After a brief slowdown to begin the summer, data center construction planning momentum picked up in July, again shining as the brightest sector in building, according to the Dodge Momentum Index released Aug. 6.
The Dodge Momentum Index, a measure of nonresidential projects entering the planning stages, increased 6.9% month to month in July. That growth follows a decline in June, largely stemming from data centers tapping the brakes.
“Data centers and broad-based growth across key institutional sectors supported stronger planning activity in July,” Sarah Martin, Dodge director of economic research, said in the report. “Sustained planning activity should bolster construction in late 2027, though real growth will prove more constrained as inflationary expectations are priced into project costs.”
Commercial planning, which data centers are a part of, expanded 4.1% month to month in July, per Dodge. Other planning areas within the commercial sector, such as office, warehouse, retail and hotel, slowed pace in July, the report said.
The institutional portion of the index painted a different picture, jumping 13.1% month over month. Education, healthcare, recreational, religious and public building planning each accelerated in July, with most of the strong month-to-month gain attributed to education and public building starts.
When compared to July 2025, the DMI was up 11.7%, with commercial planning up 13.8% and institutional planning up 7.6%.
For perspective, however, excluding data centers, commercial planning would be down 16.2% from 2025 levels, Dodge said, given the surge of activity from last year.
The largest commercial projects to start in July were:
- The $500 million data center campus in Petersburg, Virginia.
- The $500 million DFW20C data center in Fairfield, Texas.
- The $500 million Google Data Center (Project Avalon, Building 2) in Buffalo, West Virginia.
The largest institutional projects to enter planning in July included:
- The $351 million Northwestern Memorial Hospital Cancer Center in Chicago.
- The $300 million BeOne Medicines Research and Development Facility expansion in Pennington, New Jersey.
- The $300 million Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Agricultural Complex in Houston.
