T
he demand for artificial intelligence has significantly boosted interest in data centers, making DFW a hub for this development wave. According to CBRE, DFW's data center market ranks second nationally, just behind Northern Virginia. In the first half of this year, DFW had an impressive 591 megawatts of inventory, representing a substantial 20% year-over-year increase. With less than 5% of this capacity available, the demand for data centers is clearly on the rise. Northern Virginia, on the other hand, had an inventory of 2,611 megawatts at the halfway point of 2024, representing a jump of almost 16%. To put this into perspective, one megawatt could power between 400 and 900 homes for a year, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

    The laser focus on data center development is a relatively new trend, primarily due to the growing popularity of energy-intensive technologies like AI and cloud software. In the first half of this year alone, there were 472 megawatts under construction in DFW, accounting for nearly 80% of the area's total inventory. Since 2020, data center inventory in DFW has jumped a remarkable 77%.

    And there's more to come! Dallas-based Prime Data Centers is investing a whopping $3 billion in building six facilities in southwest Fort Worth and the east Dallas suburb of Garland. Investor Harrison Street has teamed up with developer PowerHouse Data Centers to purchase 50 acres in Irving for three shell data centers. The first shell set is expected to be delivered next year.

    In addition to these developments, QTS is set to build a $220 million data center in Fort Worth. This brings the total number of assets classes booming in DFW to include residential properties, commercial properties, industrial properties, retail properties, office spaces, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, hospitality properties, and now data centers.

    The increased demand for high capacity data centers has led to larger and larger land deals for building these facilities. Graham Williams, chief investment officer of data center developer Tract, told the Wall Street Journal that companies are now looking for land to support 500- and 1,000-acre campuses. This is a significant shift from just a decade ago when they were looking for much smaller tracts of land, typically around 15 to 20 acres.