A 1995 Sydney hall reopens with 15 MW for 8,200 Sharon AI GPUs

GreenSquare has opened 15 MW of AI capacity in Western Sydney for the neocloud Sharon AI by rebuilding a data centre first opened in 1995, in eight months, which shows that in a power-tight city the fastest AI hall is often an old one that already had a data centre use, not a new one waiting in the grid queue.

What happened?

• The opening: On 19 October 2026 GreenSquare said the first stage of its SYD1 campus in Norwest Business Park, Western Sydney, is operational. The site reuses a data centre that first opened in 1995; Capital Brief reported it was formerly run by IBM and its spin-off Kyndryl. GreenSquare says the work took eight months, with main construction starting in February 2026.
• The tenant and the chips: The first customer is Sharon AI, a Nasdaq-listed Nvidia Cloud Partner, which will deploy about 8,200 Nvidia Blackwell Ultra GPUs (HGX B300 systems) at the site. Capital Brief reported the stage brings 15 MW online and is fully leased to Sharon AI.
• The lease: Sharon AI's quarterly report, filed on 6 August 2026, describes a 15 MW data centre services agreement signed in March 2026 with a 120-month initial term from the ready-for-service date, which was targeted for 26 September 2026, and monthly fees based on contracted kilowatts.
• The build: GreenSquare kept the existing slab and most of the structure and moved the data halls to the ground floor so they could carry high-density racks without extra structural work. It says IT capacity inside the original footprint rose by 275%, with liquid-to-chip cooling, a projected power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.20 and potable water use of less than 0.1 litres per kilowatt-hour. "We saw an opportunity to give a 30-year-old data centre a completely new purpose," said Joshua Martens, GreenSquare's chief technology officer.
• What comes next on the site: GreenSquare says the NSW Government's Investment Delivery Authority has endorsed support for a proposed 80 MW second stage. The authority's own project list names "SYD1 (Stage 2)" in the Hills Shire.

Why does it matter?

The direct signal. A neocloud got a 15 MW hall in Sydney inside a year from the start of main works. That is the scarce thing in AI infrastructure right now: not GPUs, which Sharon AI has already lined up, but a building with power that can switch on soon.

The second-order signal: reuse is a way around the queue. Our Australia Pulse on 17 October showed why Sydney sites with power already approved are being contracted first, after DigiCo signed 71 MW at a different site that is also called SYD1. GreenSquare's route is the same idea from another angle. A building that has worked as a data centre since 1995 is not a greenfield paddock. The release does not say how much grid supply came with the old building or whether new supply had to be added, so we cannot say the grid connection was reused. But the timeline speaks for itself: Sharon AI's filing targeted ready-for-service for 26 September, and GreenSquare announced the stage operational on 19 October, 23 days later (our arithmetic). That is within weeks of plan. Yesterday's Catalyst on Microsoft and Nscale's Loughton site is the opposite case: a signed tenant lost because grid power was pushed into the 2030s.

Why the neocloud cares most. Sharon AI's rent is set by contracted kilowatts from ready-for-service, and its GPUs are financed with debt. On 1 October it announced a US$356 million senior secured, GPU-backed facility at a fixed 9.95% before fees, the first in an expected series supporting more than 68,000 Nvidia GPUs by mid-2027. Debt on GPUs costs interest from the day it is drawn, so the gap between paying for chips and billing customers for them is where a neocloud's cash goes. We explain that timing in GPU Financing Explained, and the wider cost of neocloud credit in our Wire on CoreWeave default swaps above 1,000 basis points.

How big SYD1 is for Sharon AI. At 30 June Sharon AI listed 132 MW of remaining contracted data centre capacity. Our arithmetic: the 15 MW at SYD1 is about 11% of that, and 8,200 GPUs is about 12% of the more than 68,000 it plans by mid-2027. Small, but early. The other blocks in the filing start later: 72 MW with NEXTDC in Australia, a commitment of about US$623 million, phased from April to August 2027, and 14 MW in New Zealand expected from the first quarter of 2027. Until those arrive, SYD1 is the capacity Sharon AI can bring live soonest from that list.

What does it change?

Near term (to mid-2027)

• Sharon AI moves from contracts to installed GPUs at SYD1. The release says Sharon AI "will deploy" the 8,200 GPUs, so the hall being live does not mean all the GPUs are running yet. The next proof is a Sharon AI update showing how many are installed and billing.
• A density check. Our arithmetic: 15 MW across about 8,200 GPUs is roughly 1.8 kW of capacity per GPU, if the 15 MW is IT load. At the projected PUE of 1.20, a fully loaded hall would draw about 18 MW at the meter (our arithmetic). We explain the ratio in What Is PUE?.
• A lower PUE is part of the pitch. GreenSquare puts SYD1's projected PUE and water use below the NSW Government guideline benchmarks of 1.25 and 1.0 litres per kilowatt-hour that it cites. In a state now steering which data centres get help with approvals, efficiency is part of how a site argues for its next stage.

Longer term (2027 and after)

• Old powered buildings become a real asset class for AI. GreenSquare reports that reuse kept 92% of the building's structural carbon and, with low-carbon concrete, left 93% less carbon per kilowatt of IT capacity than a new build, according to an assessment by engineering firm TTW. The bigger value for tenants is time. Owners of 1990s and 2000s data centres in power-tight cities now hold something a neocloud will pay a 10-year lease for.
• Stage 2 is the real size test. The proposed 80 MW second stage is more than five times stage 1 (our arithmetic), and it needs approvals and power that the release does not date. The Investment Delivery Authority lists 14 data centre projects it supports in NSW as of 19 October (our count of its list), so SYD1 Stage 2 is one of many competing for the same Sydney grid.
• What we cannot see yet: the grid capacity on the site, the fee per kilowatt, how many GPUs are already installed, and when stage 2 could start. None of these are in the public record today. For how rent and power dates tie together in a lease, see Data Center Leases Explained.

What should we watch next?

• 20 November 2026: NEXTDC annual general meeting in Sydney. NEXTDC lodged its notice of meeting on 19 October. NEXTDC hosts the 72 MW block Sharon AI has contracted for April to August 2027, so any comment on build timing for its new Australian halls matters for Sharon AI's next step.
• Sharon AI's next quarterly results. The company has not announced a date in the sources we checked. Watch for the number of GPUs installed at SYD1 and when billing started.
• SYD1 stage 2 approvals. The endorsement helps with approvals but is not one. A lodged planning application or a grid connection date for the 80 MW would turn the plan into a schedule.
• What would weaken the catalyst: a delay in GPU deliveries or installation at SYD1, a slip in the April 2027 NEXTDC phase, or a higher cost on Sharon AI's next GPU financing.

FAQ

What is GreenSquare SYD1?
A data centre campus in Norwest Business Park, Western Sydney. Stage 1 reuses a data centre first opened in 1995 and is leased to Sharon AI. A proposed 80 MW stage 2 has been endorsed for support by the NSW Investment Delivery Authority.

Are Sharon AI's 8,200 GPUs running at SYD1 now?
The hall is operational, but GreenSquare says Sharon AI "will deploy" about 8,200 Nvidia Blackwell Ultra GPUs there. Neither company has said how many are installed.

Why reuse a 30-year-old data centre for AI?
Speed. GreenSquare took eight months to turn it into a liquid-cooled AI hall. In a city where new grid connections are scarce, a site that already worked as a data centre can switch on far sooner than a new build.

How much does Sharon AI pay for SYD1?
The fee has not been disclosed. Sharon AI's filing says the 15 MW agreement runs for 120 months from ready-for-service, with monthly fees based on contracted kilowatts.

Takeaway: In Sydney the quickest 15 MW for AI came from a 1995 building, not a new one, and for a debt-funded neocloud those saved months are worth more than the hall.

References

1. GreenSquare, "GreenSquare SYD1 now operational following adaptive reuse of 1995 data centre", 19 Oct 2026. Stage 1 operational, eight-month build, 8,200 GPUs, 275%, PUE and water figures, TTW assessment, 80 MW stage 2 endorsement.
2. Capital Brief, "GreenSquare DC brings 15MW online at Sydney data centre leased by Sharon AI", 19 Oct 2026. The 15 MW, the full lease to Sharon AI and the IBM and Kyndryl history.
3. SharonAI Holdings, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026, filed 6 Aug 2026. The 15 MW GreenSquare agreement, 120-month term, 26 September target, 132 MW contracted, NEXTDC 72 MW, New Zealand 14 MW and the Nvidia commitment.
4. Sharon AI, "Sharon AI Enters Into GPU-Backed Debt Facility" (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1), 1 Oct 2026. The US$356 million facility at 9.95% and more than 68,000 GPUs by mid-2027.
5. NSW Government, "Projects supported by the Investment Delivery Authority", checked 19 Oct 2026. SYD1 (Stage 2) in the Hills Shire and the 14 listed data centre projects.
6. NEXTDC, "NEXTDC Limited announces its Annual General Meeting in Sydney, Australia, 20 November 2026", 19 Oct 2026. The meeting date and the lodged notice.
7. Hitachi, "Hitachi, Brookfield, Hartree, and Tokyo Gas Launch Collaboration to develop green data centers with on-site power generation", 19 Oct 2026. The 30 September memorandum, on-site generation and the Kanto and Kyushu projects.
8. Virginia General Assembly, Senate Bill 843 (2027 session) bill text, prefiled 9 Oct 2026. The 1 July 2027 approval bar and the 1 July 2030 expiry.
9. Reuters via Business Standard, "Samsung to tap TSMC technology for Nvidia's custom memory chips: Report", 18 Oct 2026. The TSMC 3-nanometre base dies for NVHBM.

Not investment advice. The 23-day gap, the 11% and 12% shares, the capacity per GPU, the 18 MW meter draw, the stage 2 multiple and the count of 14 projects are our arithmetic from the sources above.