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Global Crossing will put a data center at the former Parker Aerospace site

GlobalCenter Inc., a Global Crossing Ltd. unit that’s being acquired by Santa Clara-based Exodus Communications Inc., plans to set up a 232,000-square-foot data center at Parker Hannifin Corp.’s aerospace group campus in Irvine.

According to sources close the deal, GlobalCenter has signed a 15-year lease worth roughly $70 million. The lease was in place prior to Parker Hannifin’s September sale of the 42-acre property at Jamboree Road and San Diego (I-405) Freeway. Parker Hannifin still has about some 450 employees at the site but plans to move them to other facilities in Irvine, according to a company spokeswoman.

The site’s new owner, KFPLB Michelson Jamboree LLC, is targeting the campus to other telecommunications users. So far, though, KFPLB Michelson hasn’t said anything about its plans publicly,the person or companies behind KFPLB Michelson have yet to be named.

Industry observers say an out-of-state family is the controlling force behind KFPLB Michelson, with involvement from Home Depot Inc. Officials at the home improvement retailer are working to develop an Expo Design Center on a portion of the former Parker campus.

Earlier this year, real estate observers thought Home Depot was the lead buyer of the property, with plans to build an Expo Design Center on the site and resell the remaining portion to a third party that would develop a business park or technology incubator.

Now, sources said, KFPLB Michelson is working to lease the existing 397,000 square feet of space at the site to telecommunications companies for use in data center operations. The idea is to rent the space to low-intensity users,such as data center operators,who would not place heavy parking demands on the property.

The effort is part of a larger plan under which the new owners will seek entitlement approval to develop some of the remaining acreage at the site. The lower the traffic generated by existing uses, the better the chance for entitlement approval, the new owners believe, according to sources.

As to what the entitlements will include isn’t clear yet. Home Depot is a factor: based on what the retailer does, different scenarios have been worked out for the property, which could include some development of low-rise office buildings.

Sources said it could be another five to six months before a clear development plan for the site emerges.

Exodus, which is set to conclude its acquisition of GlobalCenter early next year, is building a 110,000-square-foot data center with office space on Gillette Avenue in the Irvine Business Complex.

Orange County has seen a rush of data center activity in the past year as companies look to set up facilities full of computers and networking gear to serve area businesses.

More than a dozen telecommunications and Internet service companies have secured space to house their local data operations in OC since January, according to local real estate observers. n

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