First Data's 166,000-SF Round Two Under Way

DENVER-First Data Corp. has broken ground on a 166,000-sf second phase to its office campus and acquired 15 acres for a third building in the Meridian International Business Park in Douglas County.

The three-story structure is a mirror image of the first building in the campus, which had opened in 1998. First Data, which owns Western Union, has grown so fast that officials have accelerated the construction of the second building, which opens in second quarter 2002. Eventually, First Data plans a one million-sf campus with a completed value of $150 million to $200 million, says Charles T. Fote, president and COO of the company that he moved to Colorado from New Jersey.

First Data is a Fortune 300 company in the e-commerce and payment service business. It is a spin-off from American Express. Last year, First Data had processed $2 trillion, Fote says. He expects several hundred jobs will be added at its headquarters in the coming years.