Power has always been the real estate industry’s favorite currency, but when it comes to artificial intelligence, it’s not about who you know, it’s about what you can plug into.
As AI drives unprecedented demand for electricity, developers and investors are scrambling to secure the most valuable asset of all: land wired for megawatts. The new “powered land” rush is changing how deals get made. Firms like Hines and Silver Lake are spending as much time studying utility maps as site plans, buying parcels with energy entitlements and locking in commitments from local grids. Once those connections are in place, the land itself becomes a highly tradable commodity.
Big money is following fast. BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners is reportedly nearing a $40 billion deal for Aligned Data Centers, one of the largest acquisitions of the year and a clear signal that Wall Street sees AI infrastructure as the next oil boom. But as valuations climb and grids strain to keep up, some analysts are warning of an overheated market. Local resistance to energy-hungry campuses is also growing, from Texas to the Pacific Northwest.
In Texas, the shift is happening at industrial scale. Nvidia-backed Poolside and cloud computing heavyweight CoreWeave are building a 500-acre, self-powered data center in the Permian Basin, running on natural gas pulled directly from beneath the site. Former governor Rick Perry’s “Project Matador” aims to go even bigger, targeting 11 gigawatts of capacity by 2038, an unprecedented fusion of real estate, energy and AI development that could redefine the region’s economic base.
Further north, the power dynamic is more complicated. Illinois’ strict biometric privacy law has pushed billions in data center investment toward neighboring states like Indiana and Wisconsin. Yet Chicago is trying to turn its tech future back on. Related Midwest and CRG are partnering with Blue Owl Capital and quantum startup PsiQuantum on a $1 billion “quantum campus” at the former U.S. Steel site, supported by both state and federal incentives.
On the West Coast, AI is reviving San Francisco’s battered office market. AI firms now account for nearly half of all leasing demand, with companies like Anthropic and Postman expanding downtown. Elon Musk, despite moving some of his empire to Texas, is doubling down locally. Neuralink just signed a full-building lease in South San Francisco, while xAI is searching for up to 250,000 square feet across the Bay Area. And the influx of companies and workers coming to the area has led to a fiercely competitive housing market.
And the current keeps spreading. In New York, Scale AI took 80,000 square feet at One World Trade Center and Harvey AI Corporation signed a 10-year lease at SL Green’s redeveloped One Madison Avenue. Databricks expanded in Seattle and Bellevue, and CoreWeave doubled its D.C. footprint to stay close to policymakers.
Even homebuyers are joining the circuit. A recent Realtor.com survey found that more than 80 percent of buyers and sellers now use AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini for market insights, many saying it’s made them “smarter about real estate.”
The industry has always been about power. Who has it, who wants it and who can afford to build around it. Now, that power is literal, and the grid itself has become a catalyst for growth.
There was plenty of other real estate news this week. SL Green says a casino could still be in the cards, Michael Shvo loses the Raleigh Miami Beach to Nahla Capital and new court filings shed light on Merchants Bank’s exposure to Moshe Silber.
SL Green isn’t completely giving up on Times Square casino
SL Green’s Times Square casino dream isn’t dead yet, according to CEO Marc Holliday. The firm’s $5.4 billion bid for a coveted casino license was rejected last month. But the REIT’s leader signaled on an earnings call Thursday that SL Green could still convert the building to another entertainment venue or a hotel — and that he may not be ready to fold on the casino plans just yet.
Shvo loses Raleigh Miami Beach in $270M sale to Nahla Capital
Developer Michael Shvo is out of the Raleigh Miami Beach project, the trophy property he once planned to redevelop into a Rosewood-branded luxury hotel and condo tower. New York–based Nahla Capital paid about $270 million for the Art Deco landmark, marking one of the biggest trades in Miami Beach this year and effectively ending Shvo’s run in the Miami Beach market.
Three real estate things to watch as shutdown goes on
As the federal government shutdown crossed the two-week mark, its effects are starting to trickle down from congressional gridlock. Some of the immediate effects were clear after Congress failed to vote on a budget bill to keep the government open, but effects of a federal shutdown on real estate are expected to become more severe over time. Data blindspots, HUD layoffs and mortgage rate nerves are some of the things to watch as the gridlock continues.
Merchants Bank reveals more exposure to embattled Moshe Silber
Merchants Bank’s exposure to convicted investor Moshe Silber is proving costly, with new court filings revealing multimillion-dollar losses tied to failed multifamily loans. The Indiana-based lender, already hit with $46.1 million in write-downs amid a federal mortgage fraud probe, financed at least seven properties linked to Silber, who is serving 30 months in prison for a $74 million loan scam.
MGM drops out of the casino race
MGM Resorts abruptly pulled out of New York’s high-stakes casino race, walking away from a $2.3 billion plan to expand its Yonkers property, despite being considered a shoo-in. The decision came as a shock after the project cleared a key community vote last month, leaving three contenders — Resorts World in Queens, Steve Cohen’s Metropolitan Park in Flushing and Bally’s in the Bronx — vying for up to three licenses.
Real estate heavyweights back Villaraigosa’s 2026 bid for governor
Antonio Villaraigosa, 72, leads on fundraising from donors among a crowded field of contenders in the California governor’s race, with support coming from real estate players like Related California’s Bill Witte, New York developer Joseph Moinian and Westside Estate Agency’s Kurt Rappaport.
ICE crackdown chills real estate in Chicago’s immigrant communities
A sweeping federal immigration crackdown is rattling Chicago’s immigrant communities, chilling home sales and sidelining buyers and sellers amid fears of heightened scrutiny. Operation Midway Blitz, which has led to more than 1,500 arrests across Illinois, has spooked even legal residents who worry that property transactions could draw unwanted attention.
Mamdani’s rent freeze is more likely than ever. Now what?
It’s no secret that landlords have not been happy about Zohran Mamdani’s promise to freeze rent in nearly half of New York City apartments. But with the election just weeks away and a Mamdani mayoralty looking more likely than ever, some rent-stabilized players have shifted their focus. If a rent freeze is a near certainty, they ask, what else can be done to mitigate growing distress in rent-stabilized portfolios?
Brooklyn Mirage files to demolish bankrupt venue
It’s been a long year for the Brooklyn Mirage. The East Williamsburg live music venue may be starting down a new path after the building’s owner has filed for a demolition permit for at least some of the venue, part of a bigger space called Avant Gardner. A demolition would cap a tumultuous series of months — ones that included canceled shows, bankruptcy filings and overrun renovation costs.
Read more
Developers muscle into game as “powered land” becomes next frontier
BlackRock eyeing $40B acquisition of Aligned Data Centers
Nvidia-backed firms plan massive West Texas AI data center
