DataBank Snaps up $2B Construction Loan for Data Center Build

DataBank locked in a $2 billion construction loan to jump-start the first phase of its massive data center campus in Red Oak, about 20 miles south of Dallas.

The financing and project scope were detailed in the Dallas-based firm’s press release and a Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation permit filings. According to the Dallas Morning News, the loan will fund the first three of eight planned data centers on the firm’s 300-acre site on Stainback Road. The buildings — dubbed DFW 9, DFW 10 and DFW 11 — total about 600,000 square feet and 180 megawatts of power, and the company said they’re already fully leased.

State filings indicate interior work is poised to begin on two of the buildings. Plans call for two-story facilities with data rack containment, tenant storage and office space.

DataBank pegged the DFW 10 interior build-out at $301 million, with a registered date in mid-March and an estimated completion in January 2027. The company also listed roughly $315 million for DFW 11 additions, registered March 30, with completion expected in March 2027.

The filings are preliminary and subject to change, and DataBank did not immediately respond to questions when they became public, according to the publication.

The loan is the largest in DataBank’s history and comes on the heels of other large capital raises, including a $1.6 billion credit facility extension and a $1.1 billion hyperscale securitization. In total, the company said it has lined up $4.7 billion in financing over the past year, according to the outlet.

“This financing, combined with existing power commitments, accelerates DataBank’s construction and delivery timelines for this campus by approximately 18 months,” President and CFO Kevin Ooley said in a statement. He added it would help bring “critical capacity to market on time.”

MUFG Bank, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, served as administrative agent, coordinating lead arranger and sole bookrunner, with additional digital infrastructure banks and institutional lenders participating, according to the outlet. Davis Polk advised DataBank on the transaction.

Business Insider also reported the bank is leading an effort to raise a separate $600 million loan tied to a fourth building at the campus, which is reportedly leased to a major hyperscaler that hasn’t been identified.

The deal surfaces as North Texas cements its role as a national data center magnet, fueled by AI-related demand and large power requirements. JLL projects Texas is on track to overtake Virginia as the world’s largest data center hub by 2030, while North Texas alone has nearly 3 gigawatts commissioned and more than 10 gigawatts planned.

— Eric Weilbacher