ACA International To Invest $52 Million for 130,000-Square-Foot Data Center in Virginia Beach

April 17, 2018

Assured Communications Advisors International (ACA International), an international telecommunications consultancy firm headquartered in Vint Hill, Virginia, has announced plans to invest $52 million in Virginia Beach to open a 130,000-square-foot data center.

ACA International is purchasing a 10.2-acre site in Corporate Landing Business Park from the Virginia Beach Development Authority for $2.04 million. The company will build a 130,000-square-foot facility that will house its new corporate headquarter offices, a tier III data center providing neutral co-location services and also serve as the cable landing station for future subsea telecommunications cables. ACA International will also create 30 jobs with average annual salaries of $59,000. Completion is anticipated in 4^th quarter of 2019.

"Virginia Beach is the new center for coastal continental edge ultra-high speed global telecommunications on the East Coast with new connectivity options being developed connecting Europe, Africa, and LATAM," said Joel Ogren, president and CEO for ACA International. "The city, especially the Economic Development Department, has been extremely proactive in creating the framework to take advantage of the next stage of global digital infrastructure. The future of cities depends on their ability to connect globally as efficiently and effectively as possible, and Virginia Beach is now on par with other top tier cities around the world."

Since 2015, ACA International has been involved in multiple undersea network projects and international telecom strategies and feasibility studies and serves clients in the United States, Europe, Australia, Latin America, Middle East and Asia. The company provides strategy, project planning, development and oversight of broadband, satellite, sub-sea cables, wireless/mobility and smart city planning.

"Virginia Beach has captured the world's attention with the fastest subsea data cables installed by Microsoft, Facebook and Telxius," said Virginia Beach Economic Development Director Warren D. Harris. "Businesses in Virginia Beach can reach customers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America more quickly and efficiently than from anywhere else in the world. Additional cables are being planned and will be announced later this year that will provide even more incentives to establish data centers in Virginia Beach."

The Virginia Beach Development Authority has awarded ACA International an Economic Development Investment Program grant in the amount of $500,000 based on the company's total capital investment of $52 million.

Corporate Landing is a 325-acre publicly developed business park owned by the Virginia Beach Development Authority. Virginia Beach has laid the ground work for a world-class telecommunications system complete with 163 acres of available sites, certified power requirements by Dominion Energy, and available fiber access hubs. Additional benefits that Virginia Beach provides include a low cost of doing business, reduced property taxes for data centers, no machinery and tools tax and a highly skilled workforce. The city's infrastructure and economic potential have been ranked in the top 10 for mid-sized cities in the Western Hemisphere.

The mission of the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development is to attract and retain national and international businesses to stimulate capital investment and create jobs. The Department of Economic Development received re-accreditation through the International Economic Development Council in 2016 and is one of only 50 economic development organizations in the world to have this recognition. Virginia Beach was named America's #1 best big city to live in by wallethub.com. For more information, visit www.yesvirginiabeach.com.

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