Cologix to Build $150M Data Center in Columbus

The upcoming COL4 data center. Rendering courtesy of Cologix

Hyperscale provider Cologix plans to build a new data center in Columbus, Ohio. The company will invest $150 million for the expansion at the Worthington Woods Boulevard campus, growing its capacity by 36 megawatts.

Last year, Cologix acquired the land for its upcoming facility, situated next to its existing three data centers at 535, 555 and 585 Scherers Court in Columbus’ Worthington submarket. The COL4 Scalelogix development is planned to feature customizable configuration options and measure 256,000 square feet. COL4 will include eight data halls in total, along with rooftop platform place. Apart from construction costs, Cologix plans to use the funds to purchase new machines and networking equipment for its campus.

According to prepared statements by Cologix President & Chief Revenue Officer Laura Ortman, this is the company’s second multimillion-dollar investment in the Columbus region, following a surge of demand for cloud connectivity. Upon completion, the facility will add 15 full-time permanent jobs to the site, bringing its total employee count to 39.

COL4 will offer interconnectivity to Cologix’s existing infrastructure, allowing access to more than 45 network service providers, including the Ohio-IX Internet Exchange. Customers will also be able to access low-latency onramps to Amazon’s AWS platform and Google Cloud Platform.

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority announced it has approved a 75 percent, 10-year tax exemption for Cologix’s new project. The newly created jobs are expected to generate $1.5 million in new payroll, according to the authority, in addition to the existing $1.9 million.

Recent growth for data center real estate

Cologix followed in the footsteps of several recent massive data center investments. In December last year, the infrastructure provider announced a $1.65 billion securitization. Cologix used revenue from 17 data centers—out of a total of 40—as collateral for the transaction. The portfolio totals roughly 300,000 square feet of data center space and comprise 36.6 megawatts, with 1,064 unique customers.

In April, alternative investment firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners announced its successful closing of an equity recapitalization of Cologix, valued at $3 billion. The transaction was structured as a sale by Stonepeak Infrastructure Fund II LP and co-investors to Stonepeak-managed vehicles comprising existing investors in partnership with new third-party investors. Goldman Sachs acted as financial advisor to Stonepeak.