"It is the first speculative mission-critical facility developed in Northern Virginia," says Chris Epstein Hereford, president of the firm, a division of BECO Management.

Data centers, which process e-commerce transactions, cell phone transmissions and Internet communications, are almost always custom-built to meet the specific needs of their tenants. They can cost hundreds of dollars a square foot to equip – and that's the developer's risk. "If the market were to dry up, you're sitting with a very expensive warehouse. It's equivalent to a class A suburban office building," he says.

New Jersey-based Infocrossing will use the building to provide co-location facilities for Internet service providers, e-commerce companies and other businesses that outsource Internet activities. "We set out to meet the 'need it now' demand for data center-ready buildings in prime locations," Hereford says.