Kimberly-Clark continues U.S. investment in Alabama. NewCold plans to establish a base in Maryland. WhiteFiber secures space for a $1 billion AI data center in North Carolina.
Frankfurt continues to be No. 1 in the world in internet connectivity.
Photo by Isabela Pacini courtesy of Visit Frankfurt
TeleGeography last week unveiled its Q2 2025 top 10 cities for market connectivity, based on a 45-point checklist that tracks such factors as data center power and cloud onramps. The top 10 remained mostly unchanged due in large part to what TeleGeography calls “data gravity,” a phenomenon “in which telecom data and services tend to attract more investment in places where there is already some level of investment. The more investment, the denser the ecosystems of interconnected infrastructure.” The organization also unveiled the fastest growing cities in terms of internet infrastructure. Both lists are below.
By special arrangement, TeleGeography made its North American data sets available to Site Selection for the inaugural North American Tech Hub Index published in January 2025.
Most Connected Cities for Internet Infrastructure 1) Frankfurt 2) London 3) Tokyo 4) Amsterdam 5) Singapore 6) New York 7) Hong Kong 8) Washington, DC 9) Paris 10) Los Angeles
Fastest Growing Cities 1) Kuala Lumpur 2) Hong Kong 3) Manila 4) Frankfurt 5) Shenzhen 6) Hangzhou 7) Singapore 8) Taipei 9) Jakarta 10) Cairo
A cyclist moves through Edgewater Park in Cleveland, the city with the largest percentage of overall office square footage under conversion to other uses.
Photo courtesy of Destination Cleveland
Among other findings, a new report from CBRE finds office space conversions have increased from 5.5 million sq. ft. in 2018 to an anticipated 12.8 million sq. ft. this year. “Manhattan, Washington, D.C., and Houston have the most office square footage planned or under construction for conversion,” the report states. “Meanwhile, Cleveland (8.4%) and Cincinnati (6.6%) have the largest percentage of their overall office square footage under conversion.”
Source: CBRE
PHOTOS OF THE DAY
The Hyper Transfer project for a commercial prototype high-speed hyperloop to carry cargo and passengers between Venice-Mestre and Padua, Italy, completed its feasibility study phase last week, Veneto Governor Lucia Zaia announced at the Transport Logistic 2025 fair in Munich, Germany. Now the project moves toward construction of the first test track spanning approximately 10 km. (6.2 miles) between Padua and Venice. The consortium behind the project includes HyperloopTT, Hyperloop Italia, Webuild and multinational aerospace, defense and security company Leonardo. Work on the project first commenced in 2013, the same year HyperloopTT was founded. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company describes itself as “a global team of more than 800 engineers, creatives and technologists in multidisciplinary teams, with 50 corporate and university partners.”
