DESIGN,CONSTRUCTION

Metro Edge Development Partners Announces Team to Design, Build, and Operate World-Class Data Center in the IMD

Power Construction | December 01, 2022 | Read time : 05:00 min

Metro Edge Development NEws
Metro Edge Development Partners, a commercial real estate development firm and minority business enterprise (MBE), announced it has finalized agreements with Corgan, Clune Construction, Power Construction, and Ujamaa Construction to design and build its state-of-the-art data center in the Illinois Medical District (IMD). They join T5 Data Centers as the team that will design, construct, and operate the new data center.

“Metro Edge was founded as a firm focused on high-impact, technology-driven developments that have a positive impact on the market and the local community, We are thrilled to have best-in-class partners like Corgan, Clune, Power, and Ujamaa working with us to design and construct this facility. It is a testament to, not only their belief in this project, but also the importance of the development and the positive impact it will have on the West Side. We believe this diverse collection of industry professionals will allow Metro Edge to deliver one of the highest-performance data centers in Chicago.”

-Bradley Beile, COO of Metro Edge.

The $257 million state-of-the-art data center is expected to break ground in 2023 and open in 2024. Metro Edge recently announced the company secured a 75-year ground lease on a 1.97-acre parcel in the IMD to build and operate a 19.8 megawatt, five-story, 184,720 square foot, high-performance data center that will address the technology infrastructure needs of local and regional healthcare, financial, educational, and government organizations. The facility has already secured 50% preleasing.

Located on the West Side of Chicago, the construction of the data center will support over 200 construction jobs and, once completed, over 70 full-time jobs including data center engineers, electricians, tech support personnel, and operations.

The new data center will be designed by Corgan, a renowned local architecture firm with decades of experience designing data centers, healthcare and education facilities, commercial buildings, and airport terminals.

“Corgan has a rich history of supporting our clients across the data center sector, including the largest wholesale and hyperscale client in the world, We believe the IMD project has the potential to transform the data center landscape in Chicago and we are excited to work with Metro Edge to bring this data center online.”

-Dan Drennan, Principal at Corgan.

Corgan is leading all the architecture, engineering, and design elements of the project while Clune will oversee all construction aspects of the development in partnership with Power and Ujamaa and T5 as project manager.

This project represents a major investment in the West Side of Chicago and meaningfully improves the neighborhood by building on land that has sat vacant for decades, said 28th Ward Alderman Jason Ervin. The development is being led by a top minority-owned real estate company and will generate jobs, revenue, and important social impact programs for the community.

About Metro Edge Development Partners:
Metro Edge Development Partners is a Chicago-based commercial real estate development firm and minority business enterprise (MBE). Our mission is to pursue institutional-quality investment opportunities that deliver exceptional results to our financial and community partners. Led by a team with decades of private equity real estate experience, Metro Edge targets data centers, life sciences, and technology-oriented developments in primary urban locations around the country. Simply put, we create significant value in areas overlooked by our competitors. 

About Clune Construction:
Clune Construction is a national, employee-owned general contractor, with more than 600 talented professionals located in six offices across the U.S. Since 1997, Clune has provided construction management services for some of the most respected companies in the world. The company manages over $1 billion in construction projects annually.

About Corgan:
Corgan is a leading architecture and design firm with a decades-long reputation for great customer service. Corgan has expertise across six market sectors – aviation, commercial, data centers, education, healthcare, and interiors.

About Power Construction:
Power Construction is a management-owned commercial construction company founded in 1926, that focuses on the greater Chicago metro area. With annual revenue of $1 billion and a professional staff of 270, Power is ranked #1 in Chicago on Crain's Chicago Business List of Largest General Contractors. The Chicago Tribune has recognized Power Construction as a Top Workplace for the past five years running. Client types include healthcare, hospitality, developer, workplace, education, industrial, aviation, and luxury residential.

About T5 Data Centers (T5)
T5 Data Centers (T5) is a full lifecycle data center partner. The company provides customized build-to-suit, wholesale turnkey or powered shell data centers, critical facility construction, and ongoing facility management and operations services. T5 offers expert critical facility construction and its Uptime Award Winning facility management and operations services across its portfolio of data centers. T5 currently operates over 500 MW of critical load across 55 data centers and offers turnkey or build to suit data center solutions in 9 U.S. markets.

About Ujamaa Construction
Ujamaa Construction (“UJAMAA”) was founded in 2002 by Jimmy Akintonde to create a working organization that pays an equal amount of attention to quality of completed projects, safety of its employees, social responsibility, sustainability, corporate profitability, and citizenship within the company’s communities. UJAMAA has experienced explosive growth, opening an office in Atlanta, Georgia in 2017.

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MATERIALS,ENGINEERING TECH

TYLin Bolsters Water Sector Capabilities with Acquisition of Greeley and Hansen, an Award-Winning, Global Water Engineering Firm

TYLin | December 22, 2022

TYLin, a globally recognized, full-service infrastructure consulting firm, announced today it is expanding its water and wastewater capabilities in North America with the acquisition of Chicago-based Greeley and Hansen, a leading water infrastructure engineering firm known for creating some of the world’s largest and first-of-its-kind water and wastewater treatment facilities in the U.S. and Latin America. Greeley and Hansen will continue to go to market as Greeley and Hansen, A TYLin Company. Founded in Chicago in 1914, Greeley and Hansen is an award-winning global engineering, architecture, and consulting firm solely dedicated to providing sustainable engineering solutions for a broad range of water, wastewater, and solid waste challenges. With over 100 years of proven civil and environmental engineering experience in all phases of project development and implementation, the firm has grown to become a premier global provider of comprehensive services in the water sector. With more than 20 offices in the U.S. and Latin America, Greeley and Hansen is dedicated to designing better urban environments worldwide. “The acquisition of Greeley and Hansen advances our strategy to leverage our current water sector capabilities to help transform TYLin into a leader in the water market in the Americas, TYLin’s prowess in infrastructure, coupled with Greeley and Hansen’s strong industry-wide reputation in water and wastewater engineering technologies and construction, will make us a powerful force as we strive to improve the quality of life in the communities our clients serve.” Matthew G. Cummings, P.E, President and Chief Executive OfficerTYLI Group For more than a century we have made it our mission at Greeley and Hansen to improve urban environments by solving complex water, wastewater, and solid waste challenges with sophisticated engineering solutions, said John C. Robak, Chairman and CEO of Greeley and Hansen. Our bespoke engineering solutions and designs have created some of the world’s best and largest water and wastewater treatment facilities -- from Chicago to Colombia. As part of TYLin, Greeley and Hansen will have even more resources and scale, and an even greater ability to provide clients with the advanced technologies and innovative ideas we have been known for since our founding 11 decades ago. This coming together is very symbiotic. TYLin offers broader engineering resources and provides us with tremendous breadth, while Greeley and Hansen is an expert in water, providing TYLin with amazing depth.” As part of the acquisition, Greeley and Hansen’s Chairman and CEO John C. Robak will step down after serving as an advisor during the transition. He plans to continue his endeavors in philanthropy and civic engagement. Greeley and Hansen Chairman Emeritus Andy Richardson and President Paul Vogel will retire. TYLin’s newly expanded water sector will now be led by Greeley and Hansen’s Michael J. Hope, P.E., who was previously a Principal and Executive Vice President at Greeley and Hansen, leading client engagements and business development. Hope joins TYLin as President of Greeley and Hansen and Senior Vice President of TYLin. TYLin’s Abe Khademi, SVP, will continue to oversee the TYLin Water Sector in Canada and work with Hope to develop plans for a unified water team. In addition to being a very strategic business decision, the acquisition of Greeley and Hansen is also a solid cultural fit, said TYLin’s Cummings. Our firms have similar cultures and priorities. We both place immense value on our people, our portfolio of clients and projects, and the impact we are recognized for delivering to our clients and the communities we serve. These constants have driven our individual success and, together, will remain a key tenet to our future growth and success. In early 2022, TYLin reorganized its operations into market-facing sectors focused on the diverse segments of the buildings, transportation, and water sectors. In April, TYLin acquired Silman, a leading structural engineering firm to enhance its buildings sector. The acquisition of Greeley and Hansen supports the firm’s strategy to grow its global water practice. About TYLin Founded in 1954, TYLin is a globally recognized, full-service infrastructure consulting firm committed to providing innovative, cost-effective, constructible designs for the global infrastructure market. With 3,200 employees working in 65 offices throughout the Americas, Asia, and Europe, the firm provides support on projects of varying size and complexity. TYLin is part of Dar Group, one of the world’s leading architecture, engineering, project management and energy consultancy groups. About Greeley and Hansen Founded in Chicago in 1914, Greeley and Hansen is an award-winning global engineering, architecture, and consulting firm solely dedicated to providing sustainable engineering solutions for a broad range of water and wastewater challenges. With more than 100 years of proven civil and environmental engineering experience in all phases of project development and implementation, the firm has grown to become a premier global provider of comprehensive services in the water sector. With more than 20 offices, Greeley and Hansen is dedicated to designing better urban environments worldwide. Greeley and Hansen’s first client — Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago — remains a key client today, 108 years later, along with a stellar roster of other world-class municipal water utilities and industrial clients.

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