LONGMONT - Dallas-based Broadband Utilities Inc. has land under contract and plans to build three 50,000-square-foot LEED-certified data centers in Longmont.

"We have approximately 13 acres under contract, and our plans are to build three enterprise data centers on that property where we can have three individual users or a large (user) that needs a tremendous amount of space," said John Drossos, Broadband's chief executive officer.

The land at the northeast corner of S. Fordham Street and Dry Creek Drive is south of the Honda North American Data Center in southwest Longmont.

"We really like the Longmont area," Drossos said.

He said Longmont has all the qualities needed when it comes to a data center that protects critical systems: reliable and affordable power, excellent climate, access to highly educated employees and close proximity to a major airport.

"I love Colorado," Drossos said. "I'm very impressed with a lot of the people I've met in Longmont and the Boulder County area. I just think it's a terrific market."

John Cody, president of the Longmont Area Economic Council, said there is a lack of data centers in the area, and the demand is high because the area has all of the requirements Drossos listed for potential sites.

The company's plan is to build three LEED-certified Tier III data centers but will cater the buildings to the client or clients that occupy them.

"We think Tier III is kind of the sweet spot," Drossos said.

The different data center tiers correspond to the redundancy of the building with Tier I being the least and Tier IV being the most. Because what's inside the centers is so sensitive, nearly everything in the building must have a backup system from cooling to electricity to fiber optics and telecommunications - and having a substation in the immediate vicinity is a plus as well.

Sometimes what's in the facility costs more than the building itself, so the systems must be protected in order to operate all day every day.

"A data center is a secure facility used to house computer systems and associated components such as telecommunications and storage-type systems," he said. "It is a secure and highly redundant facility."

While Drossos has been talking with potential data center users, he wouldn't disclose whom. He said there have been many interested companies.

No matter who occupies the buildings, Broadband plans to make the structures LEED certified.

"The whole push to green is becoming more real where there is a real focus with large companies and enterprises ... to make them as efficient as possible," Drossos said. "The market is demanding it."

He said solar panels and Xeriscaping are two examples of environmentally friendly design aspects the company plans to incorporate.

"Solar panels on the roof are a no-brainer for us," he said.

For now, the company is working with the city's planning department to have everything approved before it can move forward.

"We're not thinking about it, we're ready to go forward," Drossos said. "Unless something comes up that really surprises us, we're hoping to break ground the first part of next year.

"We'll be building the shell and a lot of the infrastructure of the buildings starting in January and the finish out of the facility will be depending on the end user."

By building a modular structure, it gives both Broadband and the data center user more design flexibility to meet the needs of the user.

"I think that's a smart way to approach it," Cody said. He said it's the "if you build it, they will come" approach.

Though occupancy is still at least a year out, Cody anticipates the data center bringing additional revenue to Longmont, and it likely will provide high paying jobs in the community.

"Typically data center jobs are six-figure jobs," he said.

While city officials know data centers don't typically require many employees, Cody said it will undoubtedly increase city revenue to some extent.