(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Projected to cost as much as $150 million, construction of a 190,000-square-foot data center project in Chaska, MN, (near Minneapolis-Saint Paul) is set to begin this summer by health care firm UnitedHealth Group Inc. (www.unitedhealthgroup.com), based in nearby Minnetonka, according to a report from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
According to the report, the data center will be similar size to the one it built in Elk River in 2008, and with an estimated cost of $100 million to $150 million, it will be among the the Twin Cities’ largest commercial projects to start this year.
UnitedHealth spokesman Will Holman told the Journal that the plans were confirmed, however, he did not comment on the cost.
The 189,000 square foot data center in Elk River, Minnesota, had a $124 million budget. The scope of the building also opened up the possibility of property tax rebates of as much as $850,000 from the Minneapolis suburb.
Completion of UnitedHealth’s latest data center, however, is a long way off. The company is only now deciding on a general contractor and architect, and it expects to complete the facility by mid-2012.
The new construction project, while promising to be a boon to the Chaska community, may bring back memories of alleged air quality and air permit violations at its Plymouth and Elk River facilities that could have seriously affected the environment. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency penalized United Health Group $13,200 for not applying for an air emission permit for the facility’s two hot-water boilers, several above and below-ground tanks and 10 diesel-powered emergency generators, until May 2008.
This incident will likely make UnitedHealth extra cautious in its disclosure of building information as the Chaska project takes shape.
No related posts.
