With about half of the world’s Internet traffic now running through data centers in Virginia, Loudoun County has earned the industry nickname “data center alley,” and one of the area’s biggest data center players is expanding.
Digital Realty Trust Inc, a San Francisco-based owner of data centers, will invest $150 million to expand its Loudoun County operations and create at least 50 jobs by 2015.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell made the announcement Wednesday.
Digital Realty, which has several data centers throughout the county, will take advantage of a tax break approved by Virginia lawmakers in 2009 that makes the company eligible for a sales tax exemption on data center computer equipment it buys.
“This sales tax exemption is really a boon for our customers with data centers located in Loudoun County, already one of the most attractive data center markets in the country,” said Digital Realty CEO Michael Foust in a statement released by the governor’s office. “The significant relief we and our customers expect to receive effectively lowers the total cost of ownership of our data centers in the area.”
About 5 million square feet of data center space is already in Loudoun County, and an additional 3 million square feet are under development.
Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR) operates about 1 million square feet of the county’s total and has 400,000 square feet under development.
