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Site Selection Services

The right region, backed by evidence instead of guesswork

Choosing where to build or expand a data center is one of the biggest financial decisions in the entire project.

The same facility in two different regions can differ by millions of dollars a year in power rates, labor costs, and taxes alone. MDI compares candidate regions and metro areas against the factors that matter most for a mission-critical facility, including power availability and rates, labor market strength, tax incentives, and connectivity, producing a ranked, evidence-based shortlist instead of a guess.

What You Can Expect

A full regional comparison, built around the eight factors that move the outcome.

Power & Utility Rates

Compared across every candidate; the same facility can cost millions more a year depending on where it sits.

Labor Market

Workforce availability, cost, and skill level, so staffing doesn't become harder than building.

Tax & Cost Incentives

Incentives that are easy to miss without someone looking for them.

Construction Costs

Material, labor, and permitting costs compared market to market.

Land Cost & Availability

Including room for future expansion, not just the current build.

Connectivity & Fiber

Carrier diversity and latency your end users will depend on.

Regional Risk

Seismic, flood, and severe weather exposure over a 20 to 30 year facility life.

Side-by-Side Scorecard

One ranked comparison for a board or investment committee.

Why Region Matters

The same facility, in two different regions, can differ by millions of dollars a year before a single server is installed.

How You Win

Built to Last

A decision based on long-term operating costs, not familiarity with a market.

Lower Risk Exposure

Natural disaster and climate risk caught before it threatens uptime.

Incentives Captured

Tax advantages found before ground is broken, not after.

A Defensible Rationale

Documentation a client can stand behind with a board or lender.

Mission-Critical Expertise

Not a generalist commercial real estate process adapted after the fact.

Evidence-Led Shortlisting

Due diligence dollars go toward the sites with the best chance of winning.

Our Approach

Define the Criteria

A weighted scoring framework built around this project's power, timeline, budget, and risk requirements, not a generic checklist.

Screen Candidate Markets

Compare power, connectivity, labor, climate, and incentives across a broad list of regions.

Validate the Data

Confirm utility capacity, permitting paths, and risk exposure against primary sources, not broker claims.

Score and Rank

Apply the same weighted criteria to every candidate for a side-by-side comparison.

Deliver the Recommendation

A ranked shortlist and the evidence behind it, ready for the final decision and negotiation.

Proven Success

Colohub Midwest

A 57,000 square foot greenfield facility in Bettendorf, IA, sited and phased to support enterprise and colocation workloads from day one.

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HFT Data Center Program

Sited across eight markets, including Chicago, New Jersey, New York, Singapore, Toronto, Atlanta, London, and Paris, where proximity to the exchanges a client trades on was itself a site selection requirement.

View Project →

Where This Fits

Site Selection is one of ten services MDI offers across the full project lifecycle. Clients can engage at any point, whether that means this one service or several together.

Part of Our Integrated Services Offering

Site Selection is often where an engagement starts, but it doesn't have to be.

Clients bring MDI in at whichever point the project needs support, from an early regional comparison through construction oversight and long-term maintenance.

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Talk to an Advisor About Site Selection

Get a region comparison built around what matters for your project, not a generic checklist.

Talk to an Advisor

855.634.3282

info@mdiaccess.com

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