Server Farm Realty Unveils New 450,000-Square-Foot State-of-the-Art Data Center in Chicago

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Server Farm Realty LLC recently unveiled 840 South Canal, its newest state-of-the-art data center facility in Chicago, at an invitation-only ribbon cutting ceremony attended, among others, by Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Peerless Network’s CEO John Barnicle.

As previously reported by Commercial Property Executive, Server Farm Realty officially took over ownership of the 450,000-square-foot facility in January 2011. The facility previously housed the General Electric Co. factory and served as Northern Trust’s data center and operations hub. Server Farm Realty invested over $220 million to redevelop and transform the building into a Tier III data center. The revamped facility now features a concurrently maintainable design with 100 percent availability and delivers approximately 20 MW of power to over 138,000 square feet of raised data center suites. The eight-story building also maintains 4 MW of critical power over five data center floors and features one of the lowest Power Usage Effectiveness ratings in Chicago: 1.4 or better.

“Chicago is the ideal location for secure, low latency network infrastructure. Aggressive power rates with a low carbon fuel mix and efficient, free cooling conditions throughout much of the year align well with what today’s technology and media companies, healthcare organizations, financial services firms, and many others are looking for in a data center,” said Avner Papouchado, CEO of Server Farm Realty. Avner Papouchado continued by welcoming Peerless Network to the company’s expanding portfolio. Peerless signed a long term lease for 12,600 square feet on the top floor of 840 South Canal.

“SFR’s newest facility is located in one of the world’s most strategic markets for data center development and connectivity,” adds John Barnicle, president and CEO of Peerless Network. “As the first tenant in the building, we have already enjoyed highly personable service, customized to meet our business’ unique needs while implemented in a timely and extremely professional manner.”

Chicago boasts one of the lowest total cost of occupancy for data center users on top of being a global data center hub and interconnection point for virtually every fiber network.

Photo Courtesy of: www.840southcanal.com