Data Centers & AI Campus Real Estate
The fastest-growing institutional asset class — where AI demand meets hard infrastructure
Data centers and AI campuses have become the most capital-intensive and supply-constrained asset class in commercial real estate, driven by the exponential compute demands of large language models and cloud hyperscalers. This course covers every layer of the investment stack: Tier I–IV facility ratings, powered-shell versus colocation versus hyperscale lease structures, power infrastructure underwriting, and how to evaluate fiber access and utility capacity in Florida markets. You will learn to model the AI demand multiplier on development yields and cap rate compression, and to analyze the 20-year NNN leases that make hyperscale tenants among the strongest credits in institutional CRE.
What you'll learn
- Identify and compare the four types of data center investments: powered shell, colocation, hyperscale build-to-suit, and REIT-owned portfolio assets
- Underwrite a powered-shell deal by modeling critical load capacity, power cost per megawatt, and developer yield on cost
- Explain Tier I through Tier IV Uptime Institute ratings and articulate how redundancy requirements affect construction costs, tenant credit, and cap rates
- Analyze hyperscale tenant credit quality and dissect 20-year NNN lease structures including renewal options, power escalations, and termination provisions
- Evaluate Florida data center markets by comparing power cost per kWh, fiber connectivity, hurricane risk, and available utility capacity across major submarkets
- Model the AI demand multiplier effect on absorption rates, cap rate compression, and greenfield development yields using real transaction comparables
Lessons
- 01
Why Data Centers — The Infrastructure Bet on Everything Digital
Data centers are the fastest-growing institutional CRE category. This lesson explains what drives demand, why AI is a structural inflection point, and why now is the most important moment in data center real estate history.
14 min - 02
Data Center Types and Tier Ratings — What Investors Need to Know
Not all data centers are the same. This lesson covers the four investment types (hyperscale, powered shell, colocation, edge), the Uptime Institute Tier I–IV rating system, and why these distinctions determine cap rates, tenants, and lease structures.
15 min - 03
Power Infrastructure — The Most Important Spec in Data Center Real Estate
In data center real estate, power is the product. This lesson covers MW vs kW vs kVA, critical power vs IT load, PUE, cooling systems, generator backup, UPS, and why utility interconnection is the single biggest constraint on new supply.
16 min - 04
Cap Rates, Lease Structures, and Pricing Data Centers
Data center cap rates, lease structures, and valuation differ significantly from conventional CRE. This lesson covers how to price data center real estate, read a hyperscale NNN lease, and model the income stream.
15 min - 05
Florida Data Center Markets — Where Demand Is Headed
Florida is emerging as a top-tier data center market. This lesson covers the state's power grid, fiber infrastructure, key submarkets (Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville), and how Florida stacks up against Ashburn, Chicago, and Phoenix.
14 min - 06
Underwriting a Data Center Deal — A Step-by-Step Framework
Data center underwriting is fundamentally different from conventional CRE. This lesson walks through a full underwriting checklist — power, lease, tenant credit, physical infrastructure, and development pro forma — for both stabilized assets and powered shell developments.
17 min - 07
The AI Demand Surge — What It Means for Data Center Real Estate Through 2035
AI is not just another data center demand driver — it is a structural inflection point. This lesson covers GPU cluster power requirements, liquid cooling, the AI real estate investment thesis, and what the next decade looks like for data center CRE.
14 min
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