An Atlanta-based data center firm is expanding throughout the Southeast.
DC Blox, which provides data centers where companies can lease space, received $187 million in financing and broke ground on a new data center facility in Greenville, S.C., according to a company announcement.
Post Road Group, a Connecticut-based credit and equity real estate and technology investor, and Bain Capital Credit, a global credit and equity investor, led the financing, which aims to continue the firm’s expansion.
“This capital will be immediately deployed to support growth in our existing facilities and accelerate the expansion of our Tier III-designed interconnected data center platforms in other markets throughout the Southeastern United States,” said DC Blox Chief Financial Officer Kevin O’Donnell in the announcement.
Developers and investors consider data centers a safe investment because of the digital acceleration spurred by the pandemic, according to the CBRE’s North American data center report for 2020. Data centers were the highest-performing sector of public real estate in 2020.
Consumers drive the growing demand for data centers because of a need for more cloud storage and faster products. Atlanta is one of the top markets for data centers in the country.
DC Blox focuses on mid-market data centers with multiple tenants. It has a 3,350-square-foot facility near I-85 and Buford Highway.
Metro Atlanta's low costs and central location make it a prime market for these centers, which could spur economic development and lure corporate partners to the communities that host them. The city is also considered the gateway to the Southeast, a highly populated region for consumers and businesses, which creates a need for data centers.
Georgia has at least 50 major data centers, according to the Technology Association of Georgia. Some are constructed and owned by specific companies, such as Google or Facebook. Others let companies lease out space, such as DC Blox’s facilities.
According to DC Blox, companies that lease data center space for their information technology capabilities “can help your business to break away from the legacy systems.” DC Blox data centers are mostly used for hybrid IT, disaster recovery and large-scale data storage.
DC Blox has data centers in Atlanta, Chattanooga, Tenn., Huntsville, Ala., and Birmingham, Ala. The Greenville data center near Clemson University is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2021.
The firm plans to continue its expansion across the Southeast, including Florida, Louisiana and Kentucky, to allow for better network connectivity in the region.
