Good Things Happen When People Get Together
Welcome to spring and hopefully the start of summer. If you’re reading this, I hope we had a chance to connect in person at the recent IAMC Spring Forum in Little Rock, Arkansas.
If you weren’t there you missed out on interacting with nearly 500 professionals leading industrial real estate decisions around the globe. The energy and buzz were contagious as old relationships were strengthened and many new ones were formed. I want to extend another big thank you to the Little Rock Host Committee that made it all happen. Scan the QR code found elsewhere in this IAMC Insider section for photos and videos from Little Rock.
Shifting focus, this issue of Site Selection focuses on what’s happening globally. In today’s ever uncertain and changing global economy, which areas of the world are thriving? And what’s driving change in how business is done on a global scale? In my experience the only certainty is uncertainty.
For additional clarity on what’s happening, I hope many of you can join me in London June 10-11 for the IAMC London Forum. This will be the 10th anniversary of the London Forum, so a celebration is warranted.
For those of you with more of a domestic focus, don’t forget about IAMC’s upcoming Local events: Phoenix, Arizona, on May 14; Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 25; and Atlanta, Georgia, on July 21. These events are great opportunities to visit a new city and connect with local leaders.
For those of you who haven’t been to Minnesota in June, I highly recommend it. Our igloos have finally been put away for the summer and everyone is happy to be outside without multiple layers on. While I can’t make any promises weather-wise, odds are it will be beautiful.
As my good friend Ty Webb says in Caddyshack, “I’m going to give you a little advice. There’s a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen and be the ball.”
— Matt M. Boehlke
AVAIO’s initial $6 billion investment in the Leo Data Hub in the Little Rock region could grow as high as $21 billion at full development.
Rendering courtesy of AVAIO
Little Rock, Arkansas
By Adam Bruns
At the just concluded Spring Forum in Little Rock, sessions addressed such topics as “Business Innovation & Leadership Strategies For the Age of AI and the Polycrisis” (the Leadership Seminar led by business futurist Kim Seeling Smith); “How Supply Chain Strategy Is Redefining Industrial Real Estate” (led by CBRE); “From Plant to Platform: Designing Industrial Real Estate for Flexibility, Workforce & Automation” (featuring speakers from BHD Architecture, Miller Valentine Constructio and IMEG); and “The AI Shift: Real-World Insights from Industrial Real Estate Leaders” (featuring insights from Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLC; UL Solutions; Enclave Companies; JLL and Fairview, Texas, Economic Development Manager “Super” Dave Quinn.
One session that was as current as it gets was “Powering the Digital Economy: Confronting the Triple Threat to Data Center Growth,” moderated by McGuire Woods Consulting Partner Ford Graham and featuring insights from representatives of the Data Center Coalition, QTS Data Centers, Amazon Web Services and Arizona Public Service Power Utility. That’s because January saw nearby Pulaski County welcome a data center campus called AVAIO Digital Leo, setting a new state record.
“AVAIO Digital’s $6 billion data center hub represents the largest economic investment in Arkansas’ history and sets the Natural State up to become a technology powerhouse that can compete with any state in the nation,” said Governor Sarah Sanders. “Just last year, Arkansas led the way and passed legislation that reduced the regulatory timeline for new energy projects by more than half and offered new incentives to data center investments. This announcement confirms that cutting red tape and cultivating a pro-business, pro-growth environment is not only appealing to companies; it is what makes Arkansas one of the best states to live and work.”
AVAIO expects to create 500 new full-time jobs over the next five years. The company is currently contracted with Entergy Arkansas for 150 MW of power, but the company anticipates power demand of up to 1 GW as the facility grows. The Leo Data Hub is part of AVAIO Digital’s expanding portfolio of hyperscale projects across the United States and Western Europe. AVAIO Digital has secured more than 1.2 GWs of power from utilities at campuses in Northern California, Virginia, Arkansas and Mississippi and is moving to build out this full capacity with more than 450 MWs being energized in 2027. Entergy is also serving the $6 billion Taurus Data Center Hub that AVAIO is building in Brandon, Mississippi. What constellation will be next?
An AVAIO release said the Little Rock campus was chosen for its many advantages:
- Robust, low-latency interconnection options with multiple long-haul and regional fiber routes connecting to major data center markets including Dallas, Atlanta and Memphis as well as emerging edge markets across the Southeast and Midwest
- Rapid delivery of grid power by Entergy, with a contracted 150 MWs energized in Q2 of 2027
- Substantial on-site natural gas infrastructure facilitating rapid deployment of energy-efficient on-site power
- At 760 acres, a size sufficient to support a large, multi-building campus with on-site power generation
“It is our intention that this extraordinary 760-acre site in the Little Rock area will be both a major pole of data center capacity and an engine of sustained economic and technological momentum for Arkansas,” said Mark McComiskey, CEO of AVAIO Digital, at the January announcement. “With a first phase investment of $6 billion and over $21 billion through full development, infrastructure of this scale requires support from communities and partners, and we thank Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald, and Entergy Arkansas for helping make this possible. We look forward to continuing to work with these partners and the local communities as we break ground in early 2026.”
London Calling
On June 10-11, IAMC returns to London — identified as the No. 1 Global Best to Invest metro in this issue, along with No. 1 country the United Kingdom. The event at Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars marks the 10th anniversary of IAMC’s first ever London Professional Forum, held in conjunction with SIOR’s first ever European Conference in June 2016 on the very day of the Brexit referendum. “What an amazing time to be in Europe!” wrote then-SIOR Executive Vice President Richard Hollander in an account of the 2016 event.
Among his takeaways: Nearly 350 people from 20 countries attended. “For a first-time event requiring trans-Atlantic travel, this is extraordinary. The opportunities to network were seen everywhere you looked,” he said. Speakers included Financial Times Chief Economist Martin Wolf, leaders from Panattoni and Prologis and three executives from money management firms that Hollander described as “somber on Friday morning as a result of the vote to leave.”
Speakers for the upcoming event include opening keynote speaker Lord (Kim) Darroch, KCMG, the former U.K. National Security Advisor and former British Ambassador to the United States who can speak from 40 years of diplomatic experience to provide unique insights into the geopolitical forces currently reshaping international trade and economic policy.
As the full Forum agenda states, “in an age of uncertainty, his perspective on balancing competing priorities is essential for any global leader.”
Other sessions feature Savills Head of Logistics & Industrial Research Kevin Mofid on “The Defense Sector Surge: Redefining European Logistics Demand” and experts from Cushman & Wakefield on “Corridors of Commerce: What Growing UK-China Trade Means for Logistics.”
Tim Bradshaw, former intelligence officer, founder and director of Sandstone Communications & CEO of the Sandstone Foundation, will draw on his background as a British Intelligence Officer to explore how leaders navigate uncertainty and high-stakes environments. Leaders from several firms grapple with the complexities of moving between corporate occupier and service provider roles in one’s career in “Both Sides of the Table: Perspectives from the Great Career Pivot.”
And the event features rare insights from Jason Bevan, former head of creative development and VP of European marketing at Warner Bros, who will share inspiring stories of innovation and creativity from the sets of iconic movie franchises such as Harry Potter, The Hobbit, the Christopher Nolan movies and the DC universe as he explores why innovation is not just for so-called “creatives.”
Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
In April the news broke: The IAMC Fall Forum in 2027 will convene Sept. 25-29 at Wind Creek Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), whose region in March was named the No. 1 Tier-2 metro in Site Selection’s Top Metros rankings, led the effort to bring the event to the area.
“By experiencing the region firsthand, these decision-makers gain a deeper understanding of what differentiates the Lehigh Valley in an increasingly competitive landscape,” said LVEDC Vice President of Business Development & Attraction Kristin Cahayla-Hoffman, who serves as a member of the IAMC Board of Directors.
Wind Creek Bethlehem underwent a $160 million upgrade that was completed in 2023. PCI Gaming Authority d/b/a Wind Creek Hospitality (WCH) in 2019 rebranded the casino as Wind Creek Bethlehem five months after Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved the sale of Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to WCH for a total enterprise value of $1.3 billion.
It was the 10th gaming facility operated by PCI Gaming, an authority of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.