Sentinel to Build Durham’s First Mega-Scale, Multi-Tenant Data Center

by Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

Sentinel Data Centers of Massachusetts has announced it would build a 420,000-square-foot facility in Durham, the region’s first purpose-built multi-tenant data center for large-footprint users. The initial phase of the Sentinel NC-1 facility will deliver 120,000 square feet by early 2013.

“We welcome Sentinel Data Centers to North Carolina as the region’s first wholesale data center provider,” said Gov. Bev Perdue. “North Carolina companies will benefit greatly from this project, and the bottom line is it will lead to job creation and investment in our state.”

The company has conducted a two-year market assessment before selecting the North Carolina location and hopes to attract in-region and out-of-region users alike. The announcement did not disclose whether Sentinel received any business incentives for its new investment in the region.

Founded in 2001, Sentinel Data Centers is a pioneer in the wholesale data center industry. It has developed over 1.4 million square feet and 120 megawatts of high-quality data centers for enterprises across multiple industries.

In related news, data center services firm DataChambers has acquired a 50,000-square-foot facility on Garner Station Boulevard in Raleigh. The Winston-Salem-based technology company paid $4.7 million for the building and eight-acre property formerly occupied by Qwest Communications. It also plans to make significant investments in infrastructure and upgrades, with completion scheduled for the beginning of 2013.

“We’ve experienced significant growth in recent years as companies have looked for ways to accomplish more with increasingly limited information technology budgets,” says Nicholas Kottyan, CEO of DataChambers.  “We find we are able to offer our clients a level of service and support that would be hard for them to replicate on their own.”

The acquisition doubles the company’s footprint. DataChambers operates two other data centers in Winston-Salem, N.C. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of North State Communications of High Point since December last year and has 26 employees.

Photo credits: www.sentineldatacenters.com