The company has inked a 10,750-square-foot deal for first-generation,raised-floor space in Power Loft @ Innovation Park, located at 9651Hornbaker Rd. As part of the set-up plan, Horizon has installed aprivate fiber ring to connect its facility in Prince William County's1,500-acre Innovation Park to all major hubs in Washington, DC andNorthern Virginia.

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

Securing the space was not easy as there is very limited turnkeysupply of datacenter space in the Greater DC area, Loewen tellsGlobeSt.com. An engineer by training, Loewen brokers nothing but datacenter space nationwide.

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

Wholesale pricing has risen in the past six to 18 months, but not forthe reasons a casual observer might expect--for instance, that demand isoutpacing supply. Local supply issues have less impact on pricing thanone might realize, Loewen says, because competition can be drawn froma wider geographic area. Rather, a year or more ago Northern Virginiawas experiencing below average pricing for turnkey data center spaceand 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 madean initial commitment of two megawatts of critical IT power and canexpand if necessary.

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