Switch buys more land in NLV Apex Park for $95M

Data center owner Switch has expanded its footprint in North Las Vegas, purchasing an additional 140 acres in Apex Industrial Park for $95 million. This acquisition, which closed on March 18, brings Switch's total land in the remote industrial park to over 300 acres, indicating potential for numerous future data center developments. The company previously acquired a 176-acre tract in Apex in December for $85.5 million. Switch also operates data centers in the southwest Las Vegas Valley, including facilities designed for artificial intelligence systems. The city of North Las Vegas notes that Apex Industrial Park, located about 25 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, spans 18,000 acres with 5,000 acres available for development. Other companies, such as Utah-based Novva Data Centers, have also made significant land acquisitions in Apex for similar purposes, with Novva purchasing nearly 205 acres for almost $181 million last summer. The rapid expansion of data centers in Southern Nevada has raised environmental concerns, particularly regarding water usage. The region is grappling with a decades-long drought and severely reduced water levels in Lake Mead, its primary water source. In response, a ban on evaporative cooling systems for data centers was finalized in Southern Nevada in 2024, effectively prohibiting the construction of more water-intensive facilities. The broader data center industry is facing pushback across the U.S. due to environmental impacts and concerns over job displacement by AI systems.