The Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Heitman have released “Investment Strategies in the AI Era: Power Is the New Location,” the sixth report in the ULI-Heitman Evolving Real Estate Investment Risks and Opportunities series.
The report explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping real estate economics and redefining the drivers of long-term value creation. As demand for computing power accelerates, access to reliable power, digital connectivity and infrastructure capacity is becoming increasingly important. Markets with abundant energy, transmission capacity, fiber connectivity and the ability to deliver new power quickly could gain a growing advantage in attracting investment, development, jobs and economic activity.
The report also highlights the scale of the opportunity: Global data center investment is projected to exceed $7.6 trillion by 2031, including approximately $2.1 trillion tied directly to real estate. The resulting demand for power, land, connectiv
