Premier colocation and IT cloud service provider is anchor tenant in Hunt Midwest’s new
SubTropolis Technology Center
KANSAS CITY, MO – April 16, 2014 – LightEdge Solutions, an enterprise-grade cloud service provider, colocation and consulting company, will celebrate the opening of the first phase of its new 60,000 square foot underground data center at SubTropolis Technology Center (STC) in Kansas City, Mo., today at a ribbon-cutting and media event. LightEdge is the anchor tenant of STC, which is owned and operated by Hunt Midwest Real Estate Development.
The new facility is the fourth data center operated by LightEdge and is a result of a joint project between LightEdge and Hunt Midwest, a full-service real estate development company owned by the Lamar Hunt family. LightEdge is owned by Qwest founder Phil Anschutz; a long relationship between the Hunt and Anschutz families helped foster the partnership.
“The relationship between LightEdge and Hunt Midwest translates into the convergence of financial strength, enterprise-grade hosted IT services, extensive experience in disaster recovery and production IT cloud environments in a highly secure and protected location,” said Jim Masterson, chief executive officer of LightEdge Solutions. “Together, these factors combine to create a premier technology offering unlike any other in the Midwest.
”LightEdge brings years of experience in the area of cloud and premise-based managed IT services and one of the most comprehensive end-to-end IT and telecommunications product portfolios in the industry. “This is the perfect strategic alliance that allows both companies to leverage their core expertise to deliver a world-class data center operation,” said Ora Reynolds, president of Hunt Midwest Real Estate Development.
The new, highly secure data center is built to Tier III Standards. LightEdge will use a portion of STC’s six-acre equipment yard located on the exterior surface of the property. The data center offers 24x7x365 monitoring, key card and biometric access.
Representatives from The Anschutz Investment Co., members of the Hunt family and numerous other dignitaries will join Missouri Governor Jay Nixon for the ribbon-cutting and media event to celebrate the opening of the new LightEdge data center in SubTropolis Technology Center.
Power and HVAC
STC is served by KCP&L, an electric utility known for its award-winning reliability. There are two separate power feeds and 161 kV transmission lines on the property. The raised-floor facility utilizes Liebert CRAH and Liebert UPS systems, with system level redundancy and N+1 components to safeguard power. In addition, parallel diesel-fired generators can deliver 1.5 megawatts of critical load power to the floor. High-efficiency chilled water systems cool the data center environment.
“In terms of redundancy and capacity, the strategic location of the LightEdge Solutions data center within SubTropolis Technology Center provides the ideal power infrastructure,” said Chuck Caisley, vice president of marketing and public affairs for KCP&L. “The robust electric transmission and distribution network – with multiple substations in the area and proximity to our generating station – is expandable to support future growth and power demands required by the tech industry. Plus, kWh costs are among the lowest in the country.”
Network Services
LightEdge’s carrier-neutral operation provides the ability to deliver high bandwidth, high reliability and low latency service to customers. Connection with multiple carriers – including AT&T, Time Warner and Unite Private Networks – and the nearby 1102 Grand carrier hotel, provide local private network connectivity up to 10 gigabits (Gb), plus connectivity to the LightEdge cloud for access to other data centers.
About LightEdge Solutions
LightEdge Solutions offers dynamic end-to-end network, colocation and IT cloud solutions, providing businesses with reliable access to Fortune 100-level infrastructure that quickly adapts and scales to meet changing business requirements. LightEdge, which is owned by The Anschutz Corporation, was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. LightEdge serves both Midwestern and national companies from its five regional office locations with scalable and customized IT solutions that leverage a fully redundant network backbone and a team of experienced engineers.
About SubTropolis Technology Center (STC)
SubTropolis Technology Center is a mission critical data center campus that provides a highly scalable infrastructure for millions of square feet of contiguous expansion; redundant power with low kW costs; and fiber networking to meet the ever-growing bandwidth requirements of businesses. STC is served by KCP&L, with two separate power feeds and 161 kV transmission lines on the property. The eco-friendly underground STC campus is protected by a 150-foot layer of limestone, making it a Tier IV compliant structure. STC provides a Meet-Me-Room for interconnection with major carriers and service providers and a six-acre equipment yard on the exterior surface. In addition to LightEdge Solutions, future tenants will include government agencies and enterprise users.
About Hunt Midwest
Hunt Midwest is a full-service real estate development company with a focus on industrial, commercial, retail, mission critical, multifamily, senior living and residential real estate. Its portfolio is anchored by SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground business complex. Hunt Midwest is a Kansas City-based, privately held company owned by the Lamar Hunt family. The Hunt family business is a diverse portfolio of entities involved in real estate, sports/media, energy/resources, private equity and investments. Marquee entities include the Kansas City Chiefs, Hunt Midwest, FC Dallas Soccer Club, Toyota Stadium, Chicago Bulls and United Center.
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