"It is the first speculative mission-critical facility developedin Northern Virginia," says Chris Epstein Hereford, president ofthe firm, a division of BECO Management.

Data centers, which process e-commerce transactions, cell phonetransmissions and Internet communications, are almost alwayscustom-built to meet the specific needs of their tenants. They cancost hundreds of dollars a square foot to equip – and that's thedeveloper's risk. "If the market were to dry up, you're sittingwith a very expensive warehouse. It's equivalent to a class Asuburban office building," he says.

New Jersey-based Infocrossing will use the building to provideco-location facilities for Internet service providers, e-commercecompanies and other businesses that outsource Internet activities."We set out to meet the 'need it now' demand for data center-readybuildings in prime locations," Hereford says.