be arduous, dealing with the whole community here has been a snap,” says Jim Coakley, CEO of Power Loft LLC. “They were very supportive: they understand our business model and they are very business-friendly.”
Based in McLean, Va., Power Loft specializes in the development and ownership of high-density, high-security data centers.
The company is building a 100,000-square-foot facility in the Westover Hills community, an already tech-rich area that also houses a $550 million data center for Microsoft.
Christus Health is building a multimillion dollar information technology center in Westover Hills and Lowe’s is locating a $60 million data center in Bexar County.
Randy Smith, director of real estate for homegrown Rackspace Managed Hosting, says he and his colleagues have always known what others are learning about the area.
Founded in San Antonio by three Trinity University graduates, Rackspace offers Web and e-mail hosting, online security programs and data storage, among other services.
Rackspace is taking over 1.2 million square feet of space at the former Windsor Park Mall, a facility that will eventually house up to 1,200 employees.
By late 2006, Smith says, the company was growing so fast “it was becoming abundantly clear we needed new space.”
He and other Rackspace officials didn’t move far. “We all wanted to stay in the area,” he says, despite conducting a national search for space and checking out more traditional high-tech communities, including Austin.
“We were never going to leave entirely. We saw a very concerted effort by local government leadership,” Smith says. “Local government made a commitment and an investment in Rackspace.”
Running close behind a business-friendly government in high-tech appeal are great connectivity, the area’s abundant natural resources and low utility costs.
Coakley says his company is interested in green technology, and one of his requirements is an area in which he can minimize environmental impact through efficient use of natural resources.
Electric power, he points out, is about half the price in Westover Hills as it is in Dallas, no small factor for buildings that use about 50 megawatts of power per day.
Being so close to companies with a similar mindset also doesn’t hurt, Coakley says, lauding local government officials’ success in landing Microsoft.
Smith points out the Alamo Area may not historically be a high-tech market, but landing such household names is making it one.
“We are getting there,” he says. “We are reaching that critical mass.”
Story by J. Holly McCall
Photo by Staff
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