Vantage Data Centers has selected Turner Construction Co. as the general contractor for its $2B Central Ohio Data Center Campus project. Based on their announcement, the firm seeks to erect a $2 billion data center in Central Ohio. Vantage’s OH1 campus, east of Columbus in New Albany, Ohio, is expected to comprise three data centers. These three centers are expected to cover an area of 1.5 million square feet. They will also offer 192 MW of IT capacity on a 70-acre site. It is also a monumental feat as this would be the company’s seventh North American market site.
Vice president and general manager at Turner Matt Kunz expressed appreciation for Turner’s involvement in the project. He also noted that the project will help Vantage “meet the need for the increased demand for scalable and sustainable digital infrastructure in the region.” Vantage says it seeks to ensure the project’s expeditious completion, with results seen as early as next year.
The State of Affairs Regarding the $2B Central Ohio Data Center Campus
Vantage hopes to deliver the $2B Central Ohio data center campus, with the first data center building slated to open in 2025. The other two buildings are expected to follow closely behind and ensure completion of the project by 2028. The company also noted that the centers are designed to achieve LEED Silver certification. Power used in the data center campus is expected to be provided by AEP Ohio. The monumental project comes at a time as Vantage is seeking approval from state regulators to add tariffs on large data centers.
The aim of this is to ensure that the costs of needed infrastructure can be achieved to enable progress on upcoming data centers. These include centers that are in the planning, design, and construction phase in the New Albany Area. AEP Ohio has also filed a proposal that would require large data centers to pay for at least 85% of the energy they use each month. However, data center owners refute this by noting that 75% is more amicable.
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Ohio: A Lucrative Region Propelling America’s Future in Data Centers
Other than the $2B Central Ohio data center campus, Ohio seems to be attracting many data companies as a lucrative region to erect data centers. Over the past few years, the region has seen data center owners developing monumental projects in the region. One of these is the $20B Ohio Chip plant by Intel, a project still in the works. One of the reasons for the sprout of data centers in the region is accessibility and reach. “Ohio is a strategic market for us and our hyperscale customers,” noted Dana Adams, Vantage’s president in North America.
Microsoft has also shown interest in the region as it recently announced plans to erect data centers. The company seeks to invest $1 billion in building three data center campuses. These centers will be located in areas such as New Albany and others within Hebron and Heath. Cloud computing and artificial intelligence have been driving recent demand for data centers and Ohio seems to be leading the way.
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