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For a current reference point, JLL’s 2026 Global Data Center Outlook puts average global shell-and-core construction cost at $11.3 million per MW in 2026. That benchmark describes a single-tenant, 50 MW, air-cooled facility and excludes land acquisition and active IT equipment. It is not a complete budget for an operating data center.
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Start with the cost scope, not the per-MW headline
“How much does it cost to build a data center?” has no single answer until the project boundary is defined. A shell-and-core estimate and an operational facility budget can differ by hundreds of millions of dollars because they describe different deliverables.
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| Cost bucket | What it represents | How to treat it in an estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Land acquisition | Purchase or lease of the site and any associated transaction costs | Separate line item; excluded from JLL’s cited shell-and-core benchmark |
| Shell and core | The main building, structural work and core mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems represented by the benchmark | Use only with the benchmark’s stated project type, capacity and cooling assumptions |
| Utility and power infrastructure | Grid connection work, substations, transmission or generation contributions, batteries and related site infrastructure | Define explicitly; scope varies by site and may sit outside a shell-and-core figure |
| Tenant technology fit-out | Systems required for a particular operator or workload, including specialized AI infrastructure | Price separately from shell and core; JLL says AI fit-out can reach $25 million per MW |
| Active IT equipment | Servers, networking, storage and other energized technology | Excluded from the JLL shell-and-core benchmark |
Before comparing two proposals, write a one-page basis of estimate stating the location, IT capacity, building form, cooling approach, utility scope, schedule and inclusions. Without that statement, two apparently conflicting prices may both be reasonable.
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What the latest benchmark actually says
JLL reports the following average global shell-and-core costs for its specified facility type: a single-tenant, 50 MW, air-cooled data center, excluding land and active IT equipment.
| Year | Average shell-and-core cost | Status and scope |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $7.7 million per MW | Historical JLL benchmark for the stated 50 MW, air-cooled, single-tenant configuration |
| 2025 | $10.7 million per MW | JLL benchmark for the same stated scope |
| 2026 | $11.3 million per MW | JLL forecast for the same stated scope; excludes land and active IT equipment |
At the 2026 rate, multiplying 50 MW by $11.3 million per MW gives an illustrative $565 million shell-and-core figure. That arithmetic is not a total project budget: land, utility contributions, tenant fit-out, active IT equipment, financing, taxes and other owner costs are outside the stated benchmark unless separately added.
JLL also reports an average global build time of 18 months for a 50 MW data center. Schedule performance is not guaranteed: 57% of data-center projects experienced a delay of at least three months in 2025. The cost number and the delivery date therefore need to be evaluated together.
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Speed to power can determine the site
JLL identifies speed to power as the primary site-selection criterion and reports that waits for grid connection exceed four years on average in primary data-center markets. A site with inexpensive land is not economical if the required power cannot be delivered when the building is ready.
Early site screening should document the utility’s available capacity, connection date, voltage, reliability requirements, substation responsibility, transmission upgrades and any financial contribution requested from the developer. Treat each item as a dated assumption rather than as an unpriced promise.
Utility contributions change the project boundary
According to CBRE’s North America Data Center Trends H1 2025, utilities increasingly seek contributions from developers or occupiers toward generation and transmission capital expenditure. Those payments, engineering packages and construction obligations can materially change the owner’s budget while remaining absent from a shell-and-core benchmark.
Some projects are adding on-site generation and battery storage. These systems may improve resilience or shorten the wait for grid capacity, but they introduce equipment, civil, fuel, controls, permitting and maintenance scope. Do not assume that on-site power is included in a published per-MW construction rate.
Geography, scale and project scope
Construction labor rates, permitting, taxes, seismic or wind requirements, logistics, land prices and utility rules vary by market. JLL’s global average is therefore a reference point, not a quotation for a particular city. A credible comparison identifies the country and metro area, the project’s IT capacity, the number of phases and the date of pricing.
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Scale also affects procurement and design. A 50 MW single-tenant campus, a phased multi-building site and a small enterprise facility may have very different fixed costs per MW. Shared roads, substations, security, water systems and control rooms can be spread across phases, while a small project may carry those costs over fewer megawatts.
The 2025–2026 Turner & Townsend Data Centre Construction Cost Index draws on a survey of 250 industry experts and covers 52 markets. Its coverage is useful for market comparison, but an index should not be substituted for a project estimate with a defined scope.
Equipment procurement and supply-chain exposure
Rapid data-center expansion has extended lead times and challenged manufacturers’ ability to keep pace, JLL reports. Critical-path equipment can include electrical distribution gear, transformers, switchgear, generators, cooling plant and specialized controls. A building can be substantially complete yet unable to commission if one long-lead component is missing.
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- Early release: Developers may preorder selected materials and equipment up to 24 months ahead. This can protect the schedule but commits cash before every design detail is complete.
- Strategic inventory: JLL reports that some operators hold six to twelve months of inventory for critical components. Carrying that stock adds storage, insurance and obsolescence exposure, but may reduce dependence on uncertain deliveries.
- Specification flexibility: Naming acceptable equivalent equipment and standardizing interfaces can widen the supplier pool. Any substitution still requires engineering review, testing and authority approval.
- Phasing: Aligning equipment releases with energized capacity avoids buying all future phases at once, while preserving the dates required for the first operating halls.
Estimate the cost impact of each procurement path, including escalation, storage, expediting, redesign and the financial consequence of a delayed revenue date. A low purchase price is not low total cost if it pushes commissioning beyond the utility or customer milestone.
Labor availability and schedule risk
Limited skilled trades are a direct cost pressure. Electrical, mechanical, controls, commissioning and specialized installation crews may be scarce in markets where several large campuses are being built simultaneously. Competition raises wage rates, travel and accommodation costs, supervision requirements and the risk of resequencing work.
The 18-month average build time cited by JLL should be treated as a benchmark for a 50 MW facility, not a guaranteed program duration. Because 57% of projects saw delays of three months or more in 2025, an estimate should show schedule contingency and identify the activities that control energization and commissioning.
Schedule items that belong in the estimate
- Utility studies, interconnection approvals and equipment delivery dates
- Permitting, environmental reviews and inspection hold points
- Long-lead electrical and mechanical equipment release dates
- Availability of qualified trades during peak installation periods
- Integrated systems testing, commissioning and customer acceptance
- Temporary facilities, overtime, shift work and weather allowances where applicable
Compressing the program can require additional crews, prefabrication, overtime, air freight or parallel design. Price those measures explicitly instead of assuming that a shorter schedule is free.
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Air cooling versus liquid cooling
JLL reports that liquid-cooled facilities carry a 10% cost premium against its specified air-cooled benchmark. The percentage is a benchmark-specific adjustment, not a universal multiplier for every liquid-cooled project. The actual effect depends on rack density, heat-rejection equipment, water or coolant distribution, redundancy, controls and the point at which the fit-out scope begins.
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CBRE notes adoption of direct-to-chip and immersion cooling for high-density AI workloads. These approaches can change the mechanical plant, piping, heat exchangers, monitoring and maintenance requirements. They may also alter electrical and structural coordination, so cooling should be selected during concept design rather than treated as a late equipment swap.
Power density can change land and building needs
Higher power per rack increases heat to remove and can affect floor loading, electrical distribution, generator sizing and the amount of mechanical space. CBRE notes that higher rack power may change land needs. A design that fits a given IT load in one hall may require a different building footprint, yard arrangement or phased layout when the rack density changes.
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JLL reports that multistory facilities in the Americas add 20% to construction costs relative to its specified baseline. This adjustment applies to that benchmark and geography; it is not a rule for every multistory data center.
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Vertical construction can conserve expensive land or fit a constrained urban site, but it introduces structural design, vertical logistics, fire protection, equipment access and distribution challenges. A single-story plan may require more land and longer utility runs while simplifying lifting and maintenance. Compare the complete site and building cost rather than judging the structure in isolation.
Demand and market competition
CBRE attributes elevated North American pricing for large deployments to tight supply of contiguous power blocks, elevated build-out costs and competition from cloud and AI tenants. This is a market-specific observation, not a universal construction-cost multiplier. It explains why a project can face higher bids even when its technical design has not changed: contractors, equipment and powered sites are competing for the same delivery windows.
How to compare two data-center estimates
Use the following like-for-like checklist before deciding that one estimate is cheaper:
| Comparison axis | Questions to answer |
|---|---|
| Geography | Are both prices for the same country, metro, labor market, taxes and permitting environment? |
| Capacity and scale | Do they describe the same IT MW, total facility MW, phase count and tenant arrangement? |
| Cooling | Are both air-cooled, or does one include liquid cooling, direct-to-chip or immersion systems? |
| Building form | Are the facilities single-story or multistory, and is the 20% Americas adjustment relevant? |
| Scope boundary | Are land, shell and core, utility work, tenant fit-out and active IT equipment listed separately? |
| Power readiness | Does either price include grid upgrades, generation, batteries or developer contributions? |
| Procurement | Are lead times, escalation, early orders, inventory and expediting allowances consistent? |
| Schedule | Do both estimates include the same completion, energization and commissioning dates and contingencies? |
Preserve the benchmark’s full description wherever you use the JLL number: average global shell and core, 50 MW, single tenant, air cooled, with land and active IT equipment excluded. Removing those qualifiers creates a misleading comparison.
A practical process for building a defensible cost plan
- Define the basis of design. Record location, IT capacity, rack density, redundancy target, number of buildings, story count, cooling method and phasing.
- Set the commercial boundary. Separate land, shell and core, utility infrastructure, tenant technology fit-out, active IT equipment, professional fees, financing and owner contingency.
- Validate power assumptions. Obtain written utility information on available capacity, connection timing, required upgrades, contributions and interim-power options.
- Map the critical path. List permits, design packages, long-lead equipment, skilled-trade mobilization, energization and commissioning milestones.
- Price the local market. Use current subcontractor and supplier quotations for the selected market, then compare the result with published benchmarks such as JLL’s and Turner & Townsend’s market data.
- Model alternatives separately. Price air and liquid cooling, single-story and multistory forms, and grid-only versus on-site power as distinct options. Do not blend unlike scopes into one average.
- Assign contingencies by cause. Show allowances for design development, escalation, procurement, labor, utility uncertainty and schedule delay instead of hiding all risk in one unexplained percentage.
- Reconcile capacity and cost. Check that the electrical load, cooling capacity, building area and stated IT MW describe the same design before approving the estimate.
Common estimating mistakes and how to avoid them
- Using shell-and-core cost as an all-in price: Add excluded categories transparently, especially land, active IT equipment and AI tenant fit-out.
- Applying a global average to a local decision: Replace the average with market-specific labor, permitting, logistics and utility data.
- Ignoring the time to power: A construction start date is meaningless if the grid connection arrives years later. Make energization a separate milestone.
- Treating percentages as universal: JLL’s 10% liquid-cooling and 20% multistory figures apply to its stated baseline and, for multistory, the Americas. Do not transfer them automatically to another design or region.
- Leaving procurement until after design completion: Identify long-lead components early and compare the cost of preordering, inventory and expediting.
- Underpricing labor and delay exposure: Include market capacity, crew availability, overtime, resequencing and the financial effect of a late commissioning date.
- Comparing different capacity definitions: Confirm whether “MW” means IT load, utility service capacity or another project measure; use one definition consistently.
Bottom line for owners and developers
The most influential cost decision is often made before construction pricing: choosing a site with a credible power path and defining exactly what the budget includes. Start with a scope-controlled estimate, then adjust it for local market conditions, utility obligations, procurement lead times, labor availability, cooling technology and building form.
JLL’s $11.3 million-per-MW 2026 figure is a useful shell-and-core reference for a specific 50 MW, single-tenant, air-cooled facility, not a universal price for an operating data center. A defensible budget keeps every inclusion visible, ties each number to a date and design assumption, and treats power and schedule risk as cost drivers rather than footnotes.
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