MANASSAS, VA-Dallas-based Horizon Data Center Solutions is finalizing a 10-year lease for data storage space here--its first location on the East Coast.

The company has inked a 10,750-square-foot deal for first-generation, raised-floor space in Power Loft @ Innovation Park, located at 9651 Hornbaker Rd. As part of the set-up plan, Horizon has installed a private fiber ring to connect its facility in Prince William County's 1,500-acre Innovation Park to all major hubs in Washington, DC and Northern Virginia.

The private fiber ring provides a more secure network and greater control for clients' proprietary use, explains Bryan Loewen with Dallas-based GVA Cawley's Mission Critical Connect. Horizon's customers include federal agencies and leading energy, technology, educational, medical and retail enterprises.

Securing the space was not easy as there is very limited turnkey supply of datacenter space in the Greater DC area, Loewen tells GlobeSt.com. An engineer by training, Loewen brokers nothing but data center space nationwide.

There are two major operators here, he explains--both of which are out of space. Digital Realty Trust will not have new space coming on line until Q1 of next year. DuPont Fabros Technology, he says, is out of capacity until it develops new facilities "and they haven’t even reached a date for that." Indeed, DuPont Fabros just secured financing that it says it will use for development through a public offering and new credit lines. The wholesale data center supply left in the DC area market is essentially zero, Loewen says. "The only available inventory comes from retail providers."

Wholesale pricing has risen in the past six to 18 months, but not for the reasons a casual observer might expect--for instance, that demand is outpacing supply. Local supply issues have less impact on pricing than one might realize, Loewen says, because competition can be drawn from a wider geographic area. Rather, a year or more ago Northern Virginia was experiencing below average pricing for turnkey data center space and prices rose to equalize to the rest of the country, he explains.

He declined to discuss specifics of Horizon’s lease. The two bays it leased at Power Loft @ Innovation Park‘s 106,000-square foot data center, are LEED certified. Horizon has made an initial commitment of two megawatts of critical IT power and can expand if necessary.

Horizon is planning aggressive growth in the Northern Virginia region, which will eventually require increases in power density and raised-floor area, Loewen says. Rob Walters, vice president of McLean, VA-based Millennium Realty Advisors LLC assisted in the transaction.