The massive building at 350 East Cermak Road in Chicago is one of the biggest carrier hotels in the world. The site is an unusual confluence of two Interconnection ecosystems, Internet Exchange and Financial Exchange. The two ecosystems create significant demand for space in the building and therefore available colocation space is limited and pricing is higher.

350 Ceremak is served by an industrial strength infrastructure that includes four fiber vaults and three electric power feeds that provide more than 100 megawatts of energy. The building is currently the second-largest power customer for Commonwealth Edison, trailing only Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. More than 50 generators throughout the building and multiple 30,000-gallon tanks of diesel fuel support grid power and keep it running through the most adverse conditions.

Picture of 350 E Cermak:

350 E Cermak Tenants and Colocation Providers

The building's Meet-Me Room is on the 2nd floor (formerly operated by Telx before the DRT acquisition.) Other datacenters in the building are listed in the table below.

Cermak Chicago Expansion Plans

350 Cermak is as popular as it is large. The Chicago Fintech and Internet Interconnection all want space in a building that is near capacity. Over the years plans have been put forward to build a data center nearby, but none has come to fruition.

• In 2016, Digital Realty was looking for an anchor tenant for a 54 MW project at 330 E Cermak.
• JLL is marketing a project at 2222 South Indiana Avenue

History

Originally the building was a printing plant for R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. Built in 1912 was formerly known as the Lakeside Press building. It was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2004.