Telx

Telx Saves Millions and Increases Revenue Potential of Landmark Atlanta Datacenter with Rubicon Construction Services

The Customer

Telx is a leading provider of interconnection, colocation and business exchange services in strategic, high-demand North American markets. The company delivers its offerings in 15 enterprise-class colocation facilities across the U.S., one of which is 56 Marietta Street in Atlanta. Once the headquarters of Western Union, the 56 Marietta Street building was constructed in 1918 and renovated in 1928. An Atlanta landmark, today the 160,000 square-foot, 10-story building provides Telx customers with carrier-neutral access to the Southeast’s largest concentration of telecommunications companies.

The Challenge

Telx’s colocation customers demand both a high level of security and direct access to a consistent, reliable source of power to ensure business continuity for their data centers. In the fall of 2009, Telx wanted to increase the power delivery on three floors at 56 Marietta Street from 45kWh to 150 kWh per floor. Specifically, this involved augmenting high-rise UPS power to open suites on the 2nd through 4th floors. However, because 56 Marietta is a high rise nestled in the heart of downtown Atlanta, there was no available space on the ground to create equipment yards to house generators or other electrical or mechanical equipment. Any construction would need to be confined to the interior of the building and the only way to expand was up.

Telx CEO Eric Shepcaro approached Rubicon to create a design/build plan that would enable Telx to deliver the increased power capacity that its customers at 56 Marietta needed. Typically, an engineering firm would simply use an available room in the basement or construct a separate building or equipment yard. But this wasn’t a typical project.

"We called in two predominant engineering firms with whom we have long standing relationships to validate our power assumptions," said Jaime Dutro, vice president of Construction Services at Rubicon. "They said it couldn’t be done. The building isn’t large enough, there’s not enough space, and you simply can’t fit a generators in this location. But we knew with some innovative thinking we could find a way."

The Approach

Rubicon overcame complex design challenges to "build up" and literally chopped out a section of the second floor to make space for a new generator and new UPS equipment inside the building.

In a later phase of the construction, Telx CEO Shepcaro asked Rubicon to increase power density on the 9th floor to 200-250 watts per square foot. For this part of the project, Rubicon moved steel to the roof to construct cooling towers, pumps for air conditioning, and two new generators. In addition to the increase in generator power installed on the roof, meeting the target watt density also required the design and construction of a new Georgia Power utility vault in the basement of the building to increase the utility capacity by 6 mega-watts - including the installation of utility transformers, service entrance equipment and the distribution system to the 9th and 10th floors. Rubicon also gutted the 9th floor to give Telx an additional 8,500 square feet to offer as colocation space.

Rubicon also spearheaded architectural renovations at 56 Marietta that made the building even more secure and aesthetically pleasing to current and future Telx customers. The renovations included the addition of biometric access and upgraded surveillance cameras to enhance security. Security personnel can monitor people via cameras all the way from the main desk downstairs to all sections of the building.

In the 9th floor data center itself, Rubicon built a 10’x50’ man-trap that features a storefront glass enclosure that gives a 180 degree view of the transition area. Rubicon overcame the challenge of building a man-trap that would be code compliant yet would not reduce any of the available access floor space. Rubicon’s engineers successfully met the mandate for a 36-inch secure and interlocked sliding door and a ramp that rises 4 inches above the access floor.

As part of the architectural renovations, Rubicon also refurbished the interiors of two elevators with metal panels in different colors and textures. Rubicon architects also added a stainless steel wall and backlit sign with the Telx logo to the elevator lobby on the 9th floor. High-end rubber flooring and a wire-works ceiling grid were also installed along with four-foot columns wrapped in stainless steel instead of sheetrock for additional strength and aesthetics. As a result, the Telx 9th floor suite makes a strong first impression.

"56 Marietta is not like other locations where one can convert a parking area into an equipment yard," said Rubicon Chief Operating Officer Eric Holzworth. "Basically, we went into a 1920s building and made space that didn’t exist to squeeze in a generator and utility vault and put generators and cooling towers on the roof. We also made structural upgrades to make it all work. Traditional engineers would not have embarked upon what we wanted to do and ultimately accomplished."

The Benefits

Telx saved $2 million on certain aspects of the construction as a result of Rubicon’s design/build services. The company can also increase potential revenues through sales of additional colocation space and high density power to customers with those premium requirements.

Rubicon also helped Telx save money upfront by finding a third party to finance $1.2 million of equipment that was required for the project on a long-term lease. "We helped Telx afford a much bigger project with less capital upfront in the short-term," Dutro said.

"The renovations and upgrades enable Telx to get more equipment in the same amount of space," Dutro said. "Most of all, Telx now has a more attractive and flexible space at 56 Marietta, and now they can charge more money per square foot for higher power density requirements." In the end, Rubicon helped Telx be more competitive in the Atlanta market by making the facility more secure and attractive.

"Bill McNutt, operations manager at 56 Marietta told me that a smaller client who needed only a 10’x10’ space looked at several different floors," Dutro said. "Bill suggested an existing space, but then they got a peek at the 9th floor and that’s where they wanted to be. They knew it was overkill for the wattage they required, but they insisted on that space because it’s attractive and very secure. They were willing to pay the extra dollar just for the aesthetics and the future power capabilities.