Greater Charlotte Area Gets 50K Sq. Ft. Data Center

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

The North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis has announced signing its eighteenth business. Winston-Salem, NC-based DataChambers, LLC, a full-service information technology and managed services provider, has finalized a deal with Castle & Cooke Inc., the developers of the 350-acre Kannapolis research campus, reports the Salisbury Post. Per the terms of the agreement, DataChambers will develop a 50,000-square-foot data center near the North Carolina Research Campus.

The new facility will reportedly feature the latest LEED standards, as well as state-of-the-art power, HVAC, security and network connectivity systems to ensure maximum performance along with high energy-efficiency standards. The facility will also be built to withstand hurricane-force winds.

The new data center is expected to attract further businesses, such as research companies to the campus. According to the Charlotte Business Journal’s coverage of the story, the facility will create 20 new jobs, paying salaries between $70,000 and $90,000. The data center is expected to open in 2014’s second quarter and is expected to cover DataChamber’s Charlotte area demands for about three years. After this period, an expansion of the facility is possible. According to a press release, Extreme Network, Inc.’s Open Fabric data center architecture will be implemented at the site. Blue Door Networks,  a solutions integrator that specializes in the supply, design and support of next generation data center networking and converged storage will also advise on the building.

DataChamber currently operates a 140,000-square-foot facility in Salem Business Park in a secure underground, blast-resistant bunker that is also out of the reach of the 100 year flood plain. The 2002-founded company will also open a 50,000-square-foot location in Raleigh, NC by the end of June 2013.

Image courtesy of DataChambers, LLC’s Facebook page