LightEdge Solutions plans underground data center in KC
The Kansas City Star
Sept. 19--A Des Moines-based cloud computing company owned by the Anschutz Corp. will be the premier tenant in a new SubTropolis Data Center in the Kansas City underground.
The company, LightEdge Solutions, and Hunt Midwest Real Estate Development Inc. have announced a partnership to begin work on a 60,000-square-foot "mission critical" data center.
LightEdge will invest nearly $60 million and add 21 jobs in the computer center, the company said, which will be its fourth data center in the Midwest. An opening is planned for the first quarter of 2014.
The new operation will be in Hunt's SubTropolis, which bills itself as the world's largest underground business complex. LightEdge also will use part of a six-acre exterior equipment yard.
LightEdge said it expects to provide carrier-neutral service for AT&T, Surewest, TW Telecom, Time Warner, Unite and Windstream customers and up to 10 gigabits per second network connectivity. The center is served by KCP&L.
The LightEdge development represents the first phase of what could become millions of square feet for the technology center, Hunt Midwest officials said. They cited the underground's high level of security and climate control as pluses for the operation.
Premier colocation and IT cloud service provider expands in Kansas City market
in expansive underground data center campus
KANSAS CITY, Mo – September 18, 2013
– LightEdge Solutions, a premier cloud computing, colocation, and
consulting company, will add a regional data center at the underground
SubTropolis Technology Center (STC) in Kansas City. LightEdge will be
the anchor tenant in the first phase of STC, a mission critical data
center campus owned and operated by Hunt Midwest Real Estate
Development.
The new data center, which will be the fourth data center operated by LightEdge, is the result of a unique partnership between LightEdge Solutions and Hunt Midwest, a full-service real estate development company. LightEdge is owned by Qwest founder Phil Anschutz and Hunt Midwest is one of multiple entities owned by the Lamar Hunt family.
“The relationship between LightEdge and Hunt Midwest translates into the convergence of financial strength, best-in-class hosted IT services, experience with hybrid cloud environments, a highly secure and protected location, and low kW power costs compared to other areas of the U.S.,” said Jim Masterson, chief executive officer of LightEdge Solutions.
LightEdge will open the first phase of its 60,000-square foot underground operation, built to Tier III Standards, within STC during the first quarter of 2014. In addition, LightEdge will use a portion of STC’s six-acre equipment yard located on the exterior surface of the property. The highly secure data center will have 24x7x365 monitoring, key card and biometric access.
“In the more than 20 years I’ve been involved in data center development and operations, I’ve never seen a property more appropriate for a data center,” said James deVenny, an independent consultant who was co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Dataside LLC, a provider of enterprise data center space, colocation and managed network services.
“This is an ideal partnership,” said Ora Reynolds, president of Hunt Midwest. “Together, Hunt Midwest and LightEdge have all of the pieces needed to create a world-class data center.”
The new data center, which will be the fourth data center operated by LightEdge, is the result of a unique partnership between LightEdge Solutions and Hunt Midwest, a full-service real estate development company. LightEdge is owned by Qwest founder Phil Anschutz and Hunt Midwest is one of multiple entities owned by the Lamar Hunt family.
“The relationship between LightEdge and Hunt Midwest translates into the convergence of financial strength, best-in-class hosted IT services, experience with hybrid cloud environments, a highly secure and protected location, and low kW power costs compared to other areas of the U.S.,” said Jim Masterson, chief executive officer of LightEdge Solutions.
LightEdge will open the first phase of its 60,000-square foot underground operation, built to Tier III Standards, within STC during the first quarter of 2014. In addition, LightEdge will use a portion of STC’s six-acre equipment yard located on the exterior surface of the property. The highly secure data center will have 24x7x365 monitoring, key card and biometric access.
“In the more than 20 years I’ve been involved in data center development and operations, I’ve never seen a property more appropriate for a data center,” said James deVenny, an independent consultant who was co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Dataside LLC, a provider of enterprise data center space, colocation and managed network services.
“This is an ideal partnership,” said Ora Reynolds, president of Hunt Midwest. “Together, Hunt Midwest and LightEdge have all of the pieces needed to create a world-class data center.”
Power and HVAC
STC is served by KCP&L, an electric utility known
for its award winning reliability. There are two diverse substations and
161 kV transmission lines on the property. The raised-floor facility
utilizes Liebert CRAH and Liebert UPS systems with system level
redundancy and N+1 components to safeguard power. In addition, parallel
diesel-fired generators can deliver 1.5 megawatts of critical load power
to the floor. High-efficiency chilled water systems cool the data
center environment.
“Hunt Midwest and LightEdge are creating a
best-in-class data center infrastructure that will offer a great
combination of redundancy and capacity,” said Chuck Caisley, vice
president of marketing and public affairs for KCP&L. “The robust
electric transmission and distribution network – with multiple
substations in the area and proximity to our generating station –
directly supports the needs of the technology industry. In other words,
LightEdge’s innovative data center facility at SubTropolis Technology
Center makes perfect sense.”
Network Services
LightEdge’s carrier-neutral operation provides the
ability to deliver high bandwidth, high reliability and low latency
service to customers. LightEdge expects to have the following carriers
available when operations begin: AT&T, Surewest, TW Telecom, Time
Warner, Unite, and Windstream. Connection with multiple providers, and
the nearby 1102 Grand carrier hotel, will provide local private network
connectivity up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) plus connectivity to
the LightEdge cloud for access to other LightEdge data centers.
LightEdge Solutions offers dynamic end-to-end network,
colocation and IT cloud solutions, providing businesses with reliable
access to Fortune 100-level infrastructure that quickly adapts and
scales to meet changing business requirements. LightEdge, which is owned
by The Anschutz Corporation, was founded in 1996 and is headquartered
in Des Moines, Iowa. LightEdge serves both Midwestern and national
companies from its five regional office locations with scalable and
customized IT solutions that leverage a fully redundant network backbone
and a team of experienced engineers.
SubTropolis Technology Center is a mission critical
data center campus that provides a highly scalable infrastructure for
millions of square feet of contiguous expansion; redundant power with
low kW costs; and fiber networking to meet the ever-growing bandwidth
requirements of businesses. STC is served by KCP&L, with two diverse
substations and 161 kV transmission lines on the property. The
eco-friendly underground STC campus is protected by a 150-foot layer of
limestone, making it a Tier IV compliant structure. STC provides a
Meet-Me-Room for interconnection with major carriers and service
providers, and a six-acre equipment yard on the exterior surface. In
addition to LightEdge Solutions, future phases will include government
agencies and enterprise users.
Kansas City-based Hunt Midwest has developed over
6,200 acres of commercial, retail, industrial and residential property,
and is owner/developer of SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground
business complex. Hunt Midwest is a privately held company owned by the
Lamar Hunt family. The Hunt family business is a diverse portfolio of
entities involved in real estate, sports/media, energy/resources,
private equity, and investments. Marquee entities include the Kansas
City Chiefs, Hunt Midwest, Chicago Bulls, United Center, Toyota Stadium
and FC Dallas Soccer Club.
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