INAP, Digital Crossroads Break Ground on IN Data Center

By Tudor Scolca

Groundbreaking ceremony at the future data center

Indiana NAP (INAP) has broken ground on a large-scale data center and renewable energy campus in Hammond, Ind. The upcoming facility will be operated by Digital Crossroads, which will invest an initial $40 million. Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., along with executives from INAP participated in a groundbreaking ceremony at the site.

The development will be located on a 77-acre site, which formerly housed a power plant, generating more than 600 megawatts. The plant closed in 2012, leaving room for an adaptive reuse project that could take advantage of the three national grid on-site substations, approximately 950 million gallons of water from Lake Michigan for cooling purposes, along with 1728-strand dark fiber that provides connectivity to carrier hotels in Chicago.

Grand plans

Digital Crossroads projects future development to grow into a $200 million investment. Approximately 12 acres will be used to house the 105,000-square-foot data center, along with a 10,000-square-foot shared-space tech start-up incubator. Power densities at the data center will range between 1,000 and 4,000 kilowatts per 10,000 square feet. The project also includes plans for a greenhouse that will serve the nearby Purdue University Northwest. Excess heat generated by the servers will be used for the university’s project.

Digital Crossroads will take advantage of the existing infrastructure from the former power plant. This includes renewable solar and wind power, A&B battery storage system and microgrid, as well as 138-kilowatt direct feeds connected to the national grid, NIPSCO, ComEd and MISO. Long-term goals at the site include the expansion of data halls up to 400,000 square feet across three buildings, aided by The Indiana Economic Development Corp.’s support through the Industrial Recovery Tax Credit (DINO) program. 

Photo courtesy of iMiller Public Relations