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Data Center Site Validation
Attraction & Impact Solutions

ANNUAL DATA CENTER SPEND: A $200B MARKET

With spending on global data center infrastructure projected to reach $200 billion in 2022, the local economic and fiscal impacts of these investments are game-changing. A single data center can generate tens of millions of dollars of tax revenues to fund education, health, infrastructure, and other public priorities.


Despite  the  proliferation  of  data  centers  throughout  the United States from an economic development perspective many data center requirements, impacts & externalities remain shrouded in mystery:
 

Do we have the infrastructure required to attract a data center? If not, what do we need to invest in to become a viable site?
 

What are the critical "must-have" site selection factors for data centers? What does an optimal data center Request For Information look like?
 

How can we attract a hyperscale data center campus deployment? How important is renewable power to data center site selection?
 

How much annual tax revenue will a data center generate?
 

Is a data center the highest and best use of our "shovel-ready" sites?
 

How will a data center impact the need for additional publicly funded fire, police, emergency, public works, and educational resources?

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GPS has unmatched Public & Private Sector Industry Experience

  • Over 100 data center projects completed

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  • Over $10 billion in data center capital investments.

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  • Siting and attracting hyperscale data center operations on behalf of both government & end users.

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  • Supported over a dozen global hyperscale data center campuses.

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  • $1.5 billion in government & utility incentives and community benefit agreements executed.

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  • Executed data center strategy for utilities, government, & Fortune 50 tech companies.

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  • Crafted state and local data center attraction incentive policy, tax exemptions, entitlement processes workforce partnerships, & community benefit agreements.

UNRAVEL THE DATA CENTER MYSTERY

& MAXIMIZE COMMUNITY BENEFIT

GPS navigates the tough questions and looks around corners to ensure your organization is fully educated on the nuance of data center site selection. Understanding the cost structure, timing, and impact of a data center project will have on your community improves your ability to compete for transformational investments with significant economic impacts and that offer substantially above-average compensation for skilled workers. A sophisticated public partner can be the difference between ensuring long-term prosperity for constituents versus leaving tens of millions of dollars of tax revenue on the table and underfunded public institutions & infrastructure for years to come. GPS walks you through how data center project impacts should be measured, quantified, communicated, and socialized into economic development policies, commitments and contracts. GPS Activity Benefit to Cost (ABC) scorecards provide a framework to quantify externalities such as the incremental expense and impact of data center operations on fire, police, education & public work resources. Use ABCs to guide mutually beneficial community benefit agreements in education, workforce, housing, smart cities, and beyond that will drive inclusive opportunity & prosperity for today and generations to come.

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ATTRACTING DATA CENTERS 101:

1. LEARN TO SPEAK "DATA CENTER"

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2. KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE & USERS NEED

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3. CONNECT WITH PROSPECTS & BE READY

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SPEAK DATA CENTER FLUENTLY

Garnering the attention and respect of data center site selectors, brokers, developers, and end users require effectively communicating an enormous amount of detailed information surrounding infrastructure, power, taxes, financing, entitlement, permitting, regulatory framework, design & engineering. There are meaningful differences in cost, design and timing requirements for colocation, disaster recovery, enterprise, and hyperscale data center deployments. GPS team of data center real estate advisors, attorneys, engineers, public policy, tax, and workforce professionals empower communities and utilities with the information needed to become sophisticated communicators of all things data center related.

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KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE AND YOUR USERS NEED 

DATA CENTER SWOT ANALYSIS

Understanding your utility infrastructure. What "shovel ready" means is in the eye of the beholder. Time to target market is essential, specifically the ability to take a project from site preparation to vertical construction to active facility without permitting, entitlement or other typically front-loaded project components which end users struggle to complete. GPS Data Center Site Validation Team can provide high-level recommendations to address each site narrative individually and collectively in a comprehensive package or portfolio to be considered “market ready”:

  • Market SWOT Analysis

  • Site Utility Power Availability & Cost Analysis

  • Zoning Information & Current Zoning Map

  • Data Center Standards (if available)

  • AHJ letter confirming use-by-right Zoning

  • Craft Optimal Data Center Tax & Incentives Policy

  • Site Advantages, Limitations, & Recommendations

  • Customer/Exchange Proximity Review

  • ALTA/ACSM Land Title Survey

  • Telecommunication Latency Studies

  • Topographic Survey

  • Site R.O.W./Setback/Easement Impacts

  • Environmental Site Assessment

  • Cultural Resource Investigation

  • Geotechnical Investigation

  • Wetland Delineation/Jurisdictional Determination

CONNECT WITH END USERS & BE READY WITH A "MOCK REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL"

Undertaking a "Mock RFP" is a no-risk, invaluable exercise that allows you to assess the readiness of state, local, regional, and utility stakeholders in responding to a hypothetical user. The GPS Mock RFP provides candid, invaluable feedback in crafting the optimal response on cost, dark fiber, power, timing, and other critical site selection factors in a controlled environment. GPS increases your profile with end users:

 

  • Marketing Support, Dissemination of Collateral Marketing Material

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  • Website recommendations, Search Engine Optimization,

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  • Targeted Ads & Search

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  • Value Add Site Recommendations

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  • Industry Trade Association, Conference Participation, & Publication Sponsorship Opportunities

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  • Social Media Connections, Direct Outreach, & Facilitated Introductions
     

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