Area Development
Involta, LLC, a provider of secure, full-service, data center facilities, plans to invest $15 million on a state-of-the-art, 40,000 square foot, Tier III Multiple Tenant Data Center in Tucson, Arizona.

The high-security co-location data center will house computer systems and related components for healthcare organizations, businesses, government and educational institutions.

. "The Tucson data center facility will present significant advantages for area businesses and customers from the Phoenix and Southern California areas. The ability to share the substantial costs of housing and managing mission critical systems and the option of off-site data storage for disaster preparedness planning is becoming increasingly important to businesses," said Bruce Lehrman, Involta chief executive officer.

"Building and maintaining a separate, stand-alone data center is very costly," he said. "By co-locating, organizations can realize the advantages of an advanced data center while actually cutting costs. Use of this data center will allow business leaders to focus on their core businesses rather than complex infrastructure and facilities issues."

Lehrman praised Tucson Electric Power as "a valuable strategic partner on the project." He said the utility assisted with site selection and technical requirements. "The team at TEP understood our objectives and helped create a business opportunity that will benefit economic development for the entire community."

The location has not been officially announced and final approvals from local agencies are still pending, along with details about local tax incentives or job creation figures. Two years ago Involta constructed a $20 million data center in Akron, Ohio and created 50 high-tech jobs in that region.

Lehrman praised local governmental and business development organizations for their assistance in making the project a reality. "Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities and the Tucson Chamber of Commerce were helpful in adding value to our process of expanding our business to Southern Arizona." Design of the facility is currently underway and is scheduled to begin operation in December.