Repurposing a former printing press facility into a multi-tenant data center campus

QTS Chicago - Data Center Feasibility and Design

A real estate advisory firm retained our data center team to evaluate whether the former Sun-Times printing press facility in Chicago would be appropriate for a high power density and efficient data center. We determined that the former printing and distribution center would be suitable for repurposing due to its large open spaces and high structural rating. The “spine” or middle of the building—previously used to hold the building’s printing presses—was well-positioned to support data center electrical equipment and positioned for efficient power distribution to critical spaces.

Following the evaluation, we partnered with QTS, one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing providers of data center facilities and cloud services, to redevelop the facility into a data center campus. QTS now has significant capacity to provide custom data centers, colocation, and cloud (and managed) services—known as its 3C product platform—from this location.

After the completion of the buildout, we worked on the expansion of the Data 1 Infrastructure, which supports an additional 4 megawatts (MW) of IT power and cooling. We also developed a new substation design and a two-story replacement building addition that supports 32 MW of critical infrastructure for two data halls.

Our design includes an all-encompassing building management system (BMS), offering reliable control and monitoring for the facility’s mechanical and electrical systems.