ESR, a real asset investment and management firm specializing in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, said on the 17th that it has formed a partnership with WideCreek Asset Management (WideCreek AMC) in Seoul to pursue its first data center development in Korea.
The nine-story, 80MW (megawatt) "KR1 Data Center (KR1)" in Bupyeong District, Incheon, will begin construction this week. To be leased to Princeton Digital Group (PDG), KR1 is scheduled to go live in 2028.
For the KR1 data center, ESR, as the development manager, is in charge of design, and ESR and WideCreek AMC will jointly carry out the structural frame and facade construction. Princeton Digital Group will subsequently handle the interior infrastructure build-out and operations.
According to ESR, Incheon is adjacent to Seoul's technology industry belt and has a robust fiber-optic network and stable power infrastructure. In addition, with Songdo International City, a flagship Smart City spanning 1,500 acres (about 6.07 million square meters), the city's importance as a cradle for cloud- and artificial intelligence (AI)-based industries is expected to strengthen further.
KR1 is being developed with the goal of earning LEED Gold certification. The facility plans to boost energy efficiency and promote innovation by adopting advanced specifications such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and fuel cells.