Campus Spotlight: Inside SDC Ashburn
This article spotlights the key differentiators of SDC Ashburn, a data center campus located on National’s 38-acre site in Ashburn, VA—one of the largest data center hubs in the world. Jeff Kanne, President & CEO of National Real Estate Advisors, reflects on the campus’s beginnings, unique strengths, and what’s next for its continued growth.
SDC Ashburn is operated and developed by Sabey Data Centers (“SDC”), a longstanding joint venture between Sabey Corporation and National Real Estate Advisors, on behalf of its clients.
Can you describe the selection process for SDC Ashburn’s current site and the original development plan?
When the team first chose the Ashburn site, we were focused on its long-term fundamentals — unmatched connectivity, strong power availability, and access to major enterprise and federal customers. The site plan focused on the creation of a low-rise, three-building campus with each having four 1.8-megawatt data halls. At the time, that level of power capacity seemed significant and matched market needs; however, throughout the campus’ multi-year phased buildout, we modified the plan to match the increasing power requirements desired by customers.
What opportunities and challenges have SDC Ashburn’s location created for your operations?
Being in Ashburn has both its advantages and challenges. The campus benefits from immediate proximity to carriers, cloud on-ramps, and some of the largest enterprise and federal customers in the world. This has enabled SDC to lease at a strong pace, while providing customers with modern and flexible space to host their IT equipment. At the same time, competition for land, power, and talent is intense. The rapid growth of hyperscale demand has driven the team to rethink designs and construction schedules, moving from single-story to multi-story, ultra-dense facilities that can keep pace with tenant demands.
What are the demand dynamics in the market and what do current and prospective customers need most?
Demand in Northern Virginia has shifted dramatically since the first building opened. Initially, it took time to lease up newly delivered space, but today customers require much larger contiguous blocks, higher rack densities, and accelerated delivery schedules. SDC Ashburn has responded by scaling from one-story buildings to larger, high-power designs. This shift allows customers to grow within the same campus while maintaining high efficiency and reliability.
In what ways does SDC Ashburn differentiate itself from competing facilities in the region?
This campus is situated in the heart of data center alley, across the street from one of the most highly connected facilities in the United States. The location attracts customers looking to densify their networks in the area and take advantage of the robust connectivity Northern Virginia has to offer. SDC’s campus includes data halls of various sizes, enabling both enterprises and hyperscale’s to deploy across the campus. This in turn creates a diverse ecosystem of tenants, enhancing tenant stickiness and creating a more attractive facility in which customers can deploy their workloads. SDC also has longstanding relationships with Dominion Energy, the largest utility in Northern Virginia, enabling the Company to procure power where feasible.
What strategies do you think will help shape the next phase of SDC Ashburn’s development?
Looking ahead, the next phase of SDC Ashburn is centered on the launch of its third building, slated to come online in 2026. At full build out, the building will support an additional 54 megawatts of leasable power capacity. This facility is designed to support a full range of cooling options, including air-cooled, liquid-cooled, or hybrid environments. Future phases will continue the campus’s evolution toward vertical expansion and densification, accommodating higher power per square foot, liquid cooling readiness, and sustainable operations.