Cavern Doubles Size of Underground Data Center Near Kansas City update from December 2014

Cavern Technologies has nearly doubled the amount of space built out for tenants in its underground data center near Kansas City. The data center is located in a massive cave, where its biggest neighbor is the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.

The data center provider commissioned a 60,000 square foot Phase I of an ongoing expansion project last week, John Clune, Cavern’s president, said. The company had built out 65,000 square feet of data center space for customers prior to the expansion.

There is a number of underground data centers around the world. Besides the obvious disaster protection benefits, underground facilities save on cooling costs, some using cool underground water, and some, like Cavern, benefitting from stable temperature throughout the year.

Ambient air in Cavern’s facility in Lenexa, Kansas, (15 miles south of Kansas City) remains at around 68F throughout the year, unaffected by the region’s extreme temperature swings, Clune said.

Cavern, which has been operating in the underground facility since 2007, provides a mix of data center options, from small private suites to large custom build-to-suit data centers with dedicated security and electrical infrastructure.

It has a 10,000 square foot dedicated data center occupied by a hospital group, and a 6,000 square foot one for another single tenant. The smaller private suites range from 200 square feet to 3,000 square feet.

The next phase of the current expansion will add another 40,000 square feet. “Currently we have plans for 150,000 square feet that’s already designed out,” Clune said.

The most recently commissioned pod has 2.5 megawatts of power. Cavern can get up to 50 megawatts total at the site.