If you’re leasing space for offices, labs, or light industrial, the surge in data centers matters—and you should care. A major driver of real-estate change now is digital infrastructure: power, cooling, connectivity. The numbers are striking.

• In the U.S., data-centers consumed ≈ 176 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2023, which is about 4.4% of total U.S. electricity consumption.
• Globally, electricity use from data centers is projected to climb to ≈ 945 TWh by 2030, more than double current levels.
• Goldman Sachs forecasts global power demand for data centers could rise ~165% by 2030 vs 2023.

What does that mean for you as a tenant? In short: your competition for “good” real-estate is changing. And what qualifies as “good” is shifting.

Data Centers and the Digital Economy

The drivers are intense: cloud growth, AI workloads, 5G/edge, large-scale compute, all converging to demand enormous infrastructure. A few compelling numbers:

• In the U.S., data-centers are expected to account for a rapidly growing share of electricity use. Barclays estimates U.S. data-center power demand could grow 14%-21% annually through 2030, potentially tripling from ~150-175 TWh in 2023 to as much as ~560 TWh.
• Globally, vacancy in data-center space is extremely low: one report puts global weighted-average vacancy at ~6.6% in Q1 2025.
• In the U.S., large-scale data-center capital spend is already in the tens of billions: one firm reports ~$31.5 billion annualised spending on new U.S. data-center construction.

The takeaway: the “digital‐infrastructure” wave is real, and it’s rewriting the rules of real-estate competition.

Understanding Digital Infrastructure: The New Backbone of Business and Real Estate

In today’s digital economy, digital infrastructure forms the backbone of every organization’s operations—an interconnected system of physical infrastructure, data centers, cloud computing, and networking solutions that enable companies to operate, scale, and innovate.

In simplest terms, digital infrastructure refers to the layers of hardware, software, and digital services that support data exchange, cloud operations, and communication across global networks.

As digital technologies continue to evolve, digital infrastructure encompasses far more than servers and storage—it integrates operating systems, cloud services, and digital infrastructure services that keep business processes running in real time.

This multi-layered framework supports remote work, software applications, and the data connectivity required for modern enterprise growth. In this context, data centers are no longer just utility consumers; they’re the key components of a digital ecosystem that underpins corporate strategy, enabling companies to leverage digital operations for long-term success and competitive advantage.

For corporate tenants, understanding how digital infrastructure relate to occupancy strategy is crucial. Access to reliable networks, secure cloud platforms, and robust physical hardware is as important as square footage.

In a digital world defined by vast amounts of data, rising interest in cloud, and constant technology trends, CRE decisions now depend on a property’s ability to host and support digital infrastructure important to business continuity. The result: a new market dynamic where infrastructure, data, and connectivity are the real levers of value creation.

The New Fundamentals: Infrastructure First

Traditionally, site selection in CRE meant: good transit, labour market, cost per sq ft. Today the first question is: can this site deliver the power, connectivity and cooling needed for high-density compute?

Because many markets are limited by grid capacity, the constraint for new data centers is not land (per se) but time-to-power. One analysis by Newmark says U.S. data-center project power demands exceed what utilities are slated to supply by roughly 50%.

Key implications for corporate tenants:

• A site in a “good” city might be less competitive if its power infrastructure is maxed out.
• If a data-center development enters your submarket, it may raise land and utility pricing for other uses.

Asset-Class Bifurcation

What’s happening: commercial real-estate is splitting into two broad tracks. One track is “digital-infrastructure-capable” (data centers, high-density labs, edge hubs). The other is “traditional” office/light industrial.

In emerging markets, data-center conversions of older industrial or even office real-estate are increasingly common. One report states that ~24% of industrial-zoned site acquisitions in recent years were for data-center  development.

For tenants:

• If you lease a space in a building without infrastructure depth, you may face a higher risk of obsolescence or conversion pressure.
• Alternatively, buildings that were previously considered “secondary” markets may offer value if real-estate owners are chasing land for data-centers, leaving other tenants with better concession opportunities.

Lease Economics Are Changing

When power, cooling and latency matter, lease metrics shift. Rent per sq ft remains relevant—but just part of the story. Consider these evolving metrics:

• kW per sq ft or kW footprint of your tenancy.
• Time to utility connection or upgrade milestone in the lease.
• Pass-throughs and energy escalation tied to high-density usage.
• Service levels / redundancy associated with mission-critical infrastructure.

For example, a major report shows colocation data-center average rents (in North America) varying by scale: for >20 MW deals, ~$129 /kW/month; for 1-5 MW deals ~$157/kW/month.

Leases in high-density space increasingly include commitments from landlords around infrastructure availability. For tenants, the negotiation should include:

• Representations and warranties about utility infrastructure (substation, fibre, redundancy).
• Escalation or audit rights for utility and pass-through charges.
• Rights to terminate or relocate if infrastructure milestones are not met.

Strategic Actions for Tenants

Embed Infrastructure Metrics Into Your Site Strategy

When you evaluate sites, alongside labor, access and cost, include:

• Available kW per sq ft and expansion potential.
• Cooling capacity and adaptability (liquid cooling, high-density racks).
• Connectivity (fiber landing, latency).
• Utility risk: grid upgrade timelines, power pricing, backup capacity.

This gives you a broader and more realistic view of site quality and risk.

Build Infrastructure Protections Into Leases

Don’t assume base rent covers everything. You should:

• Ensure landlord commits to infrastructure delivery dates tied to occupancy.
• Include audit rights for energy, power, cooling pass-throughs.
• Negotiate escalation caps or shared cost structures where you’re using high-density infrastructure.

Rethink Location Strategy With Flexibility

Markets once avoided (secondary/tertiary) because of perceived risk now may offer advantages: less grid congestion, available land, speed to permit. For example, many data-center developers are turning to West Texas, or suburban markets outside major hubs.

For your organization:

• Consider a mix of locations: core premier sites + secondary sites with better infrastructure headroom.
• Size your portfolio for agility: have the ability to shift workloads, expand or contract, move to locations with better infrastructure economics.

Monitor Portfolio Risk and Future‐Proof

Look at your existing leases and footprint and ask:

• Which sites may face rising cost or obsolescence because of infrastructure constraints?
• Which markets may be squeezed by new data-center developments, raising land/utility costs for remaining tenants?
• Are you positioned to adapt if your business demands shift (e.g., more compute, labs, edge deployments)?

The Cost & Risk Landscape You Must Know

Even for tenants that don’t operate data-centers, there are knock-on risks:

• Utility infrastructure bottlenecks: where grid upgrades are delayed, your site may face higher cost or delivery risk.
• Escalating power and cooling cost pressures: as data-center demand pushes pricing, landlords may pass through higher costs.
• Obsolescence risk: assets without infrastructure depth may lose competitiveness or face conversion pressure.
• Environmental/regulatory risk: Data-centre growth is facing scrutiny for energy consumption, water usage and community impacts. One study in Texas flagged that a 10 MW data centre can emit ~37,668 metric tons of CO₂ annually plus generator NOₓ emissions.

These risks mean you must expand your real-estate diligence beyond typical market rent and location to include infrastructure, utility risk, asset resilience and flexibility.

Looking Ahead: What the Next 5-10 Years Look Like

We are entering a decade of repositioning and renormalization in CRE, underpinned by digital-infrastructure demand. Key points:

• The pipeline of data-center capacity is enormous: one North America report predicts more than 100 GW of capacity across colo + hyperscale could break ground or deliver between 2025-2030.
• In many core hubs, pre-leasing is extremely high: one report states ~73% of under-construction capacity is pre-leased.
• Because infrastructure is constrained, lease terms and pricing are shifting—not just for data centers but for all asset classes in impacted markets.
• For tenants, real-estate will increasingly integrate operational/IT strategy, not just head-count and location. Your facility may at once support office work, labs, edge computing, R&D—embedding infrastructure intensity in ways that previously were niche.

Final Word

As a tenant, the competitive advantage in real-estate no longer lies solely in staff-amenities or metro prestige—it lies in operational resilience, infrastructure readiness, and flexibility to evolve. A site that looked “cheap” because of base rent may turn out expensive when you factor in utility risk, grid delay, cooling upgrades or relocation risk.

Real-estate decisions now call for a dual runway: space + infrastructure. If you get that right, you’ll secure cost-effective, future-ready occupancy. If you don’t, you risk being stuck with legacy assets in markets being re-priced by others.

In an era where data is the new currency, your real-estate portfolio isn’t just a roof and floor—it’s the foundation for your digital and operational footprint.