The 171,000 square feet of data center space is turn-key spacethat the company's CEO, Michael F. Foust, described as "thestrongest first quarter on record for turn-key data center leases"for the company. To keep up with this level of demand for ourturn-key space, we have accelerated plans to bring on additionalspace in select markets, such as Northern Virginia, where we arefully leased," Foust said.

Digital Realty's turn-key facilities provide environments forsupporting mission critical infrastructure, with advanced cooling,power, redundancy, and sustainability features "to ensure thatcritical applications are available while optimizing energyefficiency," the company says. Digital Realty Trust's 84 propertiescomprise approximately 14.9 million square feet as of Feb. 25,including 1.8 million square feet of space held forredevelopment.

The company's report on first-quarter leasing follows arecentstudy by Digital Realty stating that the widespreadexpansion of data centers will continue this year and into2011.