The Commercial Real Estate Development Association noted in this story the demand for data centers is rapidly increasing, noting an Arizton Advisory and Intelligence 2022 report that states U.S. data center construction is expected to reach $25 billion by 2027.
Case in point: DataBank’s new data center campus in the south Dallas area constructed by Rogers-O’Brien Construction (RO). DataBank provides edge colocation, interconnection, and managed services in more than 65 data centers across 27 markets.
The Red Oak campus in Dallas is one of DataBank’s most expansive projects, spanning 292 acres and designed to meet unprecedented demand for high-capacity, AI-ready infrastructure, said Tony Qorri, DataBank vice president, construction, DataBank.
The campus will include up to eight two-story data centers with a combined 3.4 million square feet of space and 480MW of critical IT power, achieved through a new 400MW substation by Oncor.
Phase One is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026, positioning Red Oak as a significant data center hub with DataBank’s advanced Universal Data Hall Design (UDHD), which Qorri said provides a standardized, modular setup enabling quick deployment and easy expansion.
Each 20,000 square foot data hall features slab flooring that can adapt to raised flooring, accommodating various cabinet layouts. High-density cooling options like rear-door heat exchangers integrate seamlessly, while power is provided in scalable, redundant 2MW critical IT blocks and 6MW critical IT data halls to meet current and future needs.
The campus will include up to eight two-story data centers with a combined 3.4 million square feet of space and 480MW of critical IT power, achieved through a new 400MW substation by Oncor.JHETarchitects
The site is near residential areas, necessitating careful coordination to minimize community impact. It also is close to the newly-constructed TxDOT Highway/Loop 9, requiring RO to manage traffic and logistical complexities.
“This data center will include 60 MW of capacity and span 425,000 square feet — double the size of a typical project of this kind — making a rapid project turnaround essential and necessitating strategic planning to stay on track,” noted Graham Merriman, senior vice president - mission critical, RO.
RO is building in a high-demand area with several other data centers already under construction, affecting the availability of trade partners and resources and adding additional layers to project management efforts.
“Our team engaged trade partners early in the project to coordinate labor needs and manage scheduling,” said Merriman. “This approach allows us to work closely with them to forecast manpower requirements and align their resources with the project’s timeline.”
Meeting Labor Needs
“We’re collaborating with the city to secure phased building approvals, which helps us obtain permits for critical early-stage equipment such as generators and temporary power, ensuring we remain on schedule,” said Merriman, adding strong communication with city officials helps RO say aligned with regulatory requirements and project goals.
Technologies being used include Propeller for daily drone site review with the DJI Matrice drone, Autodesk Construction Cloud model coordinator, and Procore and Revit, with plans to explore other options for future project phases.
RO has a staff of more than 20 people. At peak, between 700 and 800 workers are expected onsite across the base building, substation, and client fit-out phases, said Merriman, adding the headcount could scale accordingly as additional buildings come online.
“To meet labor demands, we’re working closely with major trades – steel, concrete, utilities, earthwork, and especially mechanical, electrical, and plumbing – to assess their workforce availability and integrate projections into our schedule,” Merriman adds.
Construction is being executed with standard construction equipment, including cranes to set steel and set precast panels as well as excavators.
“Rogers-O’Brien was selected as our general contractor partner for DFW9 (first building) as we have had a continual and successful relationship in the Texas market with them,” said Qorri. “They have proven themselves project over project with many successful on-time and on-budget builds.”
Additional considerations:
- As this story by C&C Technology Group Managing Principal Josh Mahan indicates, given data centers consume significant amounts of energy, considerations are given to energy-efficient designs, including renewable energy. Natural disaster preparedness is key.
- As this story notes, building information modeling (BIM) tools streamline and design and construction process.
- McKinsey & Company points out in this story the significant demand for data centers has attracted the attention of investors of all types, particularly in the fragmented prefabrication and modular sector.
