Ark data centers (Iowa): Duluth Data Center

Ark’s Duluth Data Center, located in Duluth, Minnesota, operates as a contemporarily designed colocation facility delivering secure, scalable infrastructure to enterprises across the upper Midwest and beyond. The facility is part of Ark Data Centers’ broader U.S. footprint (formerly Involta), which retains ownership and operations control of all its sites. 

Duluth offers location advantages such as stable climate, relatively low energy costs, and a low-risk environment (e.g. away from flood plains), which are favorable for data center operations.

⚙️ Facility Highlights

• Conditioned data center space spans ~10,000 sq ft for colocation (private/shared, suites, halls) 
• Total building footprint over 26,000 sq ft 
• Utility power capacity: 1,000 kW (1 MW) installed
• Generator backup: 1 MW diesel generator (N+1) 
• Cooling: chillers with waterside economization (N+1) and CRAC units; overhead cooling, DataSox, hot-aisle / cold-aisle containment; average ~180 days of economized cooling 
• Power architecture: 2N redundant UPS / conditioned power (Starline® busway dual-path)
• Grid connectivity: distributed grid with multiple feeds and underground power lines in portions of site 
• Scalability: designed for expansion toward 36 MW potential capacity in future phases 
• Renewable energy mix: roughly ~25 % from renewable sources (wind, solar, hydro) 

🔐 Security & Compliance

• 24/7/365 secure access with biometric authentication
• Remote monitoring, physical surveillance, CCTV coverage, and controlled access to colocation zones 
• Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus (VESDA) / early-warning smoke detection systems and fire suppression systems (dry-pipe sprinklers) 
• Hardened building: reinforced concrete construction, secure staging areas, private storage, perimeter protections 
• Compliance & certifications:
•  • ENERGY STAR certified (fifth consecutive certification) 
•  • HIPAA, HITRUST CSF, NIST 800-53, PCI DSS, SOC 1 Type 2, SOC 2 Type 2 listed in market profiles 

🌐 Connectivity & Carrier Access

• Carrier-neutral facility with support for multiple connectivity providers
• Redundant fiber-optic paths with diverse entrance points 
• 24/7/365 critical network monitoring 
• Cloud on-ramps and direct connectivity to major public clouds (AWS, Azure) as part of hybrid architecture offerings 

💼 Who It Serves

• Enterprises in the Upper Midwest (e.g. Minnesota, Wisconsin) looking for nearby colocation with low-latency connectivity
• Regulated industries such as healthcare, finance, and government requiring compliance-aligned environments
• Cloud service providers and managed service providers seeking neutral interconnection and expansion options
• Organizations with sustainability or energy-efficiency goals, given the facility’s energy certifications and renewable mix
• Workloads benefiting from scalable future growth (e.g. IoT, edge compute, backup & disaster recovery)