How master planning, power strategy, and early-stage development are reshaping the data center industry
At the infra/STRUCTURE Summit 2025, held October 15–16 at The Wynn Las Vegas, one of the event’s most forward-looking discussions tackled the changing dynamics of the pre-development phase in digital infrastructure.
Moderated by Philbert Shih, Managing Director of Structure Research, the session, “Pre-Development and Evolving Models”, explored how early-stage development has evolved into a strategic discipline of its own. Joining Shih on stage were Nat Sahlstrom, Chief Energy Officer at Tract; Brandon Amber, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of Doma Infrastructure Group; and Mark McComiskey, CEO of AVAIO Digital Partners.
Together, these leaders shared how they are navigating challenges around power access, land readiness, and entitlement complexity while shaping new models designed to meet the unprecedented pace of global demand.
Creating a Market Segment Out of Pre-Development
Shih opened the session by framing the conversation around an emerging market reality: pre-development is no longer a supporting activity, it’s becoming its own business model.
“From a research perspective, pre-development has grown into a market segment in and of itself,” Shih noted. “It’s where timelines, capital, and innovation intersect, and where future capacity is truly created.”
McComiskey agreed, explaining that his firm identified early on that the long lead times required to secure land, entitlements, and power were creating bottlenecks that could stall digital growth.
“We saw that power and transmission constraints were going to slow down the digital revolution,” McComiskey said. “Our solution was to think like a utility, secure the land and power first, so when customers are ready, they can move immediately.”
AVAIO Digital Partners is offering “ready-to-build” campuses at scale, helping hyperscalers and operators bypass years of red tape. Which is done through acquiring and master-planning large tracts of land with utilities and infrastructure pre-engineered.
The Master Plan Advantage
Sahlstrom emphasized that master planning goes beyond speed to market. He believes it’s about resilience, predictability, and community impact.
“Even with strong utility partnerships, unexpected constraints can always emerge,” Sahlstrom said. “By approaching development as a 10-year master plan, you reduce risk and create predictability, not just for investors, but for the communities where we build.”
Sahlstrom pointed out that large-scale digital campuses are now being designed for hundreds of megawatts of capacity. These campuses integrate everything from power distribution and water systems to long-term sustainability planning, positioning them as both critical infrastructure and engines of economic development.
Finding Value in Underserved Markets
Amber offered a global perspective on how pre-development strategies are unlocking value in underserved regions.
“We’re seeing similar challenges around power and land across the Asia-Pacific and U.S. markets,” Amber explained. “Whether it’s Australia, Malaysia, or emerging economies like Thailand, success starts with solving those pre-development problems early.”
Amber noted that the industry’s traditional focus on Tier 1 markets is expanding outward. Companies like Doma are targeting secondary cities and edge regions, where power can be secured faster and closer to end users. A strategy that’s increasingly critical for AI workloads and latency-sensitive applications.
Filtering the Noise: Quality Over Quantity
As the discussion turned toward the market landscape, the panelists agreed that one of the biggest challenges today is information overload. With speculative projects and site proposals flooding the industry, separating viable opportunities from noise has become a strategic necessity.
“Teams are getting thousands of site proposals every month,” Sahlstrom said. “The real challenge is filtering for quality and identifying the projects that are actually entitled, powered, and deliverable.”
This growing “signal-to-noise” problem underscores the need for deeper collaboration between developers, utilities, and hyperscalers.
The Human Factor: Talent and Expertise
All panelists pointed to talent as another defining challenge in pre-development. With global expansion accelerating, competition for specialized skills in engineering, construction, and power management is intensifying.
“We’re seeing rotation across all levels. Hyperscalers hiring from operators, operators hiring from utilities,” Amber said. “Everyone’s competing for the same expertise, and that’s shaping how partnerships are formed.”
Rather than viewing the talent gap as a limitation, the panel saw it as an opportunity for specialization and partnership, allowing expert teams to focus on the most critical aspects of the pre-development lifecycle.
Building the Foundation for What’s Next
In closing, Shih summarized the session’s central message: pre-development has become the defining stage of digital infrastructure creation.
“This part of the industry used to be invisible,” he said. “Now, it’s where the most strategic value is being created, and where innovation will determine who leads the next wave of digital growth.”
By anticipating constraints, planning for resilience, and aligning with utilities and municipalities early, these leaders are laying the foundation for the next decade of cloud, AI, and edge infrastructure.
Infra/STRUCTURE 2026: Save the Date
Want to tune in live, receive all presentations, gain access to C-level executives, investors and industry leading research? Then save the date for infra/STRUCTURE 2026 set for October 7-8, 2026 at The Wynn Las Vegas. Pre-Registration for the 2026 event is now open, and you can visit www.infrastructuresummit.io to learn more.
