Carpathia Hosting, Equinix and Digital Realty Trust announced a joint venture Feb. 21 to construct a 64,000 square-foot data vault in Dulles to support industry-specific solutions for healthcare companies and federal agencies.

“Building on the partnership the two companies formed in February 2010, Equinix and Carpathia have announced plans to build the IBX Vault, a Platform Equinix facility opening in late 2012,” reads an announcement on Carpathia’s website.

The facility will be built by Digital Realty adjacent to the current Carpathia office at 21000 Atlantic Blvd, Dulles, and managed by Equinix. Carpathia will provide managed hosting and cloud services along with armed, physical security.

“We are very pleased to be working with Equinix and Digital Realty to build such an impressive facility for our enterprise and federal agency customers,” Peter Weber, CEO of Carpathia Hosting, said in a prepared statement. “With the new IBX Vault, our customers get access to an unparalleled combination in the industry; a data center built to Equinix’s rigorous standards as well as our industry-leading complex, compliant managed hosting and cloud services.”

Carpathia has signed a build-to-suit agreement with a joint venture comprising Equinix and Digital Realty Trust. Loudoun is already home to more than four million square feet of data center space, making it a hub for data centers in Virginia.

Tony Howard, president and CEO of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, said the announcement is great news for Loudoun County and the regional economy.

“Along with a significant financial investment, this project will create many good jobs in both the construction and operational phases, including many positions with highly sought after IT skills and security clearances,” said Howard. “The partnership’s decision to create this project here is a testament to their confidence in Loudoun County as a great place to invest, create jobs and to build a successful business.”