ImpactData Partners with Guilford County Schools on Dream Center Campus
ImpactData has chosen East Greensboro to develop its flagship product, the Dream Center in partnership with North Carolina A&T State University. The facility will be located at Gateway Research Park South Campus (2901 East Gate City Boulevard), where the company will build out 115,000 square feet of new construction, creating 28 new jobs, and investing more than $130 million over the phases of the project. The Dream Center is a mixed-use facility that will include a 10 MegaWatt hybrid co-location data center, a higher education innovation center, and workforce development co-working flex space to support the neighboring community.
ImpactData is a minority-owned digital infrastructure firm that delivers mission critical infrastructure focused on partnerships with HBCUs and their surrounding communities in select national markets.
“In the past five years the City has been intentional about making equitable investments, especially as it relates to East Greensboro,” said Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan. “ImpactData is adding to the variety of innovation taking place in the Gateway Research Park, while setting the foundation for those seeking careers in the technology sector.”
“ImpactData is committed to investing in the tech innovation that is shaping the Greensboro community through this partnership with North Carolina A&T State University, and Gateway Research Park,” said Terry Comer, CEO, ImpactData. “This initiative is a bright reflection of our company’s national vision for reshaping public private partnerships.”
In addition to ImpactData’s inaugural Dream Center with NC A&T, Gateway’s Digital Transformation Campus will feature Guilford County School’s (GCS) newly constructed ~70,000 sq. ft. CommunityEducation Center (CEC). The new GCS facility, primarily funded by ESSER/Federal COVID-19 funds, will be used to address the negative impacts of COVID-19 on the school district and the region’s students, families, staff, and communities. The Community Education Center will provide flex spaces with tutoring and educational programming, adult education and digital skills initiatives, as well as community meeting and engagement spaces for students, adults and families.
"GCS is a forward-thinking and future-minded school district striving to improve programming and educational options for our more than 68,000 K-12 students and families. The CEC will provide the district additional space to expand our innovative practices for all kinds of learners throughout the district and the community,” Superintendent Dr. Whitney Oakley stated. “GCS is poised to take our nationally acclaimed learning recovery efforts to new heights, and the CEC will help us continue our focus on community engagement as a foundation for success for all of our students and families.”
The facility will also address the school district’s need for staff training amenities, as well as newly constructed spaces beyond traditional classrooms with targeted resources for enhanced student, adult education, and community support.
“ImpactData’s Dream Center Campus plans are a great example of the progress that can be made when we combine the strengths of a leading research university with the opportunities that can be found at a dynamic research park,” said North Carolina A&T State University Chancellor Harold L. Martin, Sr.
“Both A&T and Gateway Research Park are committed to economic success in East Greensboro and throughout our city, and as a university with a $1.5 billion economic impact across this state, that commitment is heartfelt on our campus. We look forward to the many great benefits that ImpactData and the Dream Center Campus will yield throughout this region.”
“These combined projects will transform Gateway Research Park and help further our mission of serving as a regional catalyst for innovation, economic development, and university research,” said Jim Westmoreland, Interim Executive Director for Gateway. “In short, the planned services and programs to be offered at the Dream Center Campus will significantly benefit the broader community and help further establish Gateway as a premier destination for advanced research and development work -- via the computational horsepower to be offered through ImpactData’s proposed data center.”
“Greensboro/Guilford County is second to none when it comes to offering a tech company strong engineering talent, as well as an amazing quality of life for its employees. We are excited for what these projects will mean for East Greensboro.” said Brent Christensen, President & CEO Greensboro Chamber of Commerce.
ImpactData also partners with DigitalBridge (NYSE: DBRG), a leading global digital infrastructure firm, which manages more than $50 billion in communications infrastructure investments, including data centers and other digital assets. DigitalBridge has assisted ImpactData in creating technical designs, financial structures, curriculums and community programming in support of this innovative mixed-use investment. DigitalBridge is committed to closing the digital divide, partnering with ImpactData and other organizations on this important mission.
“DigitalBridge is pleased to support ImpactData’s engagement with NCA&T and the Greensboro community through the development of its innovation center designed to drive advancement and upskilling while also providing a new, high-quality data center to support companies in the area,” said Marc Ganzi, Chief Executive Officer at DigitalBridge.
The ImpactData and GCS teams are working with a wide range of local architects, planners, engineers, construction professionals and grant writers on the Dream Center Campus, which is currently in the advanced design and planning phase. The partners have begun a number of community engagement initiatives and charettes, and will conduct public in-person and virtual “Construction Day” activities in connection with sub-contracting, inclusion efforts, capacity building, and local training opportunities from the Dream Center Campus.
“It is an honor to be welcomed into the City of Greensboro, East Greensboro and Guilford County. We are grateful, and focused on the opportunity to establish high-speed connectivity, advanced digital infrastructure and digital transformation in these communities.” said David Calloway, ImpactData’s COO.
The Guilford County Economic Development Alliance, consisting of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce and High Point Economic Development Corporation, worked together with the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, City of Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Gateway University Research Park, Duke Energy, Guilford Technical Community College, the Guilford County Workforce Development Board, Guilford County Schools, Piedmont Natural Gas, and, North Carolina Department of Commerce in securing ImpactData and GCS’s investments in Guilford County and the City of Greensboro.
The Dream Center Campus partners are pleased to invite East Greensboro residents and members of the local community to a project kickoff event at Gateway Research Park in the JSNN Auditorium and Atrium on January 24 at 2:00 p.m. The kickoff reception will include an introduction to team members and stakeholders, additional details on the proposed projects and programs, and a sneak peek at the Dream Center Campus designs. Registration is required: bit.ly/dreamcentercampuskickoff
About the Greensboro Chamber
The Greensboro Chamber of Commerce is the largest business organization in the community serving more than 1,250 member businesses through programming designed to help them succeed and grow. A partner in the Guilford County Economic Development Alliance, the Chamber also serves as Greensboro’s primary economic development organization, with special emphasis placed on community and entrepreneurial advancement through Action Greensboro and Launch Greensboro.
About ImpactData
ImpactData designs, builds, and operates secure, purpose-built colocation data centers on the campuses of colleges and universities with a community transformation delivery model. Anchored in hybrid, multi- cloud technology, ImpactData is building a network of distributed, mini-cloud regions that integrate digital infrastructure with academic, innovation & workforce training space to foster more literate, interconnected campuses and communities. Beginning with the Dream Center Campus at Gateway Research Park in Greensboro, NC, ImpactData expects to deploy over $1 billion in “digital learning” infrastructure over the next decade.
About DigitalBridge, Inc.
DigitalBridge (NYSE: DBRG) is a leading global digital infrastructure REIT. With a heritage of over 25 years investing in and operating businesses across the digital ecosystem including cell towers, data centers, fiber, small cells, and edge infrastructure, the DigitalBridge team manages a $50 billion portfolio of digital infrastructure assets on behalf of its limited partners and shareholders. Headquartered in Boca Raton, DigitalBridge has key offices in Los Angeles, New York, London and Singapore.
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