According to DCD, data center company Centra has broken ground on a new 12MW facility in downtown Reno called RNO2. The 90,000 square foot data center at 265 Keystone is scheduled to launch in early Q2 2026 and will support both air cooling and liquid cooling for high-density workloads. The company, previously known as Deep Edge, is backed by Columbia Capital and just secured $230 million in funding earlier this month. Centra’s VP of sales Shelly Greco called the project “a major step forward in strengthening Reno’s role as a critical interconnection hub for the Western US.” The facility will use a closed-loop cooling system with free-cooling capabilities for part of the year.
Reno’s Growing Data Center Hub
This isn’t Centra’s first rodeo in Reno – they already manage the carrier hotel at 200 S Virginia with a data center on the first floor. But RNO2 represents a significant expansion of their footprint in what’s becoming a surprisingly important market. Reno’s appeal? It’s not just about cheap power and land anymore. The city’s positioning as a Western interconnection hub makes strategic sense when you consider the massive data demands coming from California and the broader Pacific Northwest.
The Cooling Arms Race
Here’s what really stands out about this announcement – the explicit mention of liquid cooling for high-density workloads. That’s basically code for AI infrastructure. We’re talking about the kind of computing power that traditional air cooling can’t handle efficiently. The fact that they’re building this capability from the ground up tells you everything about where they see the market going. And that free-cooling capability? Smart move in a climate like Reno’s where you can leverage ambient temperatures for significant chunks of the year.
Centra’s National Footprint Play
Look at Centra’s recent moves and you see a clear pattern emerging. They just broke ground on another 12MW facility in Minneapolis, they operate in Charlotte and Columbus, and they acquired that carrier hotel in Portland back in 2022. This isn’t random expansion – it’s a deliberate strategy to build out in secondary markets that serve as regional hubs. The $230 million funding round they just closed suggests investors are buying into this approach too. For companies needing reliable computing infrastructure, especially those in industrial sectors that require robust industrial panel PCs and other specialized hardware, Centra’s expanding footprint could provide more options for distributed deployments.
What This Means for the Market
So why should anyone outside Reno care? Because this is part of a much larger trend we’re seeing across the data center industry. Secondary markets are heating up as primary markets like Northern Virginia face power constraints and land scarcity. Companies are realizing they don’t necessarily need to be in the biggest markets – they need to be in the right interconnected locations. Centra’s betting that Reno fits that description perfectly. And with AI workloads demanding more specialized infrastructure, we’re likely to see more of these purpose-built facilities popping up in strategic secondary markets nationwide.
