Global data center operator eyes construction of $1.4B campus in Bastrop

Data centers are massive hubs for computer processing power — commonly called "the cloud" — that are used by many companies and industries. While they don't create many long-term jobs, they do add value to a city's tax rolls because of the large amount of investment at the sites. But the U.S. data center boom has drawn criticism based on a variety of factors, such as the amount of power and water the facilities use.

Regardless, Central Texas has become a target for the industry. Earlier this year, Caldwell County approved a $1.3 billion data center campus from Prime Data Centers, while Skybox Datacenters LLC and Prologis Inc. revealed they were planning another one in the Hutto Megasite to complement a billion-dollar data center they already are building. That adds to growing data center hubs in Pflugerville, Southeast Austin and in Round Rock.

The projects could help fill a demand for new data centers projects. CBRE found that the nationwide vacancy rate among primary data center markets was 3.7% in the second half of 2023, near an all-time low.

The Austin-San Antonio region's total inventory ranked No. 2 among secondary data markets across the country, trailing just Central Washington and ahead of regions like Southern California, Seattle, Houston, Denver and Minneapolis, according to the data. The Central Texas vacancy rate was 1.8% in the second half of last year.