Vantage Data Centers, a hyperscale data center operator, which is backed by lead investor DigitalBridge, today announced that it plans to invest an additional $900m Canadian dollars ($713m USD) to expand its operations in Montreal and Quebec City, Canada. Specifically, Vantage plans to develop a third data center campus in Montreal and expand two of its existing campuses – one in each of Montreal and Quebec City, Canada.
Montreal & Quebec City, Canada – Vantage Data Centers
Vantage Data Centers’ new expansions will scale its portfolio to a total of four campuses, with 8 data centers, in the province of Québec, Canada. As such, the company’s overall investment to-date in Québec, Canada will approach $1.7bn Canadian dollars ($1.35bn USD).
At full build-out, Vantage Data Centers’ operations in Québec, Canada will total 143 megawatts of critical IT load across ~870k sqft of space. Decomposing this capacity further by each city:
- Montreal: 89 megawatts of critical IT load across ~520k sqft of space
- Quebec City: 54 megawatts of critical IT load across 350k sqft of space
Vantage Data Centers – Montreal & Quebec City – Full Build-Out
| Campus | # of DCs | MW | sqft |
| Montreal I (QC1) | 1 | 11 | 60k |
| Montreal II (QC4) | 3 | 48 | 320k |
| Montreal III (QC6) | 1 | 30 | ~140k |
| Quebec City (QC2) | 3 | 54 | 350k |
| Total | 8 | 143 | 870k |
Dgtl Infra estimates that Vantage Data Centers’ expansions at Montreal II (QC4), Montreal III (QC6), and Quebec City (QC2), together, are adding an incremental 84 megawatts of critical IT load across ~495k sqft of space. Therefore, based on Vantage’s additional investment of $713m USD, the company would be building these facilities at a cost ~$8.5m USD per megawatt.
Below is further detail on Vantage Data Centers’ expansion plans and pro forma data center portfolio.
Montreal I (QC1)
Vantage’s Montreal I (QC1) campus is located in the Technoparc Montreal, a business park for the life sciences, aerospace, and technology industries. Montreal I is situated on a 5-acre site, offering 11 megawatts of critical IT load across 60k sqft of space. Currently, Vantage Data Centers is not planning any capacity increases at its Montreal I (QC1) campus.
Montreal II (QC4)
Vantage’s Montreal II (QC4) campus is located in Pointe-Claire, in close proximity to the Montréal-Trudeau International Airport. Montreal II is situated on a 10-acre site, which will ultimately total three facilities with 48 megawatts of critical IT load and 320k sqft of space, once fully developed. Presently, Vantage has built-out two facilities with 27 megawatts of critical IT load across 226k sqft of space.
As part of today’s announcement, Vantage Data Centers is expanding its Montreal II (QC4) campus with a third facility totaling 21 megawatts of critical IT load and 94k sqft. In terms of timing, this third facility is scheduled to open in Q4 2022.
Montreal III (QC6)
Vantage’s Montreal III (QC6) campus is located close to Dorval’s Montréal-Trudeau International Airport. Montreal III is situated on an 8-acre site, which will ultimately total one data center with 30 megawatts of critical IT load and ~140k sqft of space, once fully developed.
Presently, Vantage has already begun construction on the Montreal III (QC6) campus, with the first phase expected to open in October 2022. Notably, this campus is supplied by a dedicated 45-megawatt substation on-site, with a direct private connection to Hydro-Québec.
Quebec City (QC2)
Vantage’s Quebec City (QC2) campus is located in the Québec Metro High Tech Park (Parc Technologique). Quebec City (QC2) is situated on an 18-acre site, which will ultimately total three facilities with 54 megawatts of critical IT load and 350k sqft of space, once fully developed. Presently, Vantage has built-out two facilities with 21 megawatts of critical IT load across 90k sqft of space.
As part of today’s announcement, Vantage Data Centers is expanding its Quebec City (QC2) campus with a third facility totaling 33 megawatts of critical IT load and 260k sqft. To enable this expansion, Vantage has acquired an additional 8 acres of land on which it will grow the QC2 campus.
Debt Financing
Vantage’s expansion of the Quebec City (QC2) campus is being partially funded through debt financing from Société Générale. Specifically, a portion of the campus was approved for a green loan, by meeting certain requirements, including the use of nearly 100% renewable energy, low carbon emissions, water conservation, design power usage effectiveness (PUE), and an energy management plan.
Overall, Vantage Data Centers’ facilities in Montreal and Quebec City operate on nearly 100% hydroelectric power supplied by Hydro-Québec, creating very little greenhouse gas.
Hyperscale Data Center Competition in Canada
Vantage Data Centers claims to be the “largest hyperscale digital infrastructure provider in Canada”. However, it is worth noting that, within Canada, Vantage only operates in the province of Québec, Canada.
Key hyperscale data center competitors of Vantage, within the province of Québec, include Cologix, Compass Datacenters, and eStruxture. Outside of Québec, Digital Realty operates in the hyperscale segment, but only in the Toronto, Canada market.
Finally, Equinix is a significant retail colocation provider in Canada following its acquisition of Bell Canada’s data centers. While real estate investment manager, BentallGreenOak, has also recently expanded into Canada’s data center market.
Vantage Data Centers – Portfolio Overview
Vantage Data Centers is developing and operating data centers across five continents in 18 markets globally:
- North America (6 markets): Ashburn, Virginia; Phoenix (Goodyear), Arizona; Quincy, Washington; Santa Clara, California; Montreal, Canada; Quebec City, Canada
- Europe (6 markets): Berlin, Germany; Frankfurt (Offenbach), Germany; Milan, Italy; Warsaw, Poland; Zürich, Switzerland; Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Asia (4 markets): Osaka, Japan; Tokyo, Japan; Hong Kong, SAR; Kuala Lumpur (Cyberjaya), Malaysia
- Africa (1 market): Johannesburg, South Africa
- Australia (1 market): Melbourne, Australia
