Investor Watch: July 30, 2026 – Site Selection Magazine

ONLINE INSIDER

The Reverse Build-to-Suit: A Capital-Efficient Path to New Facilities

“Companies expanding their physical footprints today face a difficult equation,” writes SLB Capital Advisors Managing Partner Scott Merkle, what with high construction costs, more expensive financing and pressure to preserve capital for the core business. A growing number of companies are turning to a structure that flips the conventional build-to-suit model on its head.

FROM SITE SELECTION MAGAZINE, JULY 2026 ISSUE

RESEARCH & SCIENCE PARKS

The Next Innovation Frontier

Research parks transform and fuel the lab-to-market pipeline, writes Kelly Barraza. In addition to insights from Association of University Research Parks CEO Vickie Palmer, this expanded online edition includes an update on EDA Tech Hubs.

ROCKY MOUNTAINS

Colorado Leveraged for Semiconductor Industry Growth

Alexis Elmore talks to Advanced Micro Devices Corporate Vice President Trevor Bauer and to Dan Salvetti of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade about the concrete advantages of the state’s CHIPS Zone program.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES

Workers leave the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant construction site at the end of the work day in 1952, the year that the site began to enrich uranium. A new $100 billion data center campus is expected to bring around 8,000 construction jobs to the Paducah Site.
Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy

A coalition that includes Brookfield, NextEra Energy, Big Rivers Electric Power Corporation, Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative and Paducah Power System yesterday announced they intend to develop a $100 billion data center campus at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Paducah Site in Western Kentucky, the former uranium enrichment site. “Once fully constructed in 2032, the campus will support up to 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of utility capacity and over 1.2 GW of compute capacity — backed by up to 4.6 GW of dedicated generation resources paid for and built specifically for the project,” the partners said in a DOE press release. The project is expected to generate 8,000 construction jobs and 600 full-time operations jobs.

“It’s difficult to overestimate the importance of this project,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “The planning and investment by NextEra Energy and Brookfield provides a crucial roadmap for future projects in the United States by revealing the ability to build world-leading infrastructure without passing costs on to surrounding communities.”

It helps to have supporting infrastructure already in place: “Due to the scale of its previous operations, the site is already equipped with transmission capacity, water infrastructure, fiber connectivity, roads and land ready to support a project of this magnitude,” the release noted.

“We are intently focused on finding ways to put federal land back to use for American taxpayers,” added DOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Tim Walsh. “That commitment is at the heart of our office’s American Energy Hubs initiative. Our employees are working with urgency to transform legacy sites that played a key role in the prosperity and success of our nation, like Paducah, into hubs for energy and innovation that keep our nation secure and create new jobs and economic opportunities for the region.”

Activity at the Paducah site was recently part of an interview with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear that appeared in Site Selection’s May 2026 article “A Triumph Over Tariffs?” as well as Kelly Barraza’s profile of the General Matter project unfolding at the site in “Diversifying the Energy Landscape in the Bluegrass State.” The site is also featured in a 2025 Site Selection Snapshot, “Where Is the Uranium?”

OKLAHOMA INVESTMENT GUIDE 2026

WORKFORCE

A Workforce a Century in the Making

Empowering workers with skills and experience, writes Kelly Barraza, is a long-standing tradition in Oklahoma. Her conversation with Max McKnight, director of workforce training for the Oklahoma State Department of Career and Technology Education, features insights into the state’s unique Oklahoma CareerTech program and what the Oklahoma team learned from a recent trip to Germany.

RARE EARTH ELEMENTS

Oklahoma’s Rare Opportunity To Lead Critical Minerals Onshoring

Oklahoma Department of Commerce Director of Business Recruitment Jay Shidler talks to Alexis Elmore about the state’s growing rare earths and critical minerals ecosystems, and Emirates Global Aluminium Project Director for Oklahoma Primary Aluminum Ziad Fares provides exclusive insights into the company’s $4 billion smelter coming to Tulsa Port of Inola.

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SITE SELECTION RECOMMENDS

Shanghai Waigaoqiao Container Port
Photo by Lu Shengyi: Getty Images

A late June post by Giulia Interesse and Qian Zhou of Dezan Shira & Associates explains “Where to Invest in China in 2026 and Beyond: A Guide for Foreign Investors.”

“After several years of supply chain diversification and reshoring efforts, many global investors have come to recognize that China remains deeply embedded in global production networks, innovation ecosystems and consumer markets,” they write. “While challenges persist, the country’s scale, infrastructure, industrial depth and policy support continue to make it indispensable for a wide range of industries.”

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Photo courtesy of Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority

This photograph was made one week ago as Canadians prepared to celebrate the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge the next day. On Monday, the bridge opened to traffic. A multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists will open on August 5. “Today is an exciting and historical day as we welcomed the first travelers to the Gordie Howe International Bridge,” said Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority Interim CEO and Chief Legal Officer Chuck Andary on Monday. “The vision and promise of a new border transportation system is now a reality for drivers heading to work, visiting family and friends, exploring our communities or moving goods. We couldn’t be prouder to receive cross-border travelers today, tomorrow and for generations to come.”

Watch for the annual Canada’s Best Locations report and the annual Global Groundwork Index rankings of top territories for combined infrastructure and corporate facility investment in the September issue of Site Selection.