By Mark Untiedt, Chief Operating Officer, MDI Access
The goal of every adaptive reuse project is simple to state: when the conversion is finished, the facility should run like it was designed as a data center from day one. Tenants and operators should never have to think about what the building used to be.
Getting there is an operations discipline. Over the years, I have seen that the conversions that perform best follow the same playbook.
Order the gear before the drawings are done
The main advantage of a conversion is time. One 2026 contractor analysis puts conversions 6 to 12 months ahead of new construction to power-on, but only if the long-lead equipment arrives when the building is ready for it. Switchgear, transformers, and generators can carry lead times of 30 to 60 weeks or more.
That means procurement starts early, in parallel with design. A vendor-neutral approach helps here: when the team is free to source across manufacturers, it can match equipment to the schedule and the requirement instead of a single catalog.
Phase capacity to match demand
An existing shell lets an owner bring capacity online in steps. In Milwaukee, MDI phased an existing building to 3MW of critical power for a REIT-owned facility. Each phase generates revenue while the next is designed and built, and the owner invests ahead of demand only as far as the market supports.
Put one team on the whole project
Conversions involve more unknowns than ground-up builds. Existing conditions surface during demolition, and decisions made in assessment shape every trade that follows. When the same team carries the project from technical assessment through commissioning, nothing gets lost between handoffs. An owner's representative who manages the general contractor, vendors, budget, and schedule keeps those decisions connected.
Commission everything, then plan for year five
Commissioning is where a converted building proves itself. Every system is tested under load and documented before the operations team takes over. From there, a structured preventive maintenance program keeps the facility performing over its full life.
The sustainability case is built in
As a LEED-certified architect, I appreciate what reuse does for a project's footprint. Keeping a building's foundation, structure, and envelope avoids much of the embodied carbon and construction waste that comes with new construction. Brownfield reuse also avoids clearing new land, and conversions inside cities can help revitalize an area without expanding its footprint.
Those benefits matter more each year to investors, tenants, and communities. With adaptive reuse, they come with the building.
Built to deliver
A conversion done well gives an owner a faster path to revenue, a smaller environmental footprint, and a facility that performs like it was purpose-built. That outcome comes from sequencing, procurement, and one accountable team from first assessment to final commissioning.
Talk to an Advisor about delivering your conversion.