TA Realty, EdgeConneX to Build Microsoft Data Center Campus

July 19, 2024

This 2.1 million-square-foot complex will rise near Atlanta.

Microsoft’s San Jose data center — Microgrids at Microsoft’s data center campus in San Jose, Calif. *Image courtesy of Enchanted Rock*

Citing the need to support increasing demand for scalable data center power and capacity in the Southeast, TA Realty and EdgeConneX are teaming up to develop a 324 MW hyperscale data center near Atlanta. Construction is set to start later this year with the first phase expected to come online by 2026.

Microsoft will be the end user of the future campus, according to Atlanta Business Chronicle and other media sources. The development will eventually measure about 2.1 million square feet and cost roughly $1.8 billion.

In addition to the first 612,000-square-foot building to be delivered in Phase 1, two more facilities of the same size are to be constructed in three phases, with the entire project set for completion by 2029, according to Data Center Frontier.

Last month, the Development Authority of Fulton County approved $75 million in incentives over a 10-year period for EdgeConneX, ABC reported. The project is expected to create about 50 full-time jobs and 400 to 600 temporary construction jobs. The 10-year economic impact is estimated to be approximately $2.9 billion with about $200 million in tax revenues over the same period.

The joint venture partners declined to give the address of the site. However, ABC reported an affiliate of EdgeConneX acquired nearly 63 acres of woodlands in Union City, Ga., for $318.5 million from TA Realty.

A lucrative partnership

TA Realty had initially acquired the site, made out of several parcels, in 2023. The Boston-based provider of real estate investment management solutions will now manage power procurement and also secure all necessary utilities, permits and approvals.

In November, TA Realty leased its entire 1.9 million-square-foot, five-building data center campus in Loudoun County, Va., to a global cloud services provider. The build-to-suit deal marked the formation of a new group at TA Realty dedicated to global infrastructure, which was officially unveiled in January.

EdgeConneX, a Herndon, Va.,-based global provider of data center solutions, will design, build and operate the facility. The company, backed by EQT Infrastructure, also has global headquarters in Singapore and Amsterdam and operates more than 80 data centers across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and South America.

Growing data center demand

The Atlanta-area development supports the growing demand for low latency, high-performance computing driven by advancements in AI, cloud services and other emerging technologies. The need for resilient and scalable digital infrastructure continues to rise as businesses increasingly rely on these technologies.

The Microsoft data center campus is expected to be one of the largest in the South. The land sales price was described as stunning in the ABC report and another sign of the growing importance of Georgia and the Greater Atlanta metro in data center development.

A recent CBRE survey of investors found Atlanta is the third most popular market for data center investment in the U. S. behind North Virginia and Dallas-Fort Worth.