San Jose for huge data-center expansion

Exclusive: Equinix targets south San Jose for huge data-center expansion

Equinix Inc., the huge data-center operator, is lifting the curtain on a massive expansion plan that could add nearly 1 million square feet of space in five new buildings in south San Jose.

"We’ve had really strong fill rates in our core markets, and we have a lot of cloud companies that have come into our data centers," Stuart Thompson, Equinix's director of real estate, told me in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. "This is one of our best submarkets, and we want to make sure we plan for the future."

Equinix has filed plans to develop three buildings on land it purchased back in March from Xilinx. Another two buildings would go about a half mile away on Great Oaks Boulevard, near Equinix's existing two data centers known as SV1 and SV5.

Equinix, based in Redwood City, operates 105 data centers around the world, and earlier this year completed its transition into a publicly traded real estate investment trust. The company is primarily known as a retail provider, meaning it leases space in its facilities to multiple tenants, including some of the Internet's fast-growing superstars.

The local expansion comes as Equinix also grows its footprint around the globe through acquisitions. In May, Equinix announced it was buying U.K.-based Telicity Group for $3.6 billion, giving it 40 additional data centers in 11 countries.

More data storage and Internet traffic means more business for Equinix — and more space requirements in its facilities. The company has nearly 6 million square feet of space globally, and that number is rising fast. Its Bay area employment is around 750, and the company expanded its offices in Sunnyvale by more than 70,000 square feet early this year.