< Previous8 NOVEMBER 2024 SITE SELECTION T ell us a little bit about you. Marcus Rose: I am Director of Real Estate at NFI. I grew up in Madison Heights, Virginia, and attended Furman University for my undergrad education. Tell us about your path to corporate real estate. Rose: My path to real estate was somewhat unique. I started my career in Property Management with CBRE in 2011. Having very little knowledge of career paths within real estate, my goal at the time was to obtain enough foundational knowledge to then become an office/ retail broker ($$$). After three years of property management, I took a transaction management position within CBRE that serviced one of their top national clients. As I encountered both the advantages and disadvantages of working on the client-service side within CBRE Corporate Services, my interest in corporate real estate grew significantly. I was particularly drawn to aspects such as strategic planning, organizational structure and the art of creative deal-making. I was very fortunate to join NFI in 2019, which has positioned me in a true corporate real estate role. NFI is a fully integrated third-party supply chain solutions provider. Privately held by the Brown family since 1932, the company generates more than $3.9 billion in annual revenue and employs over 17,000 associates. NFI owns and operates more than 70 million square feet of warehouse space alongside a dedicated fleet of 5,000 tractors and 14,300 trailers. What is the scope of your responsibilities at your organization? Rose: Our exceptional real estate team at NFI encompasses a range of expertise including Construction, Development, Property Management, Leasing, and Accounting. I’m part of a smaller team of five professionals whose responsibility is to oversee all leasing and customer- driven development activities across both NFI’s owned and leased properties. Specifically, my role involves overseeing leasing initiatives and pursuing new opportunities for NFI’s operating company, which encompasses a vast portfolio of 35 million square feet spread across 180 properties. Over the past four years, a significant portion of my focus has been dedicated to lease administration and leveraging technological resources to enhance our operations. NFI strategically operates in key distribution hubs across the United States and Canada, including a substantial presence in secondary and tertiary markets. Our assets span a wide spectrum, ranging from 5-acre trailer yards to expansive 1-million-square-foot warehouses. What is your favorite part of your role or the industry as a whole? Rose: I find it rewarding to uncover creative solutions for our operations when conventional methods aren’t applicable. Additionally, I’ve taken pleasure in assisting with the development of a more structured transaction management process within our current framework at NFI. What is one skill specific to your job could you share with the rest of the membership? Rose: In my role, I find persistence to be essential. Managing multiple stakeholders throughout transactions and navigating deals that may encounter multiple setbacks can be a significant challenge. Tell us about a corporate real estate or facility management project you were particularly proud of in which you played a role. Rose: One project that stands out to me involved a facility operated by NFI on behalf of a customer through a lease agreement. Unfortunately, the customer experienced a downturn in their business, necessitating the termination of all labor associated with that operation. However, seizing an opportunity presented by a new customer pursuit, we were able to repurpose the facility by taking on a sublease for the space previously occupied by our former customer. This strategic move allowed us to rehire a majority of the employees who had previously worked at the facility. This was a great outcome that allowed our local team to maintain a majority of their employees. What led you to join IAMC? Rose: I joined IAMC on the recommendation of my manager Troy Adams, who has been a long-standing member of IAMC. IAMC has been very helpful in my career, particularly through my first couple of years with NFI, which happened to be in the middle of the pandemic. Having a network of colleagues who were willing to help me solve issues I was dealing with became very valuable. Name one thing you have on your bucket list. Rose: Skydiving over Palm Islands in Dubai. IAMC Member Spotlight: Marcus Rose, Director of Real Estate, NFI Industries10 NOVEMBER 2024 SITE SELECTION I n this issue with its focus on foreign direct investment and foreign-trade zones, we turn our attention to some of the international organizations prominent among IAMC membership. First, coming on the heels of the IAMC Forum in Quebec City (pictured), it’s worth recognizing the hosts and other Canadian economic development organizations: Quebec International (Quebec City); Invest Quebec; Port of Saguenay; Toronto Global and Invest in Canada. Photo by DFMotion courtesy of Destination Québec cité FDI, FTZs and Other Not-So-Foreign Concepts H eadquartered in London, Associated British Foods is a diversified group whose business sectors include grocery, sugar, ingredients and agriculture. The group’s brands also include international fashion retailer Primark, which now has more than 18.2 million sq ft of selling space across more than 432 stores in 16 countries. The Irish store brand, founded in Dublin 55 years ago is currently making inroads in the United States with plans to open 60 stores by 2026. The opening of three New York metro stores in Garden City, Queens and Brooklyn in 2022 kicked off Primark’s U.S. growth plan to reach 60 stores by 2026. I n August, Rolls-Royce announced testing on the F130 engine had begun in Indianapolis, another step toward delivering for the United States Air Force B-52J Stratofortress. Meanwhile, testing at NASA Stennis (pictured) in Hancock County, Mississippi, marked the first time F130 engines were tested in the dual-pod engine configuration of the B-52 aircraft. Indiana Economic Development Corporation and the Hancock County Port & Harbor Commission are IAMC member organizations. Participants in the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff STEM Summer Institute visited NASA’s Stennis Space Center in June. Photo by Danny Nowlin courtesy of NASA T hyssenkrupp Materials Services in May celebrated the opening of its new $32 million steel service center (pictured) on the premises of Steel Dynamic in Sinton, Texas. “Due to its geographic location, the Sinton site is an important strategic addition to the three existing steel service centers in Richburg, South Carolina; Woodstock, Alabama; and Detroit, Michigan,” the company said. Sinton is located in San Patricio County, part of the Corpus Christi metro area. The San Patricio County EDC and the Corpus Christi Regional EDC are IAMC member organizations. Photo courtesy of thyssenkrupp14 NOVEMBER 2024 SITE SELECTION The World Needs More Data Center Workers Technical know-how is in demand as the sector sets new records. A s data center investments proliferate across America and the world, one thing has become increasingly clear: The world is going to need a lot more data center workers. According to a report just released by Jones Lang LaSalle, “Finding the right talent remains a challenge for data center operators and the issue is becoming more acute given the rapid expansion of the sector in recent years.” A recent Uptime Institute Staffing Survey confirms this finding. Half of all data center operators report they are having problems finding junior and mid-level operations staff. More than 40% say they can’t find enough help for electrical jobs. A third are having difficulty hiring enough mechanical technicians. Matt Landek, managing director of JLL’s Data Center and Telecom Business Unit, says the labor shortages are especially acute in Northern Virginia, Dallas-Fort Worth and Greater Phoenix. “They remain the most competitive markets for talent,” says Landek. “They will have the highest job vacancy rates by volume of all the largest data center markets. They currently have the most open positions. Secondary markets will have longer lead times to find and bring those folks in.” Asked to pinpoint the causes of the labor shortfall in the U.S. data center industry, Landek says, “There are three key factors. First is basic supply and demand. The sheer volume of new capacity coming online is driving this rising by RON STARNER ron.starner@siteselection.com DATA CENTERS QTS is building a 1.5 million-sq.-ft. data center campus in Henrico County in Greater Richmond, Virginia. Photos courtesy of QTS16 NOVEMBER 2024 SITE SELECTION demand for labor. Second is an aging workforce. Data centers are not immune. And third is the stressful environment. We have seen technicians leave the industry to go into a less stressful asset class.” e hardest skill sets to fi nd, says Landek, are technicians with years or more of experience. ey represent the “gold standard” of the labor pool, he notes, adding that the second hardest labor to fi nd are construction workers. “We are facing a shortage of construction managers with experience in green construction,” he says. “Emerging data center markets don’t have these people. e challenge for emerging markets is that companies are having to relocate people from other markets. We also need more higher education programs to train these people, but that is not happening at the pace we need. Firms are having to take on unskilled labor and train them.” Wanted: Military Veterans Some of the most successful worker training programs are those targeting military veterans, says Landek. “ e greatest pipeline we have are former military service members. ey have so many transferable skills. ey are used to working in very programmatic structures. Navy nuclear operators are the most-sought-after veterans.” Many jobs in the data center industry pay north of six fi gures. “ ose working in mission-critical environments are making % to % more than their counterparts in an offi ce environment,” Landek says. “We are also seeing signifi cant fringe benefi ts off ered to workers in this industry.” What will it take to solve the labor shortage? Again, Landek is blunt: “We need to think diff erently about talent. Securing talent is not the hard part. Keeping the talent is. Any technician can go across the street and make more money. We must create a better employee experience. Workplace culture matters. e care component is important. Employees need to see a clear career path. And fi nally, we must focus on soft skills and leadership abilities. People climb the career ladder in this sector faster than in any other asset class. We need a better conversation around this.” Pat Lynch, executive managing director of CBRE, agrees. “Finding the workforce needed to build a data center is a real challenge,” he says. “Constructing the data center is one of the steps our clients must investigate. at is why groups within the industry are talking to military vets. ey are used to high-risk scenarios and working under stress. For them, working in a data center can be a great second career. At CBRE, we are looking to make headway in that area.” QTS Model Is Working QTS is in the middle of a . million-sq.-ft. data center campus expansion in Henrico County in Greater Richmond, Virginia. Sarah Wurth, spokesperson for QTS, says the fi rm has enjoyed success in hiring and retaining qualifi ed workers by off ering competitive pay and benefi ts. “Our culture and competitive benefi ts are diff erentiators in attracting and retaining our employees,” she says. We have seen technicians leave the industry to go into a less stressful asset class.” — Matt Landek , Managing Director, Data Center and Telecom Business Unit, JLL We have seen technicians leave the industry to go into SITE SELECTION NOVEMBER 2024 17 On background, we have learned that QTS provides and funds ongoing training and certifications for facility operations, technology operations and information security personnel. It is also worth noting that their top recruits are military veterans. About 40% of QTS’ operations staff have served in the U.S. armed forces. QTS is part of a rapidly growing Virginia data center hub that employed 26,000 people and generated an economic output of $46 billion in 2023. The same JLL report that chronicled the “Data Center Labor Cliff” put into perspective just how quickly this asset class is growing. “The U.S. colocation data center market has doubled in size in just four years, yet vacancy is at a record low of 3% amid unsatiable demand,” JLL said. Middle America Sees Rising Demand Andy Cvengros, managing director with JLL’s Data Center Markets team, says that there is a “tremendous amount of competition among providers to staff up these buildings. In rural areas, there are not a lot of people who can staff them. This is not stopping massive amounts of capital from trying to get into that space.” The rush to build new space is especially pronounced in Dallas, Chicago, Phoenix and Atlanta, says Cvengros. “The greater Ashburn area of Loudoun County in Northern Virginia is out of power for the foreseeable future, and that is driving more projects to Greater Richmond and the interior part of Virginia.” This race to emerging markets creates new challenges, according to Cvengros and other experts interviewed for this story. These trends include the following: • Rural markets are now more in play for data center sites than ever before, particularly if they have the requisite power and fiber already connected to the site. • Fast-growing, emerging markets for data centers include Central Virginia, Central Mississippi, Northern Indiana and Greater Albuquerque. • The data center market is forecast to grow at around 10% annually through 2030, according to NAI. • A total of 300 new hyperscale data center facilities have been built in the last two years, with 39% of them coming in the United States. China and Japan rank second and third, per Statista. • Large power customers prefer to connect to renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar, but their total electricity demand, particularly for cooling, is so great that they cannot rely solely on alternative energy. Next >