SPONSORED: Principal Real Estate — Market and environmental considerations for data center investors

Since 2015, the amount of commissioned data center space in North America has experienced double-digit growth, from 2,000 megawatts in 2015 to 7,700 MW today, explains Casey Miller, managing director, portfolio management, of Principal Real Estate. In an interview published in the March issues of Institutional Real Estate Americas and Institutional Real Estate Asia Pacific, Miller, along with John Berg, senior managing director, head of private equity portfolio management, and John Leusink, director of architecture and engineering, also of Principal Real Estate, discuss what investors may want to consider when venturing into this market. “The characteristics we look for in noncore data centers, in addition to higher returns, include the location — a site that offers the ability to obtain proper entitlements and the ability to expand; proximity to population; access to fiber; and low risk of natural disasters,” says Berg. “Also, certainty and reliability of