Wall Street West Announces Disaster Recovery Services Leader to Open New Data Center in Northeastern Pennsylvania

Wall Street West's partners DBSi and TEK Park collaborate on 228,600 sq. ft. facility

NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA - Wall Street West, a non-profit organization focused on enhancing Northeastern Pennsylvania's workforce and economic development in the financial services, information technology and related industries, announced today that two of the initiative's partners will collaborate to develop a 228,600 square-foot data center, which will create and retain 90 jobs and further enhance a growing industry in the area.

At a press conference in Lehigh County, Data Based Systems International, Inc. (DBSi), a leading provider of high availability managed hosting disaster recovery and data center services, received a state economic development funding package totaling $1.67 million to assist in building an Advanced Technology Center (ATC) at the TEK Park Campus in Breinigsville.

"DBSi's decision to locate its new facility in Lehigh County reflects well on both the business climate in Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley workforce," Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Yablonsky said. "Today's announcement represents more than a business expansion project. It's a textbook case of what can happen when all the stakeholders - the economic development community, the TEK Park team, and local officials - work together for the region's benefit. This project has national security implications as well as being part of the Wall Street West initiative to provide crucial information technology back-up and recovery services outside the New York City area."

DBSi will utilize the state funding for redeveloping 228,600 square-feet at TEK Park to house hosting, disaster recovery and workspace recovery services for mid-sized to Fortune 500 company clients in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. The Phase I, $16.2 million project will also facilitate additional capacity requirements of future customers participating in the Wall Street West initiative. The new ATC will complement the existing DBSi facilities located in Bethlehem and Valley Forge.

"DBSi's investment in TEK Park is part of our strategy to meet industry demand for high density data center space. Throughout the industry, demand is outpacing supply as companies acknowledge the benefits of geographically dispersed data centers while also realizing their infrastructures may be incapable of supporting the power and cooling requirements of today's servers and storage," said William Bachenberg, CEO, DBSi. "In concert with Wall Street West, we are providing 'safe havens' for corporate data throughout the region. We believe TEK Park and its infrastructure will play a critical role in providing capacity to the region within a facility that supports client business objectives and corporate governance requirements."

DBSi will join 20 other tenants at the 137-acre, 800,000 square-foot TEK Park campus. Developed by the MRA Group, a key partner in the Wall Street West initiative, TEK Park was created to be a premiere location for companies in industries such as disaster recovery, bio-pharmaceutical, nanotechnology, and electronics, as well as research and development.

"From inception, it has been MRA's intent to populate TEK Park with tenants that would maximize utilization of the campus's advanced infrastructure. Through partnerships with Wall Street West, the Berks Economic Partnership and the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation, it became very clear that TEK Park presented the best location for DBSi's top-tier, mission critical data center operations," said Larry Stuardi, CEO, MRA Group. "In addition, the multi-dimensional workforce from the Berks/Lehigh region, combined with the ability to enhance workforce technology skills with on-site advanced IT training, is a prime reason that TEK Park is the premier location for DBSi."

Wall Street West worked with its economic development partners and the MRA Group to help identify the best location for the new DBSi Advanced Technology Center. Because of TEK Park's redundant power, location away from major cities and local multi-dimensional workforce, it was highlighted as the ideal fit to suit DBSi's standards.

With today's announcement, Wall Street West continues to build on the momentum it has garnered over the past several months, which includes the allocation of more than $8 million for projects aimed at enhancing the current and future workforce in the region.

"Today's announcement exemplifies the concept that Wall Street West is a collaboration of key stakeholders who leverage their capabilities to further enhance the development of our region," said Jim Ryan, Director of Outreach, Wall Street West. "The placement of this disaster recovery facility in Northeastern Pennsylvania addresses the clients' needs for secure critical data back-up outside of the New York metropolitan threat zones."

Wall Street West is a not-for-profit partnership in Northeastern Pennsylvania that is enhancing the financial services, information technology and related industries in the commonwealth through strategic workforce development and state-of-the-art economic development. Stemming from an interagency report by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Department of the Treasury - whose recommendations make the ten-county region an optimal geographic location for secure data back-up and back office operations - the goal of Wall Street West is to work with firms in New York City and the surrounding metropolitan threat zones to establish supplemental facilities to safeguard data, fund the education and training of a growing workforce, and expand the competitiveness and potential of these industries.

The Wall Street West partnership is made up of the top-tier economic development agencies; technology investment groups; workforce development organizations; education and research institutions; and private sector companies in the region. With the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania acting as the project manager, Wall Street West has federal support through a $15 million Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant from the U.S. Department of Labor for education and job training, as well as a combined $24 million commitment by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, and private industry to enhance existing infrastructure.

For more information on the Wall Street West partners and programs, please call 610-758-5233 or visit www.wallstreetwest.org.

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