Blackstone-owned AirTrunk has put forward plans for a data centre campus on the rural site in north of Melbourne it paid $350 million to acquire.
The data centre developer and operator is planning a hyperscale data centre for site at 45 Donnybrook Road, Mickleham, 45km from the CBD.
Airtrunk bought the 67.10ha site in the Hume City Council area earlier this year from the McMullin family, members of an established business group based in Melbourne.
They acquired the site in 2019 for $33 million, according to Cotality’s RP Data.
AirTrunk has now filed a permit application to the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning via the Development Facilitation Program pathway.
According to that plan, it wants to redevelop the currently vacant, former pastoral land into a hyperscale data centre campus.
AirTrunk is seeking a planning scheme amendment to allow it to be used for a utility installation.
“Demand is constantly growing for these types of facilities as the world continues to increase its operation in the digital and AI space,” its planning report said.
Seven buildings are proposed, with data halls on all floors and fuel storage rooms on the ground floor, as well as a technical space for customers who have their equipment in the data halls.
The buildings would rise to four storeys with a total gross floor area of 935,730sq m.
Security and networks operations centre offices are also included in the plans, which also have parking for 784 cars.
