"FRANKLIN PARK, IL-Digital Realty Trust Inc. has purchased a 575,000-square-foot complex here for $22.3 million in a sale-leaseback transaction. The Frain Group, a used packaging machinery distributor, reportedly will continue to occupy two-thirds of the 22-acre site.
Digital Realty, based in San Francisco, will convert the rest of the facility into a data storage center, with an expected delivery by mid-2013. The company said in a statement Wednesday that Frain is leasing its portion of the three buildings on a short-term lease basis, subject to a termination option that could be exercised in response to Digital Realty customer demand.
The data center trust also has two properties in Chicago, including the Lakeside Technology Center at 350 E. Cermak, a 1.1-million-square-foot data tower, and another 162,000-square-foot center on Federal Street. However, a source close to the trust tells GlobeSt.com that the firm had been getting requests to open a data center in the suburbs. The Franklin Park property is only 10 miles from O’Hare International.
Michael Foust, CEO of Digital Realty Trust said the property will accommodate corporate customers.
Michael Foust, CEO of the trust, said in the statement that this new facility will be no different to its other centers in major markets such as Chicago, Dallas and northern Virginia. “This acquisition provides stabilized cash flow in the short term, with a substantial, near term redevelopment opportunity,” he said.
The trust plans to eventually redevelop all three buildings for data center use. Power will be provided by Commonwealth Edison Co.
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