In July, Equinox, a California-based REIT specializing in data centers, announced it was forming a $1 billion joint venture with GIC Pte., the Singapore sovereign wealth fund, to develop and operate data centers in Europe.

Data centers have become, in the oxymoron world of real estate, one of the “core niche” markets for investors looking at alternatives to the broader industrial marketplace. Other core niche markets include self-storage, student housing, senior housing and medical offices. In regard to the latter category, that niche market has spun off another subcategory, life science real estate, which is more laboratory in design than doctor office space.

While the old categories of real estate (office, industrial, multifamily, retail) are still the basic investment plays, sharp investors have been moving into these alternatives. So, instead of only investing in general multifamily properties, one could dive deeper into student housing or senior housing. Inste