{"id":1004807294,"date":"2026-08-05T08:12:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004807294"},"modified":"2026-08-05T08:21:43","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:21:43","slug":"turning-brownfields-into-data-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/turning-brownfields-into-data-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning Brownfields Into Data Centers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wyatt Kendall<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Demand for data centers has reached a fever pitch as explosive investment in and demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing continue to intensify. As the race for AI dominance heats up, demand for data centers shows no signs of slowing. Yet as this race intensifies, challenges such as entitlement delays, community resistance and infrastructure shortfalls are becoming significant obstacles to bringing new data centers online in traditional \u201cgreenfield\u201d rural and suburban areas. These challenges are prompting developers to rethink the traditional development playbook and look to alternative sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One promising alternative is the reuse of former industrial sites with potential environmental concerns, known as \u201cbrownfield\u201d sites. Since brownfield sites are often legacy industrial and manufacturing sites, they can offer built-in infrastructure, existing industrial zoning frameworks, access to water, attractive financial incentives and less community pushback. Government officials have begun to recognize these benefits. Earlier this year, following Executive Order 14138, which directed the federal EPA to identify brownfield sites and accelerate federal permitting for their redevelopment, the federal EPA published \u201cGuidance on the Redevelopment of Superfund and Sites as AI Data Centers\u201d to provide a framework and insights into these strategic opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rising challenges for projects<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Community pushback to conventional data center projects in rural and suburban communities has evolved from a manageable issue to a potentially project-killing problem. In suburban and rural communities across the U.S., opposition to new data center construction continues to intensify as NIMBY messaging takes hold. Rural and suburban residents often cite concerns, whether or not grounded in fact, about the loss of open land, water consumption, noise and power availability. Even the most well-capitalized data center developers now face community opposition that can significantly delay or even kill a project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CPE Capital Markets Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Executive Editor Therese Fitzgerald delivers the capital markets intel that moves the needle.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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