JANUARY 2005
Following the Facilities (cover)
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GEORGIA SPOTLIGHT
Following the Facilities
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hen Harry DeHaven observes the US$100 million data center he supervises for New York Life in suburban Atlanta, he sees more than a mission-critical operation for a company that manages $200 billion in assets.
He sees the culmination of an 18-month site search that found its way to Forsyth County, Ga., because the location offered a hardened facility that was virtually move-in ready thanks to an Atlanta-based company that constructed the building but never occupied it.
It's called following the facilities, and a growing number of domestic and international companies are choosing Georgia locations because they offer buildings, plants or sites that are ready for business.
"We became interested in the building first," says Corporate Vice President DeHaven, who along with 65 other employees made the move from suburban New Jersey to upscale Alpharetta in north metro Atlanta. "This building was built to be hardened. It had power from three different substations. The backup generators were already here. It had multiple water suppliers and multiple telecommunications services. In other words, there was no single point of failure."
Telecom giant BellSouth built the facility several years ago but embarked on a corporate consolidation before it could move in.
That opened the door, literally, for New York Life to occupy the 134,000-sq.-ft. (12,449-sq.-m.) plant with high-tech infrastructure and space for 140 workstations.
"We considered several locations throughout the country, but in the final analysis, there was really no choice," says Sy Sternberg, chairman and CEO of New York Life, the largest mutual life insurance company in America. The Atlanta market offered "an excellent talent pool, first-rate housing, terrific educational opportunities and a superb quality of life," the CEO says.
The site search, conducted by Cushman & Wakefield, stretched as far west as Arizona. Dallas, Charlotte and Atlanta emerged as finalists, but the building in North Georgia sealed the deal.
With two backup generators and 1,104 batteries, the building is capable of handling all New York Life transactions should a disaster take out the company's Northeast headquarters. The Fortune 100 firm, founded in 1845, has a history of maintaining operations during difficult times. During the Civil War, its employees crossed lines under white flags to pay claims submitted by their customers.
Today, 100 New York Life workers call Forsyth County home, at the company's third major facility in Georgia.
He sees the culmination of an 18-month site search that found its way to Forsyth County, Ga., because the location offered a hardened facility that was virtually move-in ready thanks to an Atlanta-based company that constructed the building but never occupied it.
It's called following the facilities, and a growing number of domestic and international companies are choosing Georgia locations because they offer buildings, plants or sites that are ready for business.
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| From left to right, U.S. Rep. John Linder (R-Ga.), New York Life Chairman and CEO Sy Sternberg, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and Jack Conway, chairman of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners, cut the ribbon on New York Life's $100-million data center in suburban Atlanta. |
"We became interested in the building first," says Corporate Vice President DeHaven, who along with 65 other employees made the move from suburban New Jersey to upscale Alpharetta in north metro Atlanta. "This building was built to be hardened. It had power from three different substations. The backup generators were already here. It had multiple water suppliers and multiple telecommunications services. In other words, there was no single point of failure."
Telecom giant BellSouth built the facility several years ago but embarked on a corporate consolidation before it could move in.
That opened the door, literally, for New York Life to occupy the 134,000-sq.-ft. (12,449-sq.-m.) plant with high-tech infrastructure and space for 140 workstations.
"We considered several locations throughout the country, but in the final analysis, there was really no choice," says Sy Sternberg, chairman and CEO of New York Life, the largest mutual life insurance company in America. The Atlanta market offered "an excellent talent pool, first-rate housing, terrific educational opportunities and a superb quality of life," the CEO says.
The site search, conducted by Cushman & Wakefield, stretched as far west as Arizona. Dallas, Charlotte and Atlanta emerged as finalists, but the building in North Georgia sealed the deal.
With two backup generators and 1,104 batteries, the building is capable of handling all New York Life transactions should a disaster take out the company's Northeast headquarters. The Fortune 100 firm, founded in 1845, has a history of maintaining operations during difficult times. During the Civil War, its employees crossed lines under white flags to pay claims submitted by their customers.
Today, 100 New York Life workers call Forsyth County home, at the company's third major facility in Georgia.