Ascent has announced it has strategically expanded its business presence following the recent acquisition of a data center in the heart of the second largest innovation cluster in North America. The facility, known as Ascent TOR1 Data Center, is located in Ontario’s rapidly growing Information Communication Technology (ICT) Corridor, between Waterloo and Toronto, in the City of Cambridge. The purpose-built facility and surrounding property enables Ascent to serve the growing demand for data center capacity in the world-renowned high tech area of Ontario.   

TOR1 features enterprise-grade construction, reliability, efficiency, diverse cloud connectivity options, significant expansion space and power potential. The existing building that is approximately 270,000 sq ft sits on a 41 acre parcel with 15 acres of pad ready expansion ground. The building is comprised of multiple enterprise class data halls with immediate availability and 120,000 sq ft of shell warehouse space that has flexible design capabilities, which can be programmed as required by a tenant, including a high density, fast IT deployment block design featuring capacity up to 30 MW. Additionally, the site has a separate 25 acre parcel available where a customer can leverage the significant amount of infrastructure in place at the property but may require its own dedicated facility. 

The overall campus is 66 acres with the potential for 100+MW of gross power. The flexibility of the site, combined with Ascent as the provider, allows customers the ability to lease turnkey, powered shell, build to suit with autonomous designs, or even design build with purchase opportunities as a few of the possible scenarios. 

“The Greater Toronto area is one of the top five most populous cities in North America and the Toronto-Waterloo Region Corridor is home to 15,000 tech companies,” said Phil Horstmann, CEO of Ascent. “In close collaboration with the City of Cambridge and Waterloo EDC, we were able to grow our colocation portfolio with this first class TOR1 Data Center in a community known for its innovation and startup ecosystem. Local universities, startups, and companies, from large Canadian tech companies to major global businesses, continue to expand and invest heavily in the region. Ascent TOR1 is well positioned to support the increased demand in this fast-growing economy.”

“The City of Cambridge is thrilled to welcome Ascent to the region,” said Mayor Doug Craig. “Ascent has a strong reputation among global clients for their data center services and this represents an important investment in our community that strengthens our city’s position in the tech corridor. With access to Highway 401 and top education and talent, Cambridge is a great place to invest, grow or expand a business.  We look forward to working with Ascent to ensure their continued success.”

“Ascent is a global leader and their decision to invest in and grow our local data center infrastructure will strengthen the Toronto-Waterloo Region corridor's value proposition,” said Tony LaMantia, president and CEO of Waterloo EDC. “This is a significant investment for the region and the result of great collaboration between the City of Cambridge and our team.”