Data Centers Displace Office Construction

U.S. construction spending on data centers recently exceeded spending on office buildings, driven by demand for AI processing, major tech firms expanding campuses, and large institutional investors placing long-term bets. That shift is already reshaping construction backlogs at major builders (Turner: >1/3 backlog tied to data centers) and redirecting where land, power and water are prioritized. — If sustained, this reallocation changes urban economies, tax bases, permitting politics, grid planning, and labor demand — creating new policy and political issues at local, state and federal levels.