Ascent's Chicago-area data centers have long been a top choice to enterprise users, and it was time to break into the small- to mid-size market, CEO Phil Horstmann (snapped with his son at Yosemite) tells us. The firm is building a spec multi-tenant wholesale colocation suite (for sub 1 MW users) in its 250k SF CH2 facility in Northlake, and just landed its first tenant, a financial services company moving in next month. Traditional and flexible compute space, the suite measures 36k SF and features 2.5MW of power, 48” raised floor construction, and 12' clear heights, Phil says. (Shaq approves.)

Owners and users like the Chicago data scene for the same reasons, he says, including the city's pro-business climate, hot tech industry, and upward trends in corporate investment. (It's even something we can get all 10 dentists to agree to.) More direct benefits include competitively priced power, low risk of natural disasters, and its central location as a hub of connectivity, he adds. Doing the CH2 (above) build-out during the winter was a challenge, but Ascent stayed on schedule and is now focused on lease-up. One benefit of this type of space: most of the infrastructure support is already in place, so Ascent can deploy quickly in the race to win tenants, Phil says.