COPT Buys 34 Acres in Loudoun’s Data Center Alley

The Loudoun County Department of Economic Development is pleased to announce another major investment in its thriving data center sector. Columbia, Maryland-based Corporate Office Properties Trust has bought 34 acres for $14 million from St. John Properties, Inc. near the intersection of Gloucester Parkway and Loudoun County Parkway in Ashburn, Virginia. The new campus will serve an investment-grade Fortune 500 company.

COPT plans to start construction on a 200,000-square-foot building early this year, to be followed by a construction start on a 115,000-square-foot building by mid-2014.

“We are pleased to be able to meet this customer’s need in Northern Virginia, one of COPT’s strategic markets,” stated COPT President and CEO Roger A. Waesche, Jr.

COPT Senior VP of Government Services Chuck Fiala added, “We were very impressed with the professionals in Loudoun County and the way they have embraced this project. They’ve been responsive and thorough, and we look forward to a smooth construction process.”

COPT’s $42 million Ashburn Crossing project will be located in an area of Loudoun County known as “data center alley.”

Loudoun County Department of Economic Development Assistant Director Buddy Rizer explained, “This area of Loudoun County is close to the backbone of the Internet, as well as to Dominion Virginia Power’s Beaumeade substation. In addition, there’s infrastructure for connection to Loudoun Water’s reclaimed water system, which offers data centers operational savings.”

In 2012, close to three million square feet of data center space was added to Loudoun’s existing 4.5 million square feet of data centers. Up to 70 percent of the world’s Internet traffic passes through Loudoun’s data centers each day.