- Vacancy in North American data centers dropped to a record-low 2.3% despite record-high capacity of 15.5 gigawatts.
- 73% of under-construction capacity is already pre-leased, with tenants committing 18–24 months in advance.
- Power availability is now the top constraint, shifting development toward areas near reliable energy sources.
- Up to $1T in investment is expected by 2030 as AI, cloud, and quantum computing fuel unprecedented demand.
Race to Lock In Capacity
Data center vacancy is at an all-time low, meanwhile, demand from AI, quantum computing, and cloud services continues to surge. As a result, tenants are being forced to commit to space much earlier in the development cycle, reports CoStar. JLL’s latest data center outlook reveals that tenants are now pre-leasing space up to two years before delivery—nearly doubling typical lead times from just a few years ago.
“The days of build-it-and-they-will-come are long gone,” said Matt Landek, division president at JLL’s US Data Center Work Dynamics group. “What we’re seeing now is ‘commit-before-it’s-built-or-you-won’t-get-in.’”
Power Is The Bottleneck
While developers plan to invest as much as $1T by 2030 to keep up with demand, energy availability—not space—is emerging as the key constraint. Commercial electricity prices are up 30% since 2020, and long grid-connection delays have developers looking to build near existing or planned nuclear power facilities.
“Power has become the new real estate,” said Andrew Batson, head of US data center research at JLL.
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Record Pipeline, Concentrated In Growth Markets
JLL reports a record 7.8 gigawatts of data center capacity currently under construction. That’s 10 times the pipeline volume from just five years ago. Northern Virginia remains the dominant hub, with 5.6 GW of capacity, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth at 1.5 GW. Other fast-expanding markets include:
- Phoenix (1.3 GW under construction)
- Chicago (1.18 GW)
- Atlanta (1.1 GW and doubling again by 2026)
- Columbus, OH (1,800% growth since 2000, with 2K acres acquired in two years)
What’s Next
New AI models, like China-based DeepSeek’s lower-cost offering, are expected to further inflate demand for compute and storage capacity. Industry disruptions—ranging from tariffs to technological shifts—have done little to slow the pace of development.
“The colocation market is experiencing unprecedented demand pressure under an increasingly stressful environment,” said Andy Cvengros, co-lead of JLL’s US Data Center Markets. “Despite the turbulence, the sector posted another record-shattering performance.”
As demand accelerates, both developers and tenants are shifting strategies to keep pace. The data center boom is now poised to reshape real estate, utility infrastructure, and regional economies across North America.
