Former Eastalco Site
Update
06/29/21
Alcoa Sells Former Eastalco Site for $100M; Buyer to Use Repurposed Land for Next-Generation Data Centers
Alcoa Corporation has announced that it has completed a sale of land in the state of Maryland for $100 million in cash.
The 2,100-acre property covers more than three square miles in Frederick County, Maryland and once served as the site of the former Eastalco smelter, which permanently closed in 2010.
The sale transaction, completed on June 23, 2021, was between Eastalco Aluminum Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcoa Corporation, and a joint venture between Quantum Loophole and TPG Real Estate Partners (TREP).
Since the smelter's closure, Alcoa has worked to prepare the site for redevelopment, including removing former facilities, completing all required remediation activities, and grading the site's land for new business opportunities.
"When Alcoa closed the Eastalco site, we made a commitment to bring this property back into productive and sustainable use," said Mark Stiffler, Alcoa's Vice President for Asset Management. “The sale to Quantum Loophole and TREP is a story of economic and environmental sustainability, taking a former industrial site through the remediation process and bringing it forward for a new industrial use."
Quantum Loophole intends to develop the property into a next-generation data center community, following the county’s comprehensive Liveable Frederick Master Plan that calls for new employment and opportunities for local businesses.
"The Eastalco property is ready and ideal for a data center project of unprecedented scale," said Josh Snowhorn, Founder and CEO of Quantum Loophole. "We are changing the way hyperscale data center developments are deployed, and this Maryland location has the entitlement, power, water, and proximity to Northern Virginia that the Internet industry needs for success."
Project plans include efficient design for sustainable power and water use, investments in robust fiber connectivity, a nature first design aesthetic to protect views and reduce visibility from public roadways, and thoughtful preservation of existing structures important to local history.
In the second quarter of 2021, Alcoa expects to record a gain of approximately $90 million from this transaction. Consistent with prior transactions, Alcoa reflects gains or losses from non-core asset sales as special items.
