Dallas-based firm lands $2 billion construction loan for data center campus

Dallas-based data firm DataBank has announced it secured a $2 billion construction loan for the first three of eight planned data centers at its 300-acre Red Oak campus. The facilities, named DFW 9, DFW 10, and DFW 11, encompass 600,000 square feet and 180 megawatts of power, and have already been leased by an undisclosed major hyperscaler. The financing is the largest in DataBank’s history, bringing its total recent financing to $4.7 billion. According to company president and CFO Kevin Ooley, this loan, combined with existing power commitments, will accelerate the construction and delivery timelines for the campus by about 18 months. Interior work on two of the buildings is expected to begin soon, with an estimated completion date of January 2027 for DFW 10 (costing $301 million) and March 2027 for DFW 11 (costing $315 million), based on Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filings. MUFG Bank Ltd. served as the administrative agent, coordinating lead arranger, and sole bookrunner for the transaction, with support from other digital infrastructure banks and institutional lenders. Davis Polk acted as DataBank's legal adviser. The firm also stated that the loan aligns with its "green financing framework," requiring the facility to meet specific power usage, water conservation, and carbon emissions reduction criteria, contributing to DataBank's goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. North Texas, particularly Ellis and southern Dallas County, is experiencing a boom in data center projects, with nearly 3 gigawatts commissioned and over 10 gigawatts planned, positioning the region as one of the largest and fastest-scaling data center markets globally.