The latest data centre news coming out of America's Southwest is a brand-new project that will see a new wholesale data campus opening in Las Vegas. The project, being developed by Telecom Real Estate Services (TRES) aims to revolutionize the way collocation and other data centre services are utilized on the wholesale market. Earlier this week TRES announced the start of construction on their new Block Data Centre campus. The two-phase project will begin with four 7500 ft.² suites, also known as “blocks,” to be leased to enterprise customers. Each of the suites will provide 1.2 megawatts of power in addition to a core with another 10 megawatts. Each suite will be independent and self-sufficient with its own generator, HVAC, and power. TRES will provide the N+1 system and backup. TRES believes their leasing pans will be a huge factor in driving in tenants. Each one will have the option of renting a basic suite and developing it themselves, or paying higher rent in exchange for TRES developing and financing it for them. The less expensive option will keep rents comparable to typical Las Vegas office space while the more expensive option will see prices closer to collocation rates. Once phase 1 is complete and tenants are situated TRES plans to immediately launch into phase 2. The company has not released specific details about the second phase but it's expected to be very similar to the first. Meanwhile, phase 1 takes advantage of an existing 50,000 ft.² building that includes 30,000 ft². of raised floor space. It represents just one of many data centre projects now sprouting up in the Vegas area. Experts say the low real estate taxes and optimal weather make Sin City the perfect spot. A Good Move for the Future Block Data Centre is not only a good move for TRES; it's a good move for the future of the city of Las Vegas. The completed campus is sure to eventually generate much-needed data centre jobs while encouraging the wholesale collocation and data centre business in Las Vegas. Even so, the most important part of the TRES project may be the fact that the company will be focusing on the health care industry as it searches for tenants. With drastic changes looming for the American healthcare system, including the current push to convert the entire system from paper to an electronic model, it's easy see the potential for the industry well into the future. Enterprise customers willing to set up their own centres to play host to health care industry companies could get up and running relatively quickly by leasing space at Block Data Centre. I would not be at all surprised to see TRES enjoying great success with this product. After all, this isn't the company's first go-round. They've been in business since 1998, having successfully built more than 1.1 million ft.² of a data centre space. Among the most noble projects are the Carrier Centre and a Sacramento California project the recently turned over to Digital Reality. Vegas is just the next step on their way to a bright future.