Digital Realty has started work on its latest data center in Frankfurt, Germany.

The US colocation giant this week announced the start of construction on FRA20, located at Digital Park Fechenheim.

Set to be completed over two phases, the facility is expected to deliver approximately 16MW of IT capacity across more than 8,100 sqm (87,188 sq ft). The first phase of FRA20 is expected to be operational in spring 2027.

“Our continued investment in Frankfurt reflects both the strategic importance of the location and the growing demand for AI-optimized, sustainable digital infrastructure,” said Volker Ludwig, SVP and MD, Digital Realty Central Europe. “With FRA20 and the ongoing development of Digital Park Fechenheim, we are scaling up a future-ready ecosystem to support our customers’ most critical workloads.”

In August 2021, Digital Realty’s now-rebranded Interxion unit laid the foundation stone for its new Digital Park Fechenheim data center campus in Frankfurt and began work on the first FRA17 data center at the site.

When fully built out – which Digital Realty is suggesting could be as early as 2028 – the park will host 11 data centers and an IT area of ​​100,000 sqm (1.07 million sq ft) and 200MW of capacity. The first building, FRA17, went live around 2023. FRA27, at the same campus, is also listed as live on the company’s website.

Based in the east of the city at the former headquarters of the German mail-order company Neckermann, the park includes the Egon-Eiermann building.

Designed by German modernist architect Egon Eiermann and built around 1959 in 180 days, the seven-story concrete building is seen as one of the earliest examples of the modern industrial age. Neckermann went into bankruptcy in 2012; Interxion acquired the site in 2020.

Five of the site’s data centers, including FRA20 and the recently opened FRA18, will be located within the Eiermann Building.