SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Digital Realty Trust,
Inc. (NYSE: DLR), a leading owner and manager of corporate datacenters and
Internet gateways, has earned the datacenter industry's first LEED Gold
Certification. The project is a Build-to-Suit datacenter for a Fortune Global
500 company located in Digital Realty Trust's 350 East Cermak Road facility in
Chicago. The recently LEED Gold certified datacenter features 20,000 square
feet of raised-floor space with 4,000 kW of available IT load.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building
Rating System(TM) is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design,
construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives
building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and
measurable impact on their buildings' performance. LEED promotes a
whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five
key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development,
water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor
environmental quality.
"This is an important milestone for Digital Realty Trust and for the
entire datacenter industry. This facility establishes a new benchmark for
energy efficient datacenters, and it reflects Digital Realty Trust's continued
leadership in implementing green datacenter initiatives that make sense for
our corporate customers' bottom line and for their commitment to the
environment," said Michael F. Foust, CEO of Digital Realty Trust.
"LEED certification is a widely respected standard for evaluating green
design, construction and operations for facilities, and it is rapidly emerging
as a competitive advantage in the datacenter market. Customers are
increasingly making green criteria a core element of their selection process
for datacenter decisions. Our ability to offer LEED-certified facilities
along with our proven track record of green initiatives makes us uniquely
qualified to meet these customer requirements," said Jim Smith, Vice President
of Engineering at Digital Realty Trust. "We initiated this LEED certification
more than 12 months ago -- well before other datacenter companies started
their certification processes -- and our continued efforts in this area will
keep us on the forefront of green datacenter initiatives in the industry."
Smith added, "This project shatters the myth that LEED certification can
only be achieved within newer facilities. The initial phase of the 350 E.
Cermak Road facility was originally constructed in 1917 as the R.R. Donnelly
printing plant facility. Digital Realty Trust prides itself as a leader in
these green datacenter initiatives, and this leadership is evidenced by our
innovative approaches in both new and existing facilities."
A number of additional Digital Realty Trust datacenter facilities are also
currently undergoing LEED certification and are projected to receive Gold or
Silver certifications, including:
-- Turn-Key Datacenter(TM) in Chicago with 54,000 square feet of
raised-floor space and 6,750 kW of IT load;
-- Turn-Key Datacenter(TM) in Northern Virginia with 32,000 square feet
of raised-floor space and 4,500 kW of IT load; and
-- Turn-Key Datacenter(TM) in Santa Clara, California with 30,000 square
feet of raised-floor space and 4,050 KW of IT load.
"LEED guidelines incorporate so many proven best practices for building
engineering and construction," Smith continued. "Following those best
practices results in facilities that are very cost-effective from both a
construction and operations point of view. Anything that makes datacenters
more efficient is a good thing from a business point of view -- both for our
Digital Realty Trust and for our customers. We look forward to rolling out
more LEED certified facilities in the near future."
For more information about LEED Gold Certification, visit
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19.
About Digital Realty Trust, Inc.
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. owns, acquires, repositions and manages
technology-related real estate. The Company is focused on providing Turn-Key
Datacenter(TM) and Powered Base Building(TM) datacenter solutions for domestic
and international tenants across a variety of industry verticals ranging from
information technology and internet enterprises, to manufacturing and
financial services. Digital Realty Trust's 66 properties, excluding one
property held as an investment in an unconsolidated joint venture, contain
applications and operations critical to the day-to-day operations of
technology industry tenants and corporate enterprise datacenter tenants.
Comprising approximately 11.9 million rentable square feet, including 1.8
million square feet of space held for redevelopment, Digital Realty Trust's
portfolio is located in 26 markets throughout North America and Europe. For
additional information, please visit Digital Realty Trust's website at
http://www.digitalrealtytrust.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on
current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ
materially. Such forward looking statements include statements related to
receiving LEED certification for future Turn-Key Datacenter(TM) project,
including those currently under construction. These risks and uncertainties
include adverse economic or real estate developments in the Company's markets
or the technology industry; general economic conditions; defaults on or non-
renewal of leases by tenants; increased interest rates and operating costs;
inability to manage domestic and international growth effectively; failure to
obtain necessary outside financing; decreased rental rates or increased
vacancy rates; difficulties in identifying properties to acquire and
completing acquisitions at acceptable return levels; failure to successfully
operate acquired properties and operations; failure of acquired properties to
perform as expected; failure to successfully redevelop properties acquired for
such purposes or unexpected costs related thereto; failure to maintain the
Company's status as a REIT; environmental uncertainties and risks related to
natural disasters; financial market fluctuations; changes in foreign currency
exchange rates; risks of operating in foreign markets; and changes in real
estate and zoning laws and increases in real property tax rates. For a
further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports
and other filings by the Company with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2006. The Company disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
For Additional Information:
A. William SteinPamela A. Matthews
Chief Financial Officer and Investor/Analyst Information
Chief Investment Officer Digital Realty Trust, Inc.Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (214) 231-1350
(415) 738-6500
Chris Crosby
Sales & Technical Operations
Digital Realty Trust, Inc.
(415) 738-6500
SOURCE Digital Realty Trust, Inc.