M.C. Dean delivered a two-story data center for a top mission critical customer in Northern Virginia (NOVA). This facility is one of two planned for the customer’s campus, which will contain five buildings each delivering 48MW of power. Four more NOVA data centers are scheduled for completion in 2026, bringing regional capacity above 150MW while advancing M.C. Dean’s 1GW+ global cloud infrastructure delivery for this tech giant.
“Our relationship with this customer continues to grow based on the great work, commitment, and coordination across our team members,” said Mike Keatley, M.C. Dean senior vice president of Engineering & Construction (E&C). “As demand continues to surge, M.C. Dean is positioned to land more work in Northern Virginia and other key markets.”
Both buildings feature a dedicated administrative space and five colocation spaces containing four cells each. Scope included the design, manufacturing, and delivery of 103 power delivery modules (PDMs), 450 pieces of medium and low voltage equipment, and all supporting infrastructure over a two-year period. M.C. Dean’s Life Safety team integrated 145 panels and assemblies across the site, totaling 595 panels and assemblies overall. All modules and assemblies were designed and manufactured offsite at their Modular Mission Critical™ campus in Ruther Glen, Virginia.
“Our modular approach accelerated delivery while meeting global standards for reliability, security, and energy efficiency,” said Chris Jenkins of M.C. Dean’s E&C team. “It’s a testament to our team’s dedication – installing miles of conduit and cabling, dozens of switchgear lineups, and redundant UPS and generator systems, all with zero safety incidents.”
Site safety achievements included launching the Qualified Electrical Worker program (QEW), with 20 certified QEWs onsite. High Risk Activity (HRA) projections allowing hazards to be engineered out resulted in 120 fewer high-risk activities than originally forecasted near energized equipment. The team also implemented advanced protocols, including QR code registration for energized areas and infrared scanning to detect risks.
With turnover completed, focus moves towards construction of the additional building for this campus and seven other major NOVA data center projects.