An artist rendering of the 30,000-square-foot data center in Chicago proposed by McHugh Construction.
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — McHugh Construction (www.mchughconstruction.com) revealed on Wednesday its plans to build a 300,000-square-foot data center in downtown Chicago nearby a major Internet connectivity hub.
The company is seeking city approval on the six-story data center project at 2222 South Indiana Avenue. The site is close to the McCormick Place convention center and the Digital Realty Trust-operated carrier hotel, 350 East Cermak Road.
The location is the original site of a data center that was initially proposed in 2001, but its construction plans were soon scrapped after the dot-com bust resulted in an overabundance of data center space.
Last year, McHugh tried to sell the site, convincing prospective buyers that it would make a suitable location for a hotel or entertainment complex to support the convention center.
However, the ongoing credit crunch has made it harder to find the proper financial backing for these projects, and the increasing demand for data center space in the Chicago area has given McHugh a great opportunity to revisit the data center concept.
Another factor contributing to the decision to build a data center is that the nearby 350 East Cermak is quickly running out of space.
The facility’s 1.1 million square feet is already 95.9 percent occupied as of September 30, according to Digital Realty. Meanwhile, the CoreSite building at 427 South LaSalle Street is the only other facility in the area with available space for large footprints.
Although the planning board has not yet considered its proposal, McHugh has already divulged the project’s details in meetings with community leaders. As part of the plans, the company seeks to cut the number of required parking spaces at the site from 156 to a mere 20
The project’s architectural plans show that McHugh is looking to gain LEED certification for energy efficient buildings. the building proposes to use free cooling techniques, install rooftop solar power with about 8,300 square feet of photovoltaic panels, and a “green roof” with vegetation covering about 10,000 square feet.
McHugh originally housed its headquarters on the site from 1970 to 2002, before it moved to 1737 South Michigan Ave.
Read more in the DataCenterKnowledge.com story.
