COPT Grabs Data Center in Coveted Northern Virginia Market for $115M

September 15, 2010
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Power Loft @ Innovation, a 233,000-square-foot data center in Manassas, Virginia, has just become a part of Corporate Office Properties Trust’s portfolio, courtesy of a $115 million transaction with Power Loft L.L.C. The REIT will further enhance the brand new facility, located 30 miles west of Washington, D.C., in Northern Virginia’s thriving data center market, by shelling out an additional $166 million to wrap up remaining development activities.

Carrying the address of 9651 Hornbaker Road in Prince William County, Power Loft occupies a secure 20-acre site at Innovation @ Prince William Technology Park, a 1,500-acre business and technology campus in Northern Virginia’s technology corridor. Unlike most data centers, the two-story property provides its raised floor space, which totals 100,000 square feet, on the second level, leaving the power and cooling infrastructure directly beneath on the first floor. The distinctive design allows for substantial efficiencies and provides the capacity to increase critical power.

Construction of the shell of the LEED Silver-certified building reached completion in early 2010. Presently, Power Loft is 16 percent leased to co-location and managed services provider Horizon Data Center Solutions L.L.C. and technology and outsourcing services provider Capgemini U.S. L.L.C. Both tenants occupy the space under long-term lease agreements.

COPT’s purchase of Power Loft and all related assets does not mark the end of its relationship with Power Loft L.L.C., The REIT and Power Loft L.L.C. founder James F. Coakley have formed Powerloft Services L.L.C., a joint venture that will oversee development, management and leasing responsibilities previously handled by the former operating company.

Nationally, the call for data center space is on the rise, and Northern Virginia is at the top of the list. “Demand here is currently unsurpassed by any other market in the country and as long as power is available and affordable in the region, it will continue,” Bill Moser, Senior Vice President with real estate services firm Grubb & Ellis Co. and Practice Leader for the firm’s National Data Center Practice Group, told CPE. “Powering and connectivity are governors in the data center world, and interconnectivity here is second to none.”

And this Washington, D.C.-area market is more than just a leader on the national stage. “Northern Virginia is a premier global data center destination and that is certainly evidenced by the consistent absorption we’ve had in the market over the last three years,” Moser said. “There’s no other destination on the map that surpasses the absorption we’ve seen. There are serious investments going on and serious demand. The market is number one.”