Charleston-area business park lands DC Blox’s 3rd SC data center
A technology infrastructure company that’s playing a key role in a Grand Strand undersea cable venture involving both Google and Facebook has formally announced that Berkeley County will be the site of its third South Carolina data center.
Atlanta-based DC Blox said this week that it has purchased the land for the 27.5-acre development in the Camp Hall commerce park in Ridgeville from Santee Cooper.
The $4.8 million deal closed July 31, according to public records.
The company’s preliminary plan for the site includes the construction of four buildings totaling about 200,000 square feet.
CEO Jeff Uphues said the Berkeley County data center will be an attractive option for “hyperscalers” that need the space and electrical firepower to support applications such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Also, it will provide businesses with access to high-speed fiber connections to serve customers either locally or globally.
The plans could change depending on what companies commit to tap into the site, said Bill Thompson, vice president of marketing and product management at DC Blox.
“Typically large companies of the ilk of Google and Amazon look at building facilities with a partner like DC Blox,” Thompson said.
He added that a center of this scale would typically employ about 15 workers.
Moncks Corner-based Santee Cooper, the owner and developer of Camp Hall, disclosed its negotiations with DC Blox about a year ago. The state-owned electric and water utility will deliver power to the data center and has agreed to invest about $6 million in sitework improvements.
Santee Cooper CEO Jimmy Staton said the location is “strategic” and “will encourage and support technology-driven industries and quality jobs” in the region.
DC Blox said the Camp Hall investment will be connected to its new $32 million Myrtle Beach “landing station” that will accommodate several intercontinental web-traffic cables being placed under the Atlantic Ocean by Google and by an affiliate of Facebook parent Meta Platforms.
The Ridgeville site also will serve as a link in a so-called dark fiber route that will stretch from the Grand Strand to Atlanta via nine South Carolina counties.