KDC, a Dallas-based development firm known for its national work building corporate campuses, has expanded its data center development business by hiring a new leader for the team.
The firm named Robert Child as executive vice president of data center development. Child will oversee strategy, site development, capital alignment and completion of complex facilities.
"Data centers have long been a part of KDC's DNA, but it's been more of a reactive business unit," Child told CoStar News. "I'll be leading and growing that existing platform in KDC."
The 37-year-old development firm expects to bring its owner-developer mindset to what has been a booming business in commercial real estate, said Child, who is no stranger to the business. He has over 15 years of experience in developing data center facilities for hyperscale and enterprise users, with leadership roles at data center developer CyrusOne and managed work for Structure Tone's mission critical group in New York.
Child's experience in data center development helps position KDC to meaningfully expand its data center platform at a time when demand driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing continues to accelerate, said Eric Hage, president of KDC.
KDC has financial backing from a longstanding partner, Compatriot Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sammons Enterprises, and with Cadillac Fairview, the global real estate arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, which acquired a 50% stake in KDC alongside Compatriot in 2021.
KDC has a history of building large corporate campuses, including the recently completed, $570 million Wells Fargo campus in North Texas and the $433 million Bank of America Tower at Parkside, which is under construction. The firm also built Toyota North America's 100-acre campus in Plano, as well as the State Farm Insurance regional hub in Richardson, where it also built a data center for the insurance giant.
KDC has also worked with Digital Realty Trust on building data centers. The firm develops projects throughout the United States, with its current pipeline involving projects in Texas, Georgia and North Carolina. The firm declined to disclose some client project names, citing KDC was bound by confidentiality agreements.
"We have a pipeline that exceeds 3 gigawatts of capacity, with smaller sites of 10 to 15 megawatts to upwards of 1 gigawatt on one site," Child said, adding that the firm is pursuing enterprise built-to-suit projects for corporate users, which "fits into KDC's resume of Fortune 500 clientele."