How to Build and Fund Data Centers: Upcoming Two-Day Workshop
A hands-on workshop for real estate investors, developers, and capital allocators ready to understand the world's fastest-growing infrastructure asset class
Few parts of the built world are changing as quickly as digital infrastructure. The surge in AI workloads, cloud adoption, and enterprise computing has transformed data centers from a niche asset class into a core component of the global economy. Capital is pouring in, land with access to power is becoming scarce, and markets are competing to support the next generation of facilities.
But many real estate investors are still on the sidelines, or approaching this sector using frameworks borrowed from office, industrial, or basic infrastructure. Those frameworks no longer apply.
That’s why we’re launching How to Build and Fund Data Centers, a two-day interactive workshop led by Daniel English, Managing Partner at Legacy Investing, one of the country’s most experienced data center developers.
If you want to understand how data centers really work, how to evaluate sites with confidence, underwrite deals using real models, and speak the language institutional investors expect, you need this workshop.
By the end of these hands-on, live sessions, participants will have a clear framework for understanding how data centers function as assets and how investment decisions are made in the sector.
You’ll learn how to:
Understand the data center market: what it is, what’s driving demand, and where opportunities are emerging
Evaluate site fundamentals, including power access, fiber connectivity, cooling requirements, and land constraints that shape feasibility and returns
Compare project types, from ground-up development to conversions, hyperscale, co-location, and edge facilities
Analyze tenants and lease structures, and understand how revenue models differ from traditional real estate
Underwrite data center investments using real case studies and financial frameworks
Structure capital stacks and partnerships between developers, operators, and institutional investors
The Workshop
Day One: The Macro Playbook & How Data Centers Work
Why data centers behave differently from traditional real estate
The demand drivers behind AI, cloud migration, and enterprise workloads
Powered land and site selection, including how power access, fiber, cooling, and zoning shape feasibility
Project types and construction requirements across hyperscale, co-location, edge facilities, and conversions
Tenant structures, lease terms, and revenue models
Emerging trends, including high-density cooling, grid constraints, and infrastructure-style underwriting
Day Two: The Deal Level: Underwriting a Data Center Investment
How to underwrite a data center as an infrastructure investment rather than a conventional property
A ground-up development case study, from site acquisition through lease-up and exit
An office-to-data-center conversion case study, including retrofit costs and partnership structures
Capital stack design and investor alignment across developers, private equity firms, and infrastructure investors
Risk and return frameworks, including power pricing, tenant credit, capex exposure, and market selection
Participants will see how data center assumptions are built, tested, and evaluated using real underwriting examples.
Who’s Teaching
Daniel English, Managing Partner of Legacy Investing, is one of the leading data center developers and investors in the U.S. Over the course of his career, he has delivered more than 2GW of capacity and invested billions in facilities serving hyperscale, AI, and enterprise tenants. His work spans development, capital structuring, and infrastructure investment, with a focus on projects designed for next-generation computing demand.
Format & Access
Two live 90-minute sessions
Pre-read decks and case studies
Post-workshop access to Circle with recordings, underwriting models, and sample deal materials
All sessions will be recorded
Downloadable slides, templates, and financial models
Cost: $499
Who is This Workshop For? It’s designed for real estate investors, developers, capital allocators, and operators who want a practical, real-world understanding of how data center projects are evaluated and financed. The workshop is particularly useful for those considering entering the sector, allocating capital to digital infrastructure, or advising clients on development and investment decisions.
Brad is the founder and editor of Thesis Driven (www.thesisdriven.com), a publication covering innovation in the built world. Over the past decade he has co-founded General Assembly and Common which generated a combined $500M+ in enterprise value.
