AI data-center construction lifts US warehouse rents, JLL says

AI data-center construction is changing the US industrial property map, with suppliers and infrastructure contractors seeking warehouse space near hyperscale campuses, real-estate services firm JLL said in its third-quarter market report.

JLL identified Dallas-Fort Worth and the Washington, DC area as notable beneficiaries. Average asking rents reached $10.55 per square foot, up 3.2% from a year earlier—the fastest annual increase since the second quarter of 2024. The figure covers triple-net leases, in which tenants separately pay property taxes, insurance and common-area maintenance.

Infrastructure becomes a new industrial tenant

JLL said demand from construction, telecommunications and utilities-related tenants increased as infrastructure-intensive industries expanded. That matters because the data-center boom is spreading beyond server halls: electrical equipment, building materials and network suppliers need staging and distribution space, often close to projects where speed and logistics are critical. The report does not suggest every warehouse market is being reshaped equally, but it does show how AI capital spending is feeding through to a broader commercial-property segment.

Image: JLL official Data Centers page / JLL Scene7 CDN.

Sources

Reuters