Finding grid, ground, and goodwill in data center development

The data center boom is hard to miss. With the rapid rise of generative AI, tech companies have invested billions of dollars in data center infrastructure to train and power complex models.¹ Although these facilities have been around for decades, the scale of modern AI data centers is unprecedented.²

As of August 2026, there are 12,259 data centers globally, with demand predicted to nearly triple by 2030. Data centers in the U.S. represent 35% to 45% of this global footprint.³

But this digital expansion relies on limited physical resources: land, power, and water. As developers push past primary hubs like Northern Virginia and into secondary markets like Denver and San Antonio, they're running into residential neighborhoods, stretching local power grids, and raising big questions for community members.

With that in mind, planning a successful build means finding more than available ground and phantom gigawatts. It also means building genuine trust with the community.

The power, land, and housing squeeze

Historically, data center site selection criteria focused almost exclusively on access to power. Today, the reality of data center development is more complex. Modern large-scale facilities can span up to 10 million square feet, and data center energy consumption is astronomical – requiring as much electricity as a small city.

From a geospatial perspective, bottlenecks occur at the intersection of power, land, and housing:

• ‍Power: Both energy generation and distribution impact viability. Data centers must be near a strong power source, but consuming too much energy leaves little for existing residents.
• ‍Land: Data center operations require a large amount of land and water, and both resources are limited. There’s steep competition for industrial parcels with the needed infrastructure, and water cooling systems often clash with local conservation efforts.
• ‍Housing: An influx of construction workers and operational staff can limit local housing supply. Eating up available land can also limit residential development. In the two years following a major project in Abilene, Texas, home prices surged nearly 20%, while rent prices jumped 33%.  

When local resources are stretched, a site that looks perfect on paper can quickly stall. We’re seeing this play out in New York’s Hudson Valley, where state and local development freezes are impacting data center plans.

Earning your trust license

As data center construction increases across the U.S., it begs the question: What happens to the people who are already living in these communities? When a car plant came to town a generation ago, people saw the benefit right away because it created tangible jobs – but a data center employs few people once it's built, leaving locals wondering: What’s in it for us?

A permit on paper doesn’t mean much if the community is against you. Trust is the real license you need to earn.  A recent poll revealed that only 1 in 7 Americans feel comfortable living near a data center, and Cotality analysis found that consumer trust in AI fell 14 percentage points over the last year.

To earn the trust of local communities, data center developers must turn what could be seen as a potential burden into a community anchor. This means opening the books, sharing the numbers, and building transparent frameworks where the local community shares the benefits.

Harnessing data for proactive planning

Demand for AI is often concentrated in large cities where offices and homes are located – but if data centers are too close to these cities, they risk diminishing the housing supply. And if they’re too far away, they can create a lag. This makes choosing sites for data center development a delicate balance.

Because every neighborhood is different, understanding the local landscape – from physical resources to community sentiment – can help you choose the right location. At Cotality, we believe the answers you need can be found in the data.

By combining robust geospatial mapping with deep demographic and economic insights, site selectors can model exactly how a new facility will impact regional grid capacity and housing prices before they break ground. When developers, utilities, and planners share a single source of truth, conversations shift from conflict to collaboration.

Streamlining data center development

While modern data centers create tax revenue, they can also become a burden on local resources. With that, the best locations for data centers aren’t necessarily the ones with the cheapest land. They’re the places where the community can absorb the impact and continue to thrive.

Want to dive deeper into the forces impacting data center development? Our industry experts covered siting strategies, community dynamics, and regulatory pressures in a recent webinar.

Watch the on-demand webinar to learn more or contact us to discuss how our data can help you confidently choose your next site.