In St. Louis (Missouri, USA), a proposal has appeared for the delivery of an underground data center located in a former government bunker. According to Datacenter Dynamics, the bunker at 3280 McKibbon Road is leased under a Triple Net (NNN) agreement, in which the tenant is fully responsible for the costs of the facility, including not only the actual rental payments, but also all operating and utility costs, taxes on property and insurance.
The 351 m2 bunker has a raised floor for the data center itself and office space. There are two backup generators, and power is provided from a three-phase network. The rental ad states that the facility was built as a government bunker in case of emergencies in the area.
Image source: LoopNet
The premises are located underground, built from reinforced concrete. The object is protected from nuclear strikes, adverse natural conditions and EMP pulses. The building contains systems to ensure additional reliability. In other words, such a “splinter” of the Cold War may still be in demand today. The property was built in 1976, is in “good condition” and is ready to accommodate clients. It is claimed that it is ideal for creating a center for storing and restoring data and protecting against disasters of various types.
This is not the first time that data centers are created in former military and government bunkers. Even criminals use them – a few years ago in Germany, local law enforcement agencies took control of a large darknet node, which was also located in a former underground NATO shelter. As a result, eight local operators received prison sentences.