Aligned Tops Out Maryland Data Center

The Build:

Aligned Data Centers has officially topped out the IAD-04 Data Center at 5601 Manor Woods Road in Frederick County, Maryland, marking a key vertical construction milestone. The facility is under construction on roughly 75 acres within the larger Quantum Frederick Project and represents the first topped-out building of a planned four-building hyperscale campus. The broader campus has been publicly described by county materials as supporting up to 264 MW at full build-out.

IAD-04 itself is identified by Aligned as an initial 72 MW hyperscale facility, designed for 24x7x365 mission critical operations. Construction follows an early 2025 groundbreaking, after prior delays tied to Maryland backup generator regulations were resolved. The project is engineered around high density power delivery, scalable cooling systems, and strong regional fiber connectivity supporting hyperscale and enterprise demand.

Project Snapshot:

• Project: IAD-04 Data Center

• Owner / Developer: Aligned Data Centers

• General Contractor: Turner Construction Company

• Subcontractors (Per Andrew Schaap (CEO) LinkedIn Post)

  • Electrical Contractor: Facility Solutions Group

  • Mechanical Contractor: Polk Mechanical

  • Concrete Contractor: Lithko Contracting

• Location: 5601 Manor Woods Road, Frederick County, MD 21703

• Site Size: 75 acres

• Broader Quantum Frederick Project Area: 2,100 acres

• Campus Capacity: Up to 264 MW across four planned buildings

• Building Capacity (IAD-04): 72 MW (per owner reporting)

• Campus Level Planning References: County and market documents reference higher MW and SF figures at full campus build out

• Status: Under construction; topped out

• Groundbreaking: Early 2025

• Approvals: Three additional buildings, transformer yard, and noise mitigation infrastructure approved (May 2025)

Why Your Crew Should Know:

This is a hyperscale project delivered in a county that learned data center regulation the hard way. Expect heavy generator scope, acoustic controls, dense MEP coordination, and tight sequencing around utility tie ins. Long lead electrical gear will drive schedules. Crews that execute cleanly on IAD-04 are well positioned for repeat work as the campus scales.

Moves on the Horizon:

Frederick County has already approved site plans for three additional data center buildings and supporting infrastructure. Future vertical starts, substation integration, and campus wide commissioning are expected to follow IAD-04’s progress. No public start dates have been disclosed for subsequent phases.

TheJobWalk Thoughts:

This project didn’t die when regulations stalled it. It waited. Now steel is up, approvals are locked, and the hard part begins. Frederick isn’t Ashburn, but builds like IAD-04 explain why contractors are treating it seriously, and why experience will matter more than marketing on the next phases.