With 12-inch-thick concrete walls able to withstand an F4 tornado (200+ mph winds), the SDN Communications Data Center northwest of Sioux Falls sometimes gets referred to as the “Bunker,” and now it’s going to double in size for potential future tenants.
“All of the real estate suites have been leased since our 2012 opening,” says SDN CEO Ryan Punt. “We still have capacity in SDN’s colocation space for carriers doing data delivery services, but there’s no square footage for other business ventures until we complete our expansion.”
SDN built it as an emergency backup facility for its 50,000-mile fiber network, which supports critical business and government data operations and the networks of its owner companies – the 17 independent broadband companies of South Dakota.
SDN built the space bigger than it needed and other companies looking for data center space quickly filled in. Now at least one tenant is exploring the need for added space, and there have been other inquiries.
“Two unique organizations reached out to us, not for data center needs, but for the hardened construction of the building,” says SDN Vice President of Marketing Vernon Brown. “They handle either critical functions that can’t be interrupted by weather or hold priceless elements that must be protected from weather events.”
Those prospects found other more immediate solutions, but it got the SDN team thinking there might be a local need for more hardened facilities and data center space.
“A building like this takes time and expense to complete,” Punt says. “We decided to construct the shell and some of the infrastructure, so we can react quickly when the next prospect approaches us for a build-to-suit space.”
The construction will add another 25,000-square-foot pod to the original structure. There’s room for another two pods of future construction of 50,000 square feet. Features of the space include:
- 12-inch-thick concrete walls
- No windows
- Biometric security access
- Stringent, multi-layered security control procedures
- Dual authentication access control system
- Diverse access to metro, statewide and regional fiber networks
- Diverse power provider different from much of Sioux Falls
- 2MW generator
- Temperature and humidity control
- Monitored building management system
- Specialized fire suppression and smoke detection
- Dry agent fire suppression
Businesses looking for this kind of unique, hardened and secure space can request qualified tours using the form below.
SDN owns 66 acres of land at the location. The area can’t be fully developed until city sewer reaches the area. However, SDN has already created a preliminary master design just in case city growth outpaces its planned infrastructure build-out.
Request A Tour
Businesses interested in space in the SDN Communications Data Center can request a tour of the existing facility. Please fill out all fields below and let us know more about how the building will fit your needs. All requests will be assessed before scheduling.
