ACA International will invest $52 million for Virginia Beach data center

​Assured Communications Advisors International (ACA International), an international telecommunications consultancy firm headquartered in Vint Hill, announced plans Tuesday  to invest $52 million in Virginia Beach to open a 130,000-square-foot data center.

ACA International said it is is purchasing a 10.2-acre site in Corporate Landing Business Park from the Virginia Beach Development Authority for $2.04 million. The company will build a 130,000-square-foot facility that will house its new corporate headquarter offices and a tier III data center providing neutral co-location services.

It also would serve as the cable landing station for future subsea telecommunications cables. ACA International said the probject would create 30 jobs with average annual salaries of $59,000. Completion is anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2019.

“Virginia Beach is the new center for coastal continental edge, ultra-high speed global telecommunications on the East Coast with new connectivity options being developed connecting Europe, Africa, and LATAM,” Joel Ogren, president and CEO for ACA International, said in a statement.

Since 2015, ACA International has been involved in multiple undersea network projects and international telecom strategies and feasibility studies. It serves clients in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Latin America, Middle East and Asia. The company provides strategy, project planning, development and oversight of broadband, satellite, sub-sea cables, wireless/mobility and smart city planning.

“Virginia Beach has captured the world's attention with the fastest subsea data cables installed by Microsoft, Facebook and Telxius,” Virginia Beach Economic Development Director Warren D. Harris, said in a statement. “Businesses in Virginia Beach can reach customers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South America more quickly and efficiently than from anywhere else in the world. Additional cables are being planned and will be announced later this year that will provide even more incentives to establish data centers in Virginia Beach.”

The Virginia Beach Development Authority has awarded ACA International an Economic Development Investment Program grant in the amount of $500,000 based on the company's total capital investment of $52 million.

Corporate Landing is a 325-acre publicly developed business park owned by the Virginia Beach Development Authority.