Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Company (BLS & Co.) and its affiliate Sugarloaf Associates announced the first existing building to be designated a “Data Center Qualified Site.” The 197,000-square-foot structure in Miami, known as the Light Speed building, was designated as part of a study for Florida Power & Light (FPL) that also qualified several land sites.

“We’re pleased to have added the first building to our list of data center qualified sites across the country,” said Tim Comerford, senior vice president of energy services, BLS & Co., and Sugarloaf principal.  “The Light Speed building is well positioned for data center development with a fully redundant electricity supply, an underground circuit route and a strong utility infrastructure.”

The BLS / Sugarloaf qualification program is designed to help utilities and economic development organizations identify the most attractive sites for mission critical projects. The team’s three-phase evaluation process analyzes electric supply and capacity, access to long- and short-haul fiber providers, water availability, electric costs, tax exemptions and incentives, demographics, vendor/supplier networks and the ability to complete construction within 18 months.

“We recognized the need for a more systematic approach to identifying and qualifying potential data center sites as the industry has become more specialized in its requirements,” said Tracey Hyatt Bosman, managing director for BLS & Co.  “A site qualification program is an important part of a utility’s preparedness to respond to inquiries, given the specialized services data centers require.”

The Light Speed building is the fourth site pre-qualified within FPL’s 35-county service territory.  The other sites are the Florida Research Park near West Palm Beach, the Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park near Sarasota, and the Nassau Crossing Industrial Park near Jacksonville.  Further studies are underway to identify additional pre-qualified data center sites to respond to market demand.

"The BLS & Co. study helped us understand the unique needs of data center operators and how FPL can be a partner in helping data centers succeed in our service territory," said Crystal Stiles, manager, economic development for FPL.

The BLS / Sugarloaf team also has qualified nine sites for American Electric Power, one of the nation’s largest utilities representing an 11-state territory.  For more details on the data center qualified site program, email Tim Comerford at tcomerford@blsstrategies.com.