A $600 million technology warehouse has been approved to be built in Belmont, set to be the largest data centre in Western Australia.
A $600 million technology warehouse has been approved to be built in Belmont, set to be the largest data centre in Western Australia.
The Metro Inner-South Joint Development Assessment Panel unanimously approved GreenSquare DC's application for a warehouse on Abernethy Road, at its meeting this morning.
GreenSquareDC is a Sydney-based data centre provider, with Walt Coulston as the founder and chief executive.
The development application comprises of two data centre buildings, an 87-bay carpark, and servicing infrastructure including a power substain, water storage and generators.
The application, prepared by Urbis, said data centres were expected to increase in demand as innovation in technology continue to advance.
"Data centres should therefore be considered as key infrastructure for the business community and essential to society for the future advancement of several industries and businesses," the application said.
"The size of data centres is typically measured in power consumption, with the proposed centre aiming to be a 96-megawatt facility at final build out – making it the largest in Western Australia to date.
"The proposal will be a catalyst for change as the area seeks to develop as a ‘mixed business’ precinct with more offices and commercial activity, with other businesses seeking to co-locate with the development."
City of Belmont supported the proposal, with mayor Phil Marks saying the council was "overjoyed" at an operation like this in the city.
"I like the style of the building. I think it’s been well prepared. I’m happy with what’s been presented," he said.
"One of the things that surprised me is I got used to when dealing with IT… that anything I’ve known in the world would be in the size of my thumb but now we’re building this warehouse."
Mr Coulston said the data centre was about the infrastructure around the (micro)chip.
"There’s lots and lots of things that goes around that chip to get it cool," he said.
"We probably could put this data centre in a lot of different places. We felt this was the precinct, this was the zone."
Mr Coulston said the development would be more sustainable than traditional data centres, which normally used air to cool down the system.
"Data centres get quite hot ... air burns a lot of water, a lot of power," he said.
"This is a newer, advance way of cooling, like liquid cooling."
Mr Coulston is also the managing director of Sydney-based real estate investment and development firm CK Property Group.
The group has been involved in projects in WA, including childcare centres in Kingsley, Scarborough and Willetton, and a childcare centre and residential precinct on a 6,600 square metre site in Greenmount.
The data warehouse is expected to be delivered in two stages in Belmont's industrial district at 37 Abernethy Road.
