Joint Venture to Launch Data Center South of Los Angeles

DataBank Holdings and Goodman Group have formed a joint venture to market LAX2, a new data center in Vernon, just south of downtown Los Angeles. 

Construction is in full swing for the 140,000‑square‑foot facility, which is scheduled to open in December, the Dallas Business Journal reported. Goodman has developed the project and now looks to DataBank to operate and market it. LAX2 marks DataBank’s second Southern California site and a significant expansion in one of the nation’s most supply‑constrained data‑center markets.

The project at 3094 East Vernon Avenue will eventually deliver 32 megawatts of capacity, beginning with 6MW at launch and scaling in phases through September 2027. A megawatt roughly equals the power used by 250 homes at peak draw, the Business Journal reported. 

Goodman acquired the Vernon site in 2023, according to a press release from both companies. Upon completion, it will complement DataBank’s smaller LAX1 facility near the airport (18,000 square feet and producing 2MW) and joins a national development pipeline exceeding 850MW across Dallas, New York, Atlanta, Kansas City, Houston and Northern Virginia. CEO Raul Martynek described LAX2 as a “world‑class data center” that will accelerate DataBank’s West Coast presence.

Vernon’s low-cost electricity, attractive location and business-first governance has attracted other data center developers to the city.

The companies see their strategic joint venture as evolving beyond a one-project deal between Australia’s Goodman Group and Dallas-based DataBank. 

“Both parties intend to expand the relationship through the development of additional sites in capacity-constrained markets across the U.S.,” the press release states.

Goodman currently manages $12.4 billion of work in progress globally, spanning industrial and low‑latency data centers. Anthony Rozic, CEO of Goodman North America, called the Vernon project a “landmark” for the company and its local data center strategy.

“We procured the site, power and capital to bring it to the advanced stage it is today,” he said in a statement. “By partnering with DataBank, utilizing its proven platform and its relationships with more than 2,500 enterprise customers, we can optimize the delivery of this critical digital infrastructure to the market.”

DataBank’s deal follows a $250 million equity infusion from New York‑based TJC LP and builds on its $2 billion equity raise in 2024, including $1.5 billion from AustralianSuper, now a significant minority investor.

– Joel Russell

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