The former headquarters of America Online, or AOL, which made famous the line “You’ve Got Mail,” will be converted into a massive data center complex in Virginia, the Washington Business Journal reported.
American Real Estate Partners of Tysons and Chicago investment firm Harrison Street, who have teamed up before on data center projects, announced Wednesday that they will build six data centers totaling 2.1 million square feet on three sites in Ashburn and Arcola, among them a portion of the former AOL headquarters on Pacific Boulevard in Ashburn’s data center alley.
The AOL property will be the largest — that site will host four data centers ranging from 265,000 to 440,000 square feet, which will be developed build-to-suit for hyperscale tenants and deliver 300 megawatts of electrical capacity. Data center developments are commonly measured by their electrical output.
AOL, which during its prime was synonymous for many with going online and getting email, was sold to Verizon in 2015.