Birmingham will be the home of a flagship data center for Atlanta-based DC BLOX, to be built on the former Trinity Steel site.

The company projects a possible investment of $785 million over 10 years, with the potential to elevate Birmingham's local tech scene onto a greater national profile.  

Groundbreaking is expected to take place next month, with Phase 1 delivering 31,000 square feet and configurable up to 5MW of customer capacity by early 2019. It will also have 13,000 sq. ft. of office space with conference rooms, staging areas and work stations, according to information already posted on the company website.  

The campus design will be similar to the company's Huntsville data center. The Birmingham location will join DC BLOX's Atlanta, Huntsville and Chattanooga sites on the company's high-speed, high-capacity private optical network.  

Estimated economic impact of this project during the construction and operational phase is $94 million on the Birmingham metropolitan area, more than $80 million of which will be in Jefferson County, according to an analysis prepared by the University of Alabama's Center for Business and Economic Research. Economic impact on Alabama is an estimated $99 million.