LightEdge Solutions and Hunt Midwest Celebrate Opening of New Kansas City Data Center

Regional data center located underground in SubTropolis Technology Center complements Missouri’s thriving tech industry

The new LightEdge Solutions data center is located underground within the SubTropolis Technology Center mission critical campus in Kansas City, Mo. (Photo: Business Wire)

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--()--Hunt Midwest Real Estate Development and LightEdge Solutions announce the opening of the SubTropolis Technology Center (STC) campus with the completion of the first phase of LightEdge’s new 60,000-square-foot underground data center. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon was among the dignitaries who helped celebrate the opening of the new LightEdge data center in STC at a ribbon-cutting and media event yesterday.

LightEdge, a premier cloud computing, colocation and managed services company, is the anchor tenant of STC, a mission critical data center campus, which is owned and operated by Hunt Midwest. The joint project is the result of a unique partnership between Hunt Midwest, a full-service real estate development company owned by the Lamar Hunt family, and LightEdge Solutions, which is owned by Qwest founder Phil Anschutz. The long relationship between the Hunt and Anschutz families helped foster the partnership.

“This is the perfect strategic alliance that allows both companies to leverage their core expertise to deliver a world-class data center operation,” said Ora Reynolds, president of Hunt Midwest Real Estate Development.

LightEdge brings years of experience in the area of cloud and premise-based managed IT services and one of the most comprehensive end-to-end IT and telecommunications product portfolios in the industry while Hunt Midwest provides a naturally hardened and secure environment that is served by KCP&L’s robust power transmission and distribution network. Fiber connectivity to virtually any carrier is possible and more than a million square feet of contiguous space is available for expansion.

“The relationship between LightEdge and Hunt Midwest translates into the convergence of financial strength, enterprise-grade hosted IT services, extensive experience in disaster recovery and production IT cloud environments in a highly secure and protected location with low electric rates compared to other areas of the U.S.,” said Jim Masterson, chief executive officer of LightEdge Solutions. “Together, these factors combine to create a premier technology offering unlike any other in the Midwest.”

In his ribbon-cutting comments, Governor Nixon called the new facility another win for Kansas City. “LightEdge’s new data center helps to bolster Missouri’s reputation as a technology hub,” he said. “An experienced talent pool and low-cost business environment makes Missouri the best destination for growing high-tech companies and creating in-demand jobs.”

In addition to the governor, other dignitaries helped celebrate the opening of the new LightEdge data center in STC at the ribbon-cutting and media event. They included Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Sly James; Clay County Presiding Commissioner Pam Mason; representatives from The Anschutz Investment Co., including Augie Cruciotti and Scott Carpenter; and members of the Hunt family including Clark Hunt, Lamar Hunt, Jr., and Sharron Hunt, owners of Hunt Midwest.

To assist LightEdge Solutions with its expansion, the Missouri Department of Economic Development, Clay County and the City of Kansas City authorized a strategic economic incentive package that the company will receive if it meets strict job creation and investment criteria.

“I’m excited to welcome LightEdge Solutions to Kansas City’s growing network of tech companies,” said Mayor James. “Announcements like this underscore our community’s attractiveness to businesses in the information technology industry. I am confident that Kansas City’s high-tech assets, and the expertise of our local workforce, make us extremely competitive with other cities across the nation.”

About SubTropolis Technology Center (STC)

SubTropolis Technology Center is a mission critical data center campus that provides a highly scalable infrastructure for millions of square feet of contiguous expansion; redundant power with low kW costs; and fiber networking to meet the ever-growing bandwidth requirements of businesses. STC is served by KCP&L, with two separate power feeds and 161 kV transmission lines on the property. The eco-friendly underground STC campus is protected by a 150-foot layer of limestone, making it a Tier IV compliant structure. STC provides a Meet-Me-Room for interconnection with major carriers and service providers and a six-acre equipment yard on the exterior surface. In addition to LightEdge Solutions, future phases will include government agencies and enterprise tenants.

About Hunt Midwest

Hunt Midwest is a full-service real estate development company with a focus on industrial, commercial, retail, mission critical, multifamily, senior living and residential real estate. Its portfolio is anchored by SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground business complex. Hunt Midwest is a Kansas City-based, privately held company owned by the Lamar Hunt family. The Hunt family business is a diverse portfolio of entities involved in real estate, sports/media, energy/resources, private equity and investments. Marquee entities include the Kansas City Chiefs, Hunt Midwest, FC Dallas Soccer Club, Toyota Stadium, Chicago Bulls and United Center.

About LightEdge Solutions

LightEdge Solutions offers dynamic end-to-end network, colocation and IT cloud solutions, providing businesses with reliable access to Fortune 100-level infrastructure that quickly adapts and scales to meet changing business requirements. LightEdge, which is owned by The Anschutz Corporation, was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa. LightEdge serves both Midwestern and national companies from its five regional office locations with scalable and customized IT solutions that leverage a fully redundant network backbone and a team of experienced engineers.

Contacts

For Hunt Midwest/LightEdge Solutions
Debbie Hagen, 913-642-6363
dhagen@hagenandpartners.com
or
Donna Pirotte, 913-219-4144
dpirotte@hagenandpartners.com

Release Summary

LightEdge Solutions and Hunt Midwest Celebrate Opening of New Kansas City Data Center

Contacts

For Hunt Midwest/LightEdge Solutions
Debbie Hagen, 913-642-6363
dhagen@hagenandpartners.com
or
Donna Pirotte, 913-219-4144
dpirotte@hagenandpartners.com