Data Center Site Selection with Kris McGee

On this episode, I sit down with Kris McGee to unpack site selection and what really drives billion-dollar data center decisions.

Big Tech is on the move:

• Elon Musk’s xAI just secured 1,000,000 ft² in Memphis
• Microsoft and Amazon are locking down land across North Carolina

From massive power demands to water for cooling, you’ll learn why there’s no one-size-fits-all playbook in this space. Robots and AI need a home too—and data centers are quickly becoming one of the most critical (and competitive) real estate asset classes.

We also dive into the wild pricing spreads Kris has tracked in North Carolina:

• $960,784/acre (Charlotte metro, Digital Realty)
• $42,000/acre (Catawba County, Microsoft)
• $19,000/acre (Person County, Microsoft)

That’s a 50x difference inside one state. For comparison, Virginia’s “Data Center Alley” averages $2M+ per acre.

If you’re curious where the next wave of data center investment is headed—and what it means for real estate—this episode breaks it down.

Thanks for listening, 

Carson Jones

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