How I Underwrote a $108M Data Centre in Louisiana

I underwrote a $108M data centre in Louisiana.

This asset is shovel-ready with power on.

- 55,450 SF across a multi-building campus
- 6.18-acre brownfield, fully zoned and permitted
- 10MW grid power available immediately
- 10MW BTM available concurrently
- Path to 35MW via onsite substation (9–12 months)
- Optional 50-acre expansion parcel at $25M
- 20–30 year state tax exemptions available

Open to debt, equity, or a combination.

To fund deals like this, I ask 4 questions:

1) What stage of risk are we in?

- All zoning and permitting already in place
- Grid power is live and contracted
- Infrastructure actively under construction
- BTM power available as a concurrent supplement

The entitlement risk is gone. The utility risk is gone.
An operator can be operational in under 90 days.

2) What makes the location work?

- Pro-business state with strong DC tax policy
- Full tax exemption on equipment and construction
- 20–30 year incentive periods (rare in any market)
- No environmental entitlement risk (brownfield)

3) How is downside protected?

- Hard asset with existing infrastructure
- Immediate power de-risks the hard part
- Powered land holds significant value before LOIs

4) Can we control the exit?

- Option A: lease to a CoLo or hyperscale operator
- Option B: sale to an infrastructure fund or DC REIT
- Option C: build-to-suit for an AI tenant
- Option D: sell powered land separately

The market for powered, permitted data centre sites is thin. This is one of the few that can actually deliver in 2025.

My verdict:

- Strong fit for private credit
- Strong fit for family offices
- Strong fit for DC operators seeking powered sites

Personally, I'm still learning how to underwrite data centres; each one is genuinely different. But this one is about as straightforward as it gets.

If you allocate to real assets, let's connect 👋