< Previous66 SEPTEMBER 2024 S I T E S EL E C T I O N makes it unwalkable. People are coming from all over the world, blimps are coming in and looking down and our major feature was a giant parking lot. ere was unanimous agreement that not only was that an eyesore, but it was preventing good things from happening,” i.e. no workforce, no jobs, no revenue — essentially blighted property. “ e only way you could make something happen was through incentives. So the state created an incentive, an enterprise zone, where a portion of the sales tax comes to Centennial Yards for years. en there’s a property tax incentive, a tax increment fi nancing district where a portion of the property tax comes back to Centennial Yards. ose two are capped at $. billion. We don’t see ourselves ever approaching that number.” A misconception, he says, is that “people thought the city and state wrote us a check for $. billion. But if you don’t create the value, you don’t get the value. en you can capture a portion of that.” At the end of the time period, all tax revenue goes back to the city, county and school district. “Politicians had to make the decision,” McGowan says, knowing that if it was left the way it was, it would never generate value for anyone. “Even when I was CEO of the Beltline, with these TADs [tax allocation districts, Georgia’s version of TIF], it’s sometimes very diffi cult to explain how it works to the general public. People think it’s a give-away, but if incentives are used correctly, they fi ll the gap between a private-sector developer wanting to do something or not.” Asked if the project has connected with any federal funding streams, McGowan says, “We have been talking to our congressional delegation, city and state leaders about opportunities that could make the project better if we get some kind of federal incentives. We’re going to build this no matter what, but there are I nd Atlanta to be the most interesting of all the places I’ve lived. Atlanta is such an aspirational place. It wants to be bigger and better.” — Brian McGowan, President, Centennial Yards Company I nd Atlanta to be the most S I T E S E L E C T I O N SEPTEMBER 2024 67 things we could add to make it better for the public in the long run — transit, bike lanes, capping rail lines. That would require some kind of federal grant to make something like that happen.” The timing of Centennial Yards is right for more reasons than just the World Cup. Even as 17 million people a year come to downtown Atlanta for events and venues such as the Georgia Aquarium, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and various other venues and occasions, highway interchanges bringing those people downtown were designed and built in the 1960s and ’70s, and as a recent water main failure demonstrated, other infrastructure needs upgrading too. “There needs to be a more concerted effort on behalf of everyone together to go after federal dollars to improve the infrastructure of downtown,” McGowan says. One day there may even be a way to connect to the universally praised Atlanta Beltline trail system, which eventually is envisioned to connect to a larger metro region trail system extending into the suburbs. But downtown Atlanta is the bull’s-eye, making this mixed-use redevelopment different from other successful districts, including The Battery near the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park in Cobb County. There are four MARTA rail transit stations surrounding Centennial Yards, three sports teams playing at neighboring venues and a convention center. “A lot of these sports- adjacent districts around the country have some of those, but not all of those,” McGowan says. Nor do they have plans for 8 million sq. ft. of development, including office and 3,000 apartments. Better physical connections to Atlanta University Center are part of the plan too. “Atlanta University Center students already are living in one of our buildings,” McGowan says. “More students and professors and staff will live there. One of the things that excites me the most about this site is its proximity between three major university campuses — Georgia Tech, Georgia State University and Atlanta University Center. Think about serendipitous interactions around places like Tech Square,” the mixed-use environment at Georgia Tech’s campus. “There are over 100,000 students within a scooter’s ride or walking distance. There are lots of opportunities for incubators and accelerators. I think corporate innovation centers will want to be here to attract that talent to work for their companies.” 68 SEPTEMBER 2024 S I T E S EL E C T I O N From January 2023 to July 2024, approximately 858 qualifying projects have been tracked along Interstate 80 by the Conway Projects Database. I-80 is the second longest Interstate in the U.S. behind I-90, crossing 11 states. Starting in San Francisco, California, and stretching 2,919 miles east to Teaneck, New Jersey, the corridor has become essential for logistics and distribution. But while the data show I-80 remains a staple for transporting a large quantity of goods, it may very well be earning a new reputation as the literal information highway. In one year, data center investment in counties along the route has reached over $24 billion across 15 projects. Illinois, Iowa, Indiana and Wyoming emerged as top locations for these new and expansion project investments, drawing in the likes of Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and more. What is behind the surge of industry activity? It boils down to long-term preparation and positioning. “A central geographic location combined with generally lower cost of power and taxes make the Midwest area an attractive option. There also is an abundance of fiber that follows I-80, which is helpful,” says CBRE Data Center Solutions Global Head Pat Lynch. “I-80 also generally provides access to a stronger and deeper labor pool naturally being located along the major cities in this area of the United States.” An Emerging Market In northern Indiana, La Porte, Lake, Porter and St. Joseph counties all border I-80. Each county scored its own data center project, welcoming investment from Microsoft, Digital Crossroads and Amazon, respectively. “The route’s attractiveness for data center investments is driven by several key factors,” says Indiana Economic Development Association Executive Director Matt Kavgian. “Beyond its favorable tax and regulatory climate and excellent connectivity, the route boasts abundant water resources necessary for cooling advanced AI hardware and high- performance networks.” Kavgian says northern Indiana communities are well-prepared to support the growth of the industry. Through proactive planning and infrastructure development with utility providers such as Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), the state has been anticipating demand needs by by ALEXIS ELMORE alexis.elmore@siteselection.com I-80 BECOMES THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY I-80 C ORRIDOR In 2024, Meta announced $1.6 billion for data center developments in Iowa and Wyoming. Photo courtesy of Meta S I T E S E L E C T I O N SEPTEMBER 2024 69 looking ahead 20 years, thus staying proactive with comprehensive integrated resource planning. “This planning incorporates various scenarios, including potential growth from large customers like data centers, and is refined through simulations to guide infrastructure investments,” he says. “Recognizing the benefits of data centers, NIPSCO and county leaders understand these facilities diversify the customer base, thereby mitigating risks associated with fluctuations in other industries and enhancing overall stability.” Following its initial announcement of an $87 million data center in Porter County’s city of Portage, Amazon returned in April 2024 with billions more dollars on hand. The company announced that about 57 miles northeast, it would be constructing an $11 billion data center campus in St. Joseph County, creating 1,000 new jobs. It was the largest capital investment in the state to date. But it wasn’t the last billion-dollar project to be announced. Three months later, Microsoft announced the selection of 489 acres of the Radius Industrial Park in La Porte. The $1 billion investment is the company’s first in the state and will create 200 new jobs by 2032. CBRE’s 2024 Global Data Center Trends report highlighted Northern Indiana as a new emerging market in North America, noting that tax incentives offered by the state will provide a significant pull for corporate investment. Data’s Popular Destination Cook County, home to Chicago, drew in eight of the 15 data center projects drawn to the Illinois portion of I-80. The city has been a sought-out region for data center investment for years, currently housing 136 centers, according to data collected by Data Center Map. According to CBRE’s report, it might be harder to score a spot in Chicago moving forward. The city has hit a record-low vacancy rate at 1.9% as demand soars from users. This has pushed developers just outside Chicago to Elk Grove, Northlake, Wood Dale, Hoffman Estates and Itasca to construct these massive sites. Elk Grove and Hoffman Estates stood out for the latest project investments for Stream Data Centers, Compass Datacenters and Aligned Data Centers, who brought in over $11.2 billion. Both Stream Data Centers and Aligned Data Centers are planning third locations in the region. Compass Datacenters was joined by the Village of Hoffman Estates and ComEd in June 2024 to mark the beginning of construction of a $10 billion data center campus. The site will house five hyperscale data centers across 200 acres of the former Sears HQ. Once complete, Compass will look to add 1,000 new jobs in the community. “The Midwest has become a strong market of interest for all developers and end users alike due to its unique path to large-scale, cost-effective, renewable utility power with a delivery timeline faster than most of the U.S.,” says CBRE First Vice President Mikey Jaillet. “This, coupled with strong data center incentives, an abundance of scalable data center land as well as an overall lower total cost of ownership [TCO] compared to other large data center markets, has created a compelling business case for data center development across the Midwest.” Potential Opportunity Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Davenport, Iowa, were both selected for individual $800 million data center projects by Meta. The company first announced its arrival in Davenport in May 2024. Meta has plans for two data center facilities totaling 715,000 sq. ft., although it is unclear when construction will commence on the 328-acre site. This will be the company’s second location in the state, about 158 miles east of its $2.5 billion Altoona data center just outside of Des Moines. Iowa hosts more than a dozen data centers from leaders such as Google, Microsoft, Meta and more. “Wyoming also has a large-scale occupant in the Cheyenne area with another hyperscaler recently acquiring land for another data center campus,” says CBRE’s Pat Lynch. “These markets have a few colocation providers with the potential for more.” Most Wyoming projects are concentrated in Cheyenne. Meta’s $800 million data center in the city joins Critical Systems Realty, Lunavi, Microsoft and Mountain West Technology Networks. The planned 715,000-sq.-ft. facility will be located on 960 acres of the High Plains Business Park. Meta has said it anticipates the data center will begin operations in 2027, creating 100 new jobs. Lynch doesn’t see Iowa or Wyoming approaching “top market” status like DFW or Northern Virginia, “but as long as they can provide power with some level of sustainable source they will continue to see demand grow. These markets will continue to see interest for larger-scale deployments [200 acres and 300 MWs and up] due to their lower cost of power, incentive programs and overall lower TCO compared to other areas around the country.” 70 SEPTEMBER 2024 S I T E S EL E C T I O N One has only to look at the financials of a global infrastructure firm like Ferrovial to see how important — and how profitable — roads and bridges can be, especially with national funds that will near $2 trillion driving projects in the U.S. alone. Growth of the company’s toll roads and construction divisions drove the company’s Q1 2024 revenue to $2 billion and earnings to $276 million. One of the strongest areas of performance? Express lanes in multiple Ohio and Indianapolis once again top the Global Groundwork Index rankings, while the UK leads the way abroad. by ADAM BRUNS adam.bruns@siteselection.com GL OBAL GROUND W ORK INDEX REPEAT Investors The North Tarrant Express project in north Texas has seen rapid increase in traffic, driving revenue up for Ferrovial and allowing people to drive to work or home more quickly. Photo courtesy of Ferrovial72 SEPTEMBER 2024 S I T E S EL E C T I O N places in Texas and in Virginia, two of the leading areas for corporate facility investment year after year in Site Selection’s various rankings. Growing employers and their teams demand better transportation connectivity, even as their numbers often grow too fast for thoroughfares to keep up and even as materials and construction labor shortages can lengthen timelines and ratchet up costs. This intrinsic tie between employer- led economic development and public infrastructure is what drove Site Selection several years ago to create the Global Groundwork Index, a unique blend of project data from our own Conway Projects Database of corporate end-user facility investments (locations and expansions) and external data on public infrastructure project investment from the United States 20 2 4 Global Gr oundwork Index TOP COUNTRIES RANK COUNTRY 1 United Kingdom 2 Australia 3 Ireland 4 Mexico 5 Germany 6 Lithuania 7 Hungary 8 Sweden 10 Canada 10 Serbia Methodology: Cumulative and per-capita calculations based on Conway Projects Database projects, Jan. 2020 through July 1, 2024, and Cumulative and per-capita calculations based on OECD infrastructure funding data by country retrieved July 2024. Skyrocketing corporate investment has blended with infrastructure projects such as Salt River Project’s Sierra Estrella battery storage site and Valley Metro’s rail transit expansion to create a fertile environment for growth in Greater Phoenix. Photos courtesy of SRP and Valley Metro74 SEPTEMBER 2024 S I T E S EL E C T I O N government’s database and from the OECD’s infrastructure database for OECD countries. Taking in all the corporate data since 2020 (number of projects, capital investment and jobs) and the most current infrastructure funding data, Site Selection Director of Programming & Analytics Daniel Boyer crunches the numbers on a cumulative and per-capita basis to determine the Top 10 U.S. states, Top 10 U.S. metros and Top 10 Countries outside the United States. This year, like last year, Ohio is No. 1 and Indiana is No. 2. But there’s a new arrival tied with Indiana, as Arizona shoots up from No. 10, fueled by an array of corporate investment Ohio’s array of available and improving infrastructure includes Rickenbacker International Airport, a new terminal coming to John Glenn Columbus International Airport and the LinkUS transportation and growth plan (including bikeways and trails) created by the Central Ohio Transit Authority, the City of Columbus, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and the Columbus Partnership. Images courtesy of Columbus Regional Airport Authority and COTANext >