Iron Mountain Richmond RCH-1 Data Center Construction Watch

Iron Mountain Data Centers has moved its first Richmond building, RCH-1, into active construction at White Oak Technology Park in Sandston, Virginia. Clark Construction is the named general contractor. Clark's August 24 field update says the precast structure is complete, concrete slab placement is advancing, and recent peak periods averaged more than 220 professionals per day.

The first building is planned as a 329,962-square-foot, 48 MW facility. Iron Mountain's current RCH-1 profile targets the first 12 MW for the first quarter of 2028. The wider Richmond plan covers four buildings, 20 planned data halls, more than 1.1 million square feet, and more than 200 MW through the second quarter of 2029.

This is a live mission-critical construction program with a source-backed owner, general contractor, utility, design participant, permit, address, and delivery schedule. The public sources reviewed for this report do not name the electrical, substation, fiber, structured-cabling, security, fire-alarm, controls, DAS, equipment, carrier, or independent commissioning package holders.

RCH-1 and the Richmond campus at a glance

Item	Current public record
Location	6110 Technology Creek Drive, Sandston, Henrico County, Virginia
Stage	RCH-1 under construction; later campus phases planned
RCH-1	329,962 square feet and 48 MW planned capacity
First delivery	Initial 12 MW expected in Q1 2028
Campus plan	Four buildings, 20 data halls, more than 1.1 million square feet
Campus capacity	More than 200 MW planned through Q2 2029
Investment context	$1 billion reported planned campus estimate

The building and campus numbers describe different layers. RCH-1 is one 48 MW building, with an initial 12 MW delivery target. Iron Mountain's current campus brochure describes two 48 MW buildings and two 60 MW buildings. Those values are planned deliverable capacity. They do not establish current energized load, occupied IT capacity, rack density, customer commitments, or actual utility draw.

The four-building plan also creates a sequence of repeatable and campus-wide packages. Building-level electrical rooms, cooling systems, security zones, fire and life-safety systems, controls networks, telecom spaces, and data-hall pathways can repeat across phases. Campus-wide outside plant, carrier routes, central utilities, access roads, perimeter systems, and shared operations infrastructure may follow a different procurement schedule. Contractors should verify which scope belongs to RCH-1, which scope serves later buildings, and which scope crosses the entire site before assigning a public schedule or value.

The same separation applies to the schedule. Clark says RCH-1 is advancing toward ready-for-service dates in 2028. Iron Mountain lists phased campus delivery from Q1 2028 through Q2 2029. The ceremonial groundbreaking occurred July 15, 2026, while the field update already shows a completed precast structure and advancing slab work. The ceremony date should not be treated as the original construction start.

Iron Mountain's company-hosted investment summary repeats Business Facilities' reported $1 billion campus plan. That figure is useful scale context. Clark's awarded contract value, committed financing, current cost to complete, tenant capital, and spend to date remain undisclosed.

The named project team

Organization	Source-backed role	Evidence
Iron Mountain Data Centers	Owner, operator, and developer	Site acquisition
Clark Construction	General contractor	Construction update
Corgan	RCH-1 design and BREEAM project participant	Project-team reference
Dominion Energy Virginia	Electric utility; power agreement secured	Campus profile
Virginia DEQ	State air-permitting authority	Issued permit index

Corgan states that it is working on RCH-1 and that the project is targeting BREEAM Excellent. That supports a project-specific design and sustainability role. The reviewed source does not define Corgan's complete architecture, engineering, commissioning, or certification scope, and it does not identify the other design consultants.

BREEAM adds documentation and performance coordination across design, construction, and operations. Corgan's explanation covers energy, water, materials, waste, pollution, ecology, resilience, management, and post-occupancy performance. For technology contractors, that can affect product data, submittals, metering, controls points, networked monitoring, installation records, commissioning evidence, and owner training. The final RCH-1 credit strategy and responsibility matrix remain private, so firms should treat BREEAM as a confirmed project target and verify their exact evidence obligations through contract documents.

Virginia DEQ lists Article 6 minor new-source-review permit 53266-1 for Iron Mountain Information Management LLC in Henrico County, issued May 7, 2026. The permit is regulatory evidence tied to the facility address. It does not prove generator operation, campus energization, data-hall turnover, occupancy, or customer service.

Dominion Energy is the named utility, and Iron Mountain says a power agreement is secured. Public materials do not disclose service voltage, feeder routes, substation ownership, interconnection scope, protection and controls, SCADA or EPMS architecture, temporary-power sequence, permanent energization, acceptance testing, or commissioning responsibility. Utility filings, equipment deliveries, relay work, and inspection records should reveal more as the project advances.

Where low voltage shows up

System	Campus need	Evidence to watch
Fiber and OSP	Four buildings, diverse entrances, and utility links	Duct banks, carriers, splicing, OTDR
Structured cabling	20 planned data halls plus support spaces	Pathways, labeling, testing, turnover
Access and CCTV	Secure campus perimeter and hardened buildings	Gates, VMS, credentials, failover
Fire and life safety	Data halls, electrical rooms, and backup-power systems	Alarm interfaces, AHJ tests, acceptance
Controls and OT	Power, cooling, liquid-cooling, and facility monitoring	BMS, EPMS, SCADA, trend logs
DAS and radio	Large secure buildings and emergency-response coverage	RF study, AHJ review, commissioning
Grounding and bonding	Telecom rooms, pathways, racks, and equipment	Test records, QA, closeout
Commissioning	Phased 12 MW and building-level turnover	Scripts, witness tests, integrated systems

Outside plant is an early opportunity lane. A 66-acre, four-building campus needs diverse carrier entrances, backbone routes, vaults, handholes, duct banks, high-count fiber, redundant meet-me-room connectivity, and paths to central utility and support assets. Civil, electrical, and telecom teams need clear boundaries for conduit ownership, pulling, splicing, grounding, testing, labeling, and as-built documentation.

Iron Mountain markets the campus as carrier-neutral and cloud-neutral, with multiple carriers planned on site, redundant meet-me rooms, and fiber connectivity. The operator does not name the carriers in the current brochure. Carrier announcements, right-of-way work, outside-plant permits, and network job postings can identify the connectivity team before customer service begins.

The power and cooling design will add significant controls scope. Iron Mountain describes A/B underground feeds, block N+1 power redundancy, liquid-cooling availability, roof thermal-energy-storage tanks, and mechanical UPS options. BMS, EPMS, utility telemetry, equipment controls, alarms, network integration, and trend data eventually need coordinated points lists and verified sequences. The division of responsibility among electrical, mechanical, controls, network, and commissioning contractors remains open in public sources.

Security will extend from the property boundary to each data hall. Likely systems include vehicle gates, visitor management, access control, video surveillance, intercoms, perimeter detection, credentialing, redundant security networks, and documented failover. Fire alarm, suppression interfaces, emergency communications, public-safety radio coverage, and integrated life-safety testing create separate authority and turnover paths. These are normal requirements for the source-described secure hyperscale campus, rather than announced awards.

Current workforce and contractor path

Clark's report of more than 220 professionals per day during recent peak periods is current field evidence. It should not be converted into permanent jobs or a final project labor total. The workforce will change as structure, slab, enclosure, MEP rough-in, equipment setting, controls, network installation, testing, and commissioning move through the schedule.

Clark maintains a TradeTapp and BuildingConnected prequalification path for trade contractors. Firms must complete Clark's Subcontractor Qualification Application before they are eligible to bid and contract on Clark projects. That is a direct general-contractor entry point, though the page does not advertise an RCH-1-specific invitation or specialty package.

Low-voltage and mission-critical firms should prepare safety performance, insurance and bonding information, similar-project references, staffing depth, manufacturer certifications, QA procedures, digital closeout examples, and testing capabilities. Fiber teams should be ready for inspection, cleaning, loss testing, OTDR traces, polarity, labeling, and as-builts. Controls and security firms should document large-campus networking, redundancy, cybersecurity coordination, integrated testing, and phased turnover.

Schedule readiness matters because the shell is already visible in Clark's update. Specialty firms entering after structure and slab work may face coordinated sleeve, embed, pathway, equipment-room, and overhead-space decisions before full installation mobilization. Early review of BIM coordination, submittal lead times, access requirements, lift plans, shutdown procedures, temporary facilities, material storage, testing windows, and digital turnover standards can reduce avoidable rework. Project-specific bid documents remain the authority for every package.

Useful readiness resources include BICSI education and certification for ICT design, installation, and project management; Fiber Optic Association training for OSP, splicing, inspection, and testing; and NFPA training for electrical, fire, and life-safety coordination. These resources support workforce preparation and do not represent RCH-1 hiring commitments.

The next public checkpoints

Henrico County building, electrical, mechanical, fire, land-disturbance, and site-plan records are the strongest next targets. Permit indexes can reveal package values, design professionals, contractors, inspections, and building-level milestones. Clark's subcontractor channels and contractor portfolios may expose awarded trade partners. Dominion records can clarify the interconnection, substation, feeder, protection, controls, energization, and testing scope.

The first schedule test is Iron Mountain's initial 12 MW target in Q1 2028. Certificates of occupancy, generator and life-safety acceptance, utility energization, network activation, data-hall turnover, commissioning evidence, and owner hiring will show how much deliverable capacity reaches service. The broader campus target runs through Q2 2029 and should be checked building by building.

LVN Signal will continue tracking RCH-1 and the Richmond campus as permits, contractors, suppliers, carriers, jobs, utility milestones, and commissioning evidence surface. For firms pursuing the work, Clark's qualification route and Henrico permit trail are the practical starting points while the open specialty packages become visible.