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On January 29, 2025, Serverfarm and construction partner Clune Construction celebrated a major milestone at the CTX2 facility in Houston—a topping out ceremony marking structural completion of a 60MW data center engineered with waterless cooling technology that prevents water evaporation entirely through a closed-loop system.
The ceremony brought together leadership from Serverfarm and Clune Construction to mark not only the placement of the final structural steel, but 50,000 labor hours across one of the most safety-critical construction projects in the region.
A topping out ceremony signals the completion of a building’s structural frame—the moment the highest point of the structure is reached and the hard steel skeleton that defines the facility’s scale stands complete. For CTX2, that milestone carries significant weight.
Since breaking ground in late July 2025, the project has advanced through some of the highest-risk phases of data center construction: earthwork, caisson operations, structural concrete, and steel erection. With structural completion now achieved, CTX2 enters MEP installation and commissioning phases, moving toward 36MW available for occupancy by Q3 2027.
The topping out at CTX2 is a signal to the market: hyperscale AI-ready capacity in Houston is on schedule, on budget, and built without compromise.
The 50,000 injury-free hours milestone achieved at CTX2 reflects the integrated safety culture between Serverfarm and Clune Construction. The scopes completed to reach topping out—earthwork, caisson operations, structural concrete, and steel erection—represent some of the most hazardous activities on any construction project of this scale.
Reaching structural completion through these phases without a recordable incident is not incidental. It reflects consistent field leadership, proactive hazard management, and a shared accountability between the project team and trade partners that embedded safety as an operational standard, not a compliance exercise.
Leadership from both organizations attended the ceremony:
Serverfarm: Avner Papouchado (CEO), Mario Calderone (Chief Real Estate Officer), Randy Bort (Chief Strategy and Capital Markets Officer), Sam Brown (Chief Development Officer), Brian Medina (VP Development NAM), Rich Stewart, (VP Operations and Engineering), Bob Glavan (Head of Customer Care), Kent Wissman (VP Procurement)
Clune Construction: Ben Walker (Chief Operating Officer), Dave Sitkowski (Managing Director for Mission Critical), Tyler Stevenson (General Manager, Texas), Christa Reed (Director of Strategic Growth & Client Engagement)
Structural steel was provided by Peinado.
CTX2 is the next phase of development on Serverfarm’s CTX campus in Houston, expanding on CTX1’s existing nearly 478,000 sq ft across two buildings with 100MW of IT capacity. CTX2 adds a further 60MW to the campus, purpose-built for the 50-150kW+ rack densities that AI and hyperscale workloads demand.
With structural completion now celebrated, CTX2 will be fitted with Air Cooled Chiller (ACC) technology as the build progresses through its next phases. This advanced technology uses a closed-loop system with air-cooled condensers that prevents any water evaporation and represents a fundamentally more sustainable approach to thermal management than conventional evaporative cooling.
Serverfarm’s global basis of design includes the use of waterless ACC systems at all facilities, providing proven operational reliability at hyperscale.
The data center industry faces growing scrutiny over water consumption, with conventional evaporative cooling systems continuously losing water to the atmosphere at scale. Regulatory frameworks are tightening, with water-stressed regions restricting or outright prohibiting high-volume consumption in new infrastructure. Facilities engineered around evaporative cooling face operational uncertainty as permit requirements and discharge regulations evolve.
CTX2 sidesteps this risk by design. Its closed-loop ACC systems prevent water evaporation entirely—removing consumption permits, discharge requirements, and the long-term regulatory exposure that conventional cooling creates.
The environmental performance of this approach also has direct financial implications. Serverfarm’s sustainability-linked infrastructure contributed to securing $1.637 billion in financing from Manulife Investment Management. The message to institutional capital is clear: facilities engineered for sustainability access better financing and carry stronger long-term asset value.
CTX2 expands a campus that is already well-established in one of North America’s most strategically significant data center markets. Houston’s energy corridor location, strong grid infrastructure, and proximity to major fiber networks make it a natural home for hyperscale AI deployment.
Traditional greenfield construction requires 3+ years to deliver capacity. Serverfarm’s ability to develop purpose-built facilities like CTX2 alongside its proven adaptive reuse methodology used in CTX1—delivering facilities in 12-18 months—gives the portfolio flexibility to match demand timelines across the spectrum of hyperscale requirements.
With structural completion achieved and MEP installation underway, CTX2 is on track to deliver 36MW of AI-ready capacity by Q3 2027, further strengthening Serverfarm’s presence in the Houston market.
Interested in capacity at CTX2? Contact Serverfarm’s infrastructure team to discuss deployment timelines, power density requirements, and long-term capacity planning.
What is a topping out ceremony in data center construction?
A topping out ceremony marks the placement of the final structural steel or highest point of a building’s frame, signaling that the structure’s skeleton is complete. In data center construction, it represents the transition from high-risk structural phases—earthwork, caisson operations, concrete, and steel erection—into MEP installation and commissioning.
What is CTX2 and where is it located?
CTX2 is a 60MW data center under development on Serverfarm’s CTX campus in Houston, Texas. It expands on the existing CTX1 facility, which spans nearly 478,000 sq ft across two buildings with 100MW of IT capacity. CTX2 is engineered for AI and hyperscale workloads, with waterless Air Cooled Chiller cooling and support for 50-100kW+ rack densities.
When will CTX2 be available for occupancy?
36MW of CTX2’s 60MW total capacity is expected to be available for occupancy by Q3 2027, following MEP installation and commissioning phases now underway.
How does CTX2’s cooling system work?
CTX2 uses Air Cooled Chiller (ACC) systems with closed-loop refrigerant cycles instead of evaporative water towers. Refrigerant absorbs heat from data center equipment and releases it through air-cooled condensers. Because the system is fully closed-loop, no water evaporates into the atmosphere—making it a more sustainable approach to thermal management at hyperscale.
Who built CTX2?
CTX2 is being constructed by Clune Construction, with Peinado providing structural steel. Serverfarm’s internal leadership team—including CEO Avner Papouchado, President of Realty Mario Calderone, and Director of Operations Rich Stewart—attended the topping out ceremony alongside Clune Construction’s senior leadership.
Why does waterless cooling matter for long-term data center investment?
Facilities dependent on evaporative cooling face growing regulatory exposure as water-stressed regions tighten consumption permits and discharge requirements. Closed-loop systems prevent water evaporation entirely, eliminating this risk while reducing total cost of ownership through removed procurement, treatment, and discharge costs. Serverfarm’s sustainability-linked infrastructure contributed to securing $1.637 billion in financing from Manulife Investment Management.
