The data center boom in Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas shows no signs of slowing down.

Today DataNovaX, a Wylie-based build-to-suit data center provider, announced its first campus, a $1 billion Pioneer Park project in Wichita Falls. The initiative aims to be an “excellent alternative” to Dallas-Fort Worth’s tightening data center connectivity market.

DataNovaX Founder and CEO Ahmed Abdelghani

According to CEO Ahmed Abdelghani, the region’s abundant resources and business incentives make it “an extremely welcoming environment” for hyperscalers, data center operators, government agencies, and large enterprises. The data center is now accepting clients at Pioneer Park.

The CEO, who launched DataNovaX in January 2024, is also CEO of Star Texan Properties, which acquired a call center in Wichita Falls earlier this year, according to Data Center Dynamics.

“North Texas is one of the most exciting data center growth zones in the country,” Abdelghani said in a statement. “While the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s fiber connectivity is at or near capacity, North Texas’ Wichita Falls offers a world-class data availability zone with multiple metro and long-haul fiber pathways and network providers within a 1-mile radius.”

Phase II expansion with 150 MW promises major boost in capacity

Pioneer Park’s first phase features a 37,000-square-foot facility with 6 MW of power and N+1 systems redundancies. Phase 1 of the $1 billion investment property is expected to go live in December.

Looking ahead, Phase II is set to be transformative. It will feature a sprawling 550,000-square-foot facility with 150 MW of power designed to support high-density AI and HPC applications. The substantial increase in capacity will put Pioneer Park among the larger data centers in the region. 

“With extensive untapped, sustainable power resources from North and West Texas, and a multitude of metro, regional, and long-haul networks within a mile, Pioneer Park offers the scalability and high computing capacity required for today’s growing data needs,” Abdelghani said.

JLL report highlights region’s data center growth and challenges

According to a recent JLL report, the DFW metroplex remains one of the largest and fastest-growing data center markets in North America. Strong demand across various sectors drove the growth and momentum of the North Texas data center market in Q1 2024.

The commercial real estate firm noted that leasing activity has been robust, with major cloud service providers, technology companies, and enterprises pre-leasing significant portions of the new data center capacity under development. And rental rates for data center space in the DFW area continue to rise due to high demand and limited supply, with premium facilities commanding top-of-market rates.

However, the report also notes that addressing power availability and sustainability, as well as land constraints, remain challenges. 

DataNovaX highlighted Wichita Falls’ abundance of power and dense data connectivity. The park, located off I-44 Central E. Freeway and Highway 287 on Airport Drive, is situated next to Sheppard Air Force Base. 

Abdelghani said Pioneer Park can draw utility power from both North and West Texas, “enabling low-cost, sustainably sourced power resources that can scale alongside the organizations it supports.”

“It’s one of the major benefits of this location,” he said.

Pioneer Park’s benefits and future

DataNovaX said that Pioneer Park sits atop a rich data availability zone featuring:

• A multitude of network providers including Zayo, AT&T, Indian Nations Fiber Optic (INFO), Syntrio, Spectrum, Vexus, Comcell, Consolidated Communications, Crown Castle, Dobson Fiber, Hilliary Communications, MetroNet Fiber, Texas Lone Star Network, Uniti Fiber, and Windstream
• Ample dark fiber to support AI, high performance computing (HPC), and data-intensive applications
• Gold standard Cardinal Diversity with 4X fiber routes: North, South, East, and West
• A carrier-neutral provider ecosystem

Other major operators pour billions into North Texas

Other major operators like CyrusOne, Digital Realty, QTS, and NTT Data Centers have announced significant expansions or new campuses in North Texas, collectively representing billions in investment.

NTT Data is planning a $42 million expansion of its data center campus in Garland, which will add a 236,000-square-foot building scheduled for completion in April 2026. Prime Data Centers filed permits earlier this year for a $22 million, 96,800-square-foot data center in Dallas County, with construction expected to begin in May 2024 and finish in May 2025. The company is also considering additional facilities in the region, including plans for a $1.6 billion data center campus near Fort Worth.

PowerHouse Data Centers, in a joint venture with Harrison Street, acquired a 50-acre site in Irving-Las Colinas to develop a nearly one million-square-foot data center campus called PowerHouse Irving. On completion, the project will deliver a total power capacity of 200 megawatts, with construction slated to begin in early 2025.

CyrusOne announced plans to build a mega data center campus north of Dallas, capitalizing on the region’s strong demand. Its first facility in Allen will be 340,000 square feet. Meanwhile, Compass Datacenters signed a $3 billion contract last year to “build rooms containing power management equipment” to support power-hungry cloud-based services and the “new world” of AI. 

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