Dive Brief:
- QTS Data Centers, an Overland Park, Kansas-based REIT focused on computing facilities, plans to invest about $1.5 billion in four data centers for future end users in New Albany, Ohio, according to the New Albany City Council.
- The colocation provider, a subsidiary of investment management company Blackstone, will build the data center hub on Beech Road spanning two different sites: one on a 56-acre piece of property and the other on a nearby 37-acre location, according to QTS.
- Data center projects have maintained strong activity levels across the U.S., especially in New Albany, led by multibillion-dollar commitments from industry giants such as Amazon and Google.
Dive Insight:
Data centers continue to play a crucial role in the New Albany community, said Sara Zeigler, economic development manager for the city, in a news release.
For example, Amazon earmarked $3.5 billion in September to establish new data centers in New Albany, according to a release shared with Construction Dive. That investment forms part of the tech giant’s overall $7.8 billion data center investment in the state.
In August, Google also announced a $1.7 billion commitment into its three Ohio data center campuses, namely its facilities in Columbus, Lancaster and New Albany. That amount builds on Google's more than $2 billion already invested in the state since breaking ground on its first Ohio data center in 2019 — in New Albany.
Columbus, the metropolitan center to New Albany, continues to attract data center investors due to its advantageous location between major developed data center hubs, including Northern Virginia, Atlanta and Chicago. That surge in private sector funding, rapid expansion and a strong business environment have recently earned Columbus the title of Midwest tech capital.
Along with data centers, the area also benefits from other sector types, such as Intel’s $20 billion semiconductor fabrication plant, a $2 billion terminal project at John Glenn International Airport, and a $1.9 billion medical center project.
