The city issued a permit Sept. 7 for contractor Perry-McCall Construction to complete nearly $1.78 million in tenant improvements to the Cologix data center for JEA’s next emergency operations center.
The city-owned electric and water utility plans to move out of the EOC Downtown to the Southside data center at 4800 Spring Park Road when its new headquarters opens in the fall.
JEA Media Relations Manager Karen McAllister said in an email July 11 that it was important that the utility find a location for its EOC that could withstand a Category 5 hurricane.
The utility’s $100 million corporate headquarters under construction at 225 N. Pearl St. was not designed to house the EOC, according to McAllister.
“The Cologix building on Spring Park Road met that need as a Cat 5-rated building. JEA’s data center and several other groups are based there, so that location made sense for us,” she said in the email.
Cologix also will have JEA’s backup call center.
The decision to relocate JEA’s EOC to Cologix was finalized in late 2021. The utility has a five-year master service agreement with the data center operator that dates from November 2018 through Nov. 21, 2023, according to McAllister.
She said in July that the monthly payment to Cologix is $91,669.54. JEA’s award for the EOC is not to exceed $5,828,317, which includes the project build-out cost.
Cologix is a network-neutral interconnection and data center company. It came to the Jacksonville market by acquiring Jax Meet Me Room, a carrier hotel Downtown at 421 W. Church St.
It acquired the Spring Park Road facility when it bought the Colo5 colocation and disaster recovery provider in September 2014.
Previously, the JEA board had approved plans to build a secondary “hardened” headquarters in LaVilla that would have housed the EOC.
JEA paid $2.44 million in early 2021 for 2.27 acres near its Church Street substation to house it, but preparation for that facility has been suspended indefinitely.
JEA says it will retain that property for future use.
According to McAllister, when JEA moves into its new headquarters near the Duval County Courthouse, the utility will maintain the 19-story 21 W. Church St. tower it now occupies until a buyer is identified.
The new headquarters is owned by Ryan Companies US Inc. JEA will lease it.