Data center construction kicks off in Goodyear

Driving west out of Phoenix to get to California? You’ll most assuredly pass through Goodyear, the north-to-south west valley suburb that’s been known for spring training baseball and quiet neighborhoods. Now, the town of about 80,000 is seeing a new narrative take shape as tech companies continue to buy land to build new data centers and turning Goodyear into ground zero for a new tech hub rivaling Silicon Valley.

Now, another tech company is setting up shop in Goodyear, hoping to put its elbows up the table and get in on the data center action. Compass Datacenters, a company with other locations in Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Northern Virginia, the country’s largest data center market, has kicked off construction on a major campus in the west valley.

Compass began work on two data centers that will produce a combined 72 megawatts of IT capacity. Both buildings in Goodyear’s tech corridor are scheduled to be opened by the end of the year. The first phase of the campus will see 144 megawatts of IT load, with the possibility of producing up to 350 megawatts.

Goodyear is becoming the darling of the tech industry as it presents plenty of opportunity to build new data centers and take over the market.

“There are many reasons why data centers are attracted to Goodyear,” Mayor Georgia Lord said. “We have the land available for projects of all sizes, have access to reliable resources needed for their operations, including connectivity to the National Fiber Pipeline, and are committed to partnering with companies interested in locating to our community.  

The Greater Phoenix data center market is in the middle of a major power surge, bringing in some of the biggest names in the industry. Besides Microsoft and Apple, Google is eyeing a campus of its own in Mesa, near where Apple is setting up. Google is planning to build a new data center on an 186-acre site, which would boost everything from local economies to real estate values.

Compass is laying plans to enable customers to expand in phases to add more capacity as demand dictates. People can choose from a list of options to customize each facility with choices on the site, building, data hall, infrastructure, security, and building management system.

This new development from Compass comes with plenty of promise for the west valley suburb. Beyond hiring on a local tech workforce or enticing tech workers from other parts of the country, bringing on another new data center can have wide-reaching positive results for the economy.

“Our long-term vision for Goodyear is to provide a diverse economy,” Mayor Lord said. “We have designated an area of our city as a tech hub, but we also concentrate on various industries to ensure a prosperous future for the entire community. As the region continues to develop and our populations soar, we will see new entertainment and restaurants choose Goodyear as well.”