Darland completed the construction of an enterprise-class, Tier IV data center on Alegent Health’s Midlands Hospital campus in Papillion, Nebraska. The Midlands Data Center is a joint venture between Alegent Health and CoSentry, both headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Midlands Data Center is a ‘hardened’ data center built to withstand 250 mph winds and features N+1 redundancy in all major infrastructure components, a clean-agent fire suppression system, and multi-layered biometric security. The secure facility provides reliable access to records in the event of a power outage or natural disaster, utilizing advanced-concept designs for power, cooling, and network and security infrastructures.
Alegent Health and CoSentry hired Darland as the "at-risk" construction manager in the summer of 2008 to begin working with the design team, which included Altus Architectural Studios and Morrissey Engineering. Representatives from the three firms, along with representatives from Alegent Health’s facilities planning and management department, Alegent's IT department and CoSentry made up the project’s “Core Team” that collectively made recommendations for the project to the co-owners’ executives. This integrated project delivery method facilitated the success of the project.
Construction began on the fast-track project in January 2009. “Darland completed the construction of the Midlands Data Center for us in record time—under 12 months,” states Mike Kirchner, CoSentry Vice President of Operations. “Their ability to mobilize quickly and get contractors on and off the site is unmatched. Darland project managers are exceptionally well versed in every aspect of construction, which resulted in a job with few change orders and virtually no surprises. To top it off, it was the cleanest site I’ve ever seen, which definitely advanced our fast-track timeline.”
The facility is comprised of two 25,000 SF levels, with each level accommodating two 5,000 SF raised floor data suites. In addition, the project houses 13,000 SF of support staff offices as well as a secured equipment yard that includes a 6.5 megawatt diesel engine backup generation system.
The Midlands Data Center stores electronic medical records and digital imagery for Alegent Health, along with data and equipment for other CoSentry clients. Alegent Health is the largest not-for-profit, faith-based healthcare system in Nebraska and southwestern Iowa with nine acute care hospitals and more than 100 sites of service. CoSentry is a regional data center operator, providing business resiliency solutions at locations in Omaha, Kansas City, and Sioux City.