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What is the Bisnow DICE Series?
DICE (Data Centers Investment Conference & Expo) is Bisnow's dedicated conference series for the data center industry. Each event convenes the developers, investors, operators and infrastructure providers actively shaping data center growth in that market, with programming built around the deals, challenges and opportunities specific to the region or topic. View all upcoming DICE events here!
Speakers and Panels
The Sunbelt Build Cycle, Honestly: What Is Real, What Is Announced and What Is Stalling
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Brandon Hunt
President & Managing Member
FortLine Ventures
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Clifton Beech
Of Counsel
Blank Rome
What Turns Dirt Into a Data Center
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Gordon Kellerman
EVP
Skybox Datacenters
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David Pickett
VP, Engineered Systems
McGough Construction
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Christopher Brunetti
Vice President
National Technologies (NTI)
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Chelsy Clark
Principal
Martin/Martin
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Hunter Schaaf
Director, Data Center Solutions
XS Telecom
Building for AI: The New Construction Playbook
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Matt Torma
Director, Mission Critical
XYZ Reality
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Jennifer Toeppner
Data Center Lead, Sales & Business Development
Metromont
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Scott Rugen
VP, Advanced Technology
Graham Construction
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Kurt Lindorfer
Founding Principal
PARADIGM Structural Engineers
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Adam Van Pelt
Manager, Environmental Noise Control
Behrens & Associates
From Blueprint to Build: Best Practices for Physical Security Throughout Development
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Altaf Bora
Senior Advisory Consultant
Arcturus Consulting Group
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Keith Russell
Lead Security Consultant
TLD
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Liz Lasko
Business Development Specialist, Data Centers
Ameristar Perimeter Security
Mechanical Systems at Scale: What AI Density Actually Requires
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Sam Caddell
Sr. Director, Facilities Engineering & Operations Systems
CyrusOne
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Adam Saleh
Executive
Nortek Data Center Cooling
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Matt Kightlinger
VP
Johnson Controls
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Drew Donahue
Vice President of Strategic Accounts
Taco
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Mike Waring
Senior Representative
Munters Corporation
From Contract to Commissioned: Labor, Procurement and the Race to Deliver
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Kelley Johnston
Senior Global Account Manager
Wesco
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Jeff Wood
VP
Uptime Institute
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David Jones
Principal
Jones Critical Infrastructure Group
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Steven Wright
Sr. Director of Construction & Quality
Decima International
Who's In The Room
AG&E | Aligned Data Centers | Alileo.tech | Angeles Equity Partners | Anthem Advisors | Ardurra | Aristos Global | AWS | Bluebonnet Developers | Burleson Economic Development | BW Design Group | Carlson Energy | City of Garland | CleanArc Data Centers | CloudHQ | CM|MC | Cobb Fendley & Associates | Commonwealth Title Co | Compass Datacenters | Cornelia Capital | Crossland Construction | CyrusOn | DataBank | DES Architects and Engineers | DuPont | ECS Southwest | Environmental Noise Control | Equinix | Evolve Holdings | FCL Builders | First Point Group | Gallo Mechanical | GeoMET Consultants | Geotex | Graham Construction | Greenway Engineering | HDR | Hillwood | Huffines Industrial | Hylan | InterBank | Internet Harbor | Johnson Controls | Karlan Capital Consulting | Katten Muchin Rosenman | Keller North America | KPFF Civil | Legacy25 Capital | Macgregor Associates Architects | Martin/Martin | McGough Construction | Mericka Group | Moss Utilities | Munters Corporation | NOVVA | NTI Technologies | OnPoint | Pike Corporation | Prologis | Purple Land Management | Ranch Road Equity | Rosendin Electric | Safebuilt | Salas O’Brien Engineers | Skybox Datacenters | Team Fishel | Technology Associates | Terracon Consultants | Tindall Corporation | U Property Group | Uptime Institute | USG | Victaulic | Wesco | Xsquared Construction | Yondr | ZOM Living | and dozens more
Why You Need To Be At the Central Region Data Center Construction, Design & Development Conference
Why This Matters
Data centers are the most capital-intensive, most politically exposed asset class in commercial real estate right now, and the South has more announced capacity than almost anywhere in the country. The gap between what's been committed on paper across DFW, Atlanta, Houston and the broader Southeast corridor and what actually reaches an energized customer is where the real business decisions are getting made.
The practical question facing every developer, investor, construction lead and operator in this room is the same: what in this pipeline is actually executable, and on what timeline?
This event is built around that question. It is not a state-of-the-market overview. It is a practitioner-led forensic of the Sunbelt construction cycle, covering what turns a land position into a permitted, financed, energized project when interconnection queues, community pushback and grid timelines will not move on a developer's schedule. Sessions dig into how development teams are converting dirt into commissioned capacity, how construction methods are changing to keep pace with AI density, how mechanical systems and water use are becoming as central to site selection as power, how developers are financing and permitting power both on and off the grid, and where labor and procurement are already creating the schedule exposure that will determine who hits a 2028 delivery date and who slips.
If you are building, financing, supplying or operating data center infrastructure across the fastest-growing Southern markets, this is the one event where the conversation is specific enough to matter.
What You'll Learn
What separates real, committed capacity from announced capacity that is stalling across DFW, Atlanta, Houston and the Southeast corridor, and how development executives are managing the reputation and community relations exposure that comes with the gap
What it actually takes to move a land position through utility queue credibility, municipal relationships, entitlement and infrastructure capacity to a project that clears every bar, not just the first one
How modular construction, prefabrication and digital coordination tools are moving from experimental to mainstream, and where they are genuinely compressing timelines versus adding coordination complexity
How teams are choosing between air, liquid and hybrid cooling at AI density, and how water availability and equipment lead times are becoming real constraints on site selection and schedule
How developers are financing and permitting power outside the grid, from onsite generation and fuel logistics to offsite PPAs with independent power producers, and where alternative power solves the problem versus creating a second permitting fight
Where labor shortages, wage inflation and procurement timelines are showing up in bids before they show up in delays, and how owner-side oversight and commissioning staffing are keeping pace at scale
Which markets and project types are carrying risk profiles built to hit 2028 energization dates, and what has to go right over the next 12 months for the region to deliver on what it has promised
Who You'll Network With
Data center developers, campus operators, hyperscaler real estate and infrastructure leads, equity investors, debt lenders, GCs and specialty subcontractors, A/E firms, utility and interconnection consultants, site selection advisors, municipal and economic development officials, technology and infrastructure vendors active across the Sunbelt data center market.
For questions or interests in becoming a speaker or sponsor, please email our global director, data centers, Adam Knobloch, at adam.knobloch@bisnow.com
To request disability-related accommodations, please contact ally.araco@bisnow.com no later than seven business days prior to the event.
Venue
Hyatt Regency Dallas
300 Reunion Boulevard
Dallas TX 75207
Ballroom/Floor: Reunion and Pegasus Ballroom // Lobby Level
Parking Information:
$8 Self Parking and $20 Valet Parking
Looking to save on your stay?
Save on your stay near the event venue! Enjoy convenience, comfort, and special rates—book now while availability lasts HERE.
Agenda
| Time | Activity |
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7:30 AM
9:00 AM
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Registration, Breakfast and Networking
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9:00 AM
9:45 AM
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The Sunbelt Build Cycle, Honestly: What Is Real, What Is Announced and What Is Stalling
Data centers are the most capital-intensive, politically exposed asset class in CRE right now, and the South has more announced capacity than almost anywhere. The gap between what's been committed on paper and what actually reaches customers is where the real business decisions are being made. Dig into how development executives across DFW, Atlanta, Houston and the broader Southeast corridor are navigating the reputation problem, the community relations arms race, grid interconnection backlogs and the pressure to move faster than the grid or public debate will allow. |
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9:45 AM
10:30 AM
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What Turns Dirt Into a Data Center
Having land under contract is a starting point, not an achievement. Utility queue credibility, municipal relationship maturity, road and water capacity, fiber rights and entitlement certainty now have to be resolved simultaneously rather than sequentially. Dig into what the most advanced teams across fast-growing Southern submarkets are actually working through to convert a land position into a project that clears every bar, and what's quietly killing the ones that won't. |
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10:30 AM
11:00 AM
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Networking Break
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11:00 AM
11:45 AM
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Building for AI: The New Construction Playbook
AI and advanced compute infrastructure are changing not just what gets built, but how it gets built. Modular construction, prefabrication, digital coordination tools and standardized playbooks are moving from experimental to mainstream as teams look to compress timelines without sacrificing quality or safety. Dig into how design and construction teams are rethinking build methods to keep pace with density requirements and aggressive schedules, where prefab and modular approaches are actually saving time versus adding coordination complexity and how construction technology is changing what a GC's crew looks like on site. |
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11:45 AM
12:05 PM
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From Blueprint to Build: Best Practices for Physical Security Throughout Development
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12:05 PM
1:15 PM
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Lunch and Networking
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1:15 PM
1:55 PM
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Mechanical Systems at Scale: What AI Density Actually Requires
Liquid cooling has gone from an emerging option to a near-default for AI-density racks, and that shift is putting mechanical systems, water use and equipment lead times in front of the same scrutiny developers are already seeing on setbacks and noise. Dig into how design and construction teams are actually choosing between air, liquid and hybrid systems at this stage of the build, what water availability, reuse commitments and utility coordination are doing to site selection and permitting timelines, and where cooling equipment lead times are becoming as real a schedule constraint as switchgear. |
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1:55 PM
2:40 PM
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From Contract to Commissioned: Labor, Procurement and the Race to Deliver
The data center pipeline has never been deeper, and the construction labor market underneath it has never been tighter. Dig into how leading developers and GCs are phasing multi-building campuses when power delivery dates keep moving, where equipment procurement is creating the most schedule exposure, how skilled trades shortages and wage inflation are showing up in bids before they show up in delays, how owner-side oversight is being staffed at this scale and where commissioning talent is thin enough to already show up in delivery timelines. |
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2:40 PM
4:45 PM
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Post event cocktail hosted by TMS Delivery
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Platinum Sponsors
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Gold Sponsors
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Silver Sponsors
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Media Partner
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Impact Partners
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