Atlanta has overtaken Northern Virginia in active data center construction. Meanwhile, major projects in Charlotte, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Louisiana are creating billions of dollars in opportunities for general contractors, electrical specialists, engineering firms, and infrastructure companies. Here’s who’s doing the building.
The buildings powering artificial intelligence are creating one of the country’s largest construction opportunities. Across the Southeast, technology companies are securing sites, utilities and financing while contractors are pouring concrete, erecting steel and installing the electrical and mechanical systems that support digital infrastructure.
The biggest technology names may be funding the expansion. Construction companies and specialized trades are determining whether those investments become operational facilities.
Atlanta Becomes America’s Most Active Data Center Construction Market
For years Northern Virginia dominated the national data center industry. But according to CBRE’s first-half 2026 North American Data Center Trends Report, Atlanta surpassed Northern Virginia to become the continent’s most active market for data center capacity under construction, with nearly 2,900 megawatts underway.
Artificial intelligence and cloud computing are driving demand for facilities far more complex than conventional commercial buildings. Power distribution, cooling, redundancy, telecommunications, commissioning and large-scale utility connections are central to construction. Modern campuses may need substations, roads, underground utilities and water infrastructure in addition to their building shells.
The shift represents a major opportunity for general contractors, electrical and mechanical specialists, civil contractors and engineers. It also means that power availability can determine whether a proposed project can proceed.
The Contractors Behind the Southeast’s Data Center Expansion
Based on publicly documented projects, major contractors serving the sector include Brasfield & Gorrie, DPR Construction, Turner Construction and Mortenson. HITT Contracting is a significant national mission-critical builder with a regional presence. Individual project assignments should be distinguished from company rankings or announced development intentions.
Brasfield & Gorrie has disclosed Atlanta projects ATL01-2 and ATL01-3 and has been named in Charlotte Digital Realty permitting reports. DPR has delivered work for Meta in Gallatin, Tennessee; Aiken, South Carolina; and Forest City, North Carolina. DPR, Turner and Mortenson are identified as the joint-venture construction team on Meta’s Richland Parish, Louisiana, campus.
Brasfield & Gorrie: A Major Player in Atlanta and Charlotte
Birmingham-headquartered Brasfield & Gorrie has built a significant mission-critical portfolio. Its ATL01-2 and ATL01-3 projects total approximately 670,000 square feet. ATL01-2 encompasses about 450,000 square feet, 17 data halls and roughly 100 megawatts of critical IT load; ATL01-3 adds approximately 220,000 square feet, seven data halls and about 42 megawatts.
These projects demonstrate why power density, mechanical and electrical systems and redundancy matter as much as floor area. ATL01-2 received first-place recognition in the 2026 Associated General Contractors Build Georgia Awards.
Publicly reported permit records also identify Brasfield & Gorrie on principal building work at Digital Realty’s Moores Chapel Road development in west Charlotte, with Aldridge Electric linked to electrical work and Hoopaugh Grading to site-related construction. Individual building and trade permits represent different scopes of work and should not be confused with a single overall construction contract.
Brasfield & Gorrie was also named general contractor for DataBank’s planned Atlanta development, a roughly 95-acre campus proposed to accommodate two major facilities totaling about one million gross square feet.
Those assignments illustrate an established construction presence in two markets experiencing major digital infrastructure activity.
DPR Construction: Building Meta’s Infrastructure Across the Southeast
DPR Construction has substantial experience delivering mission-critical facilities, including Meta campuses in Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Meta’s Gallatin Data Center in Tennessee occupies a site of roughly 900 acres and is planned as a multi-building campus approaching 1.5 million square feet, including 12 data halls and two administrative buildings. DPR describes work beginning in 2020 and peak construction involving more than 1,100 skilled tradespeople. Burns & McDonnell was on the design team.
In Aiken, South Carolina, DPR has been associated with Meta’s campus planned on more than 300 acres, including two proposed single-story buildings of roughly 750,000 square feet each. Delivering that scale requires complex site work, utility coordination, specialist equipment and rigorous commissioning.
DPR also worked on Meta’s established Forest City, North Carolina, project, including two approximately 370,000-square-foot buildings and supporting systems. DPR reports about 90% local workforce participation on that project. Forest City is not a new 2026 groundbreaking, but an earlier example of the expertise now supporting the latest AI-fueled expansion.
Turner Construction and Mortenson: Building at Mega-Campus Scale
Meta’s Richland Parish development in northeastern Louisiana demonstrates how hyperscale construction can require multiple large general contractors. The approximately 2,250-acre campus broke ground in late 2024, and DPR identifies a joint venture of DPR Construction, Turner Construction and Mortenson as the construction team.
The development is expected to employ more than 5,000 workers at peak construction. Work extends beyond the main data center buildings to utilities, site infrastructure, electrical distribution and supporting facilities.
The project also creates regional demand for equipment and trades that otherwise might be available to conventional office, residential, industrial and infrastructure developments.
HITT Contracting and the Competition for Mission-Critical Work
HITT Contracting is a national mission-critical builder with a substantial Southeast presence. The company has highlighted Engineering News-Record’s recognition of its national data center construction business and its strong regional contracting position.
Regional rankings and experience establish HITT as a company to watch, but they should not be treated as proof of a specific contractor assignment on an individual proposed campus. Tracking which projects enter permitting, contractor selection, procurement and active construction provides more reliable business intelligence than relying only on announcements.
Charlotte: The Data Center Debate Meets the Construction Pipeline
Charlotte’s data center expansion is unfolding alongside debate over electricity demand, water usage, noise and land-use policy. In 2026, officials advanced temporary restrictions on certain new data center applications while reviewing development regulations.
Previously approved projects can proceed under applicable approvals even while the city examines future policy. Digital Realty’s Moores Chapel Road campus and PowerHouse Data Centers’ development plans in University City illustrate the interplay between the approved construction pipeline and regulatory discussion.
For contractors, entitlement and permit status are crucial. A proposed campus still awaiting major approvals creates different opportunities and risks than an active development issuing trade permits.
Miami: A Different Position in the Data Center Economy
Miami is an important international connectivity market linking cloud, enterprise and telecommunications networks with Latin America. But its hyperscale construction pipeline does not match Atlanta’s current size.
Large AI facilities need extraordinary power commitments and substantial sites—conditions that often favor locations beyond dense urban centers. Miami-based investors, developers, engineers and contractors may nevertheless play roles in projects elsewhere in the Southeast.
The economic opportunity can therefore include financing, developing and servicing digital infrastructure throughout the region, not just constructing a hyperscale facility in Miami.
Beyond the General Contractor: Who Builds the Actual Infrastructure?
Electrical contractors install distribution equipment, switchgear, cabling and backup power. Mechanical contractors deliver cooling and ventilation systems. Civil contractors prepare sites, roads, drainage and underground utilities. Structural specialists erect framing and foundations. Commissioning teams verify that integrated systems work before operations begin.
These trades can represent enormous construction scopes. A data hall may be structurally complete but not operational if a key electrical component has yet to arrive.
Companies able to coordinate specialized trades and long-lead equipment have an advantage in delivering mission-critical projects.
The Power Problem: Why Data Centers Are Changing Construction Economics
Power availability has become central to data center site selection. A developer might secure hundreds of acres and preliminary land-use approvals but still be unable to advance without an adequate utility commitment and interconnection timeline.
Transformers, switchgear, generators and related equipment can have long production schedules. Construction Dive reported in September 2026 that some high-demand electrical equipment had lead times of approximately 40 to more than 60 weeks, according to an industry executive.
Electricity, permitting, utility coordination and early procurement now influence whether a data center is commercially feasible. Delays can postpone commissioning and the beginning of customer operations.
Data Centers Are Also Competing With Other Commercial Projects
Office buildings, hospitals, industrial facilities, factories and multifamily developments rely on many of the same electricians, mechanical trades and equipment suppliers. A concentration of data center construction can reduce subcontractor availability and increase schedule or pricing uncertainty for other projects.
JLL’s July 2026 construction outlook identified labor shortages, trade policy and data center activity among factors affecting construction cost pressures.
Even owners who never build data centers can experience indirect effects on their construction budgets.
The Next Opportunity: From Announced Projects to Contractor Awards
Projects generally move through land selection, entitlements, power agreements, design, general contractor selection, trade procurement, active construction, equipment installation, commissioning and operational delivery.
Each milestone presents a distinct business opportunity. Land announcements interest investors and developers; construction awards interest general contractors; permitted active projects may provide trade and supplier work.
Public investment figures are not necessarily contractor award amounts, and selecting a general contractor does not mean all subcontractor packages have been awarded. Firms following the pipeline should verify the development’s actual stage.
The Contractors Behind the Digital Economy
Across Atlanta, Charlotte, Tennessee, South Carolina and Louisiana, digital infrastructure is creating construction projects requiring significant capital, specialist expertise and utility capacity.
DPR Construction, Brasfield & Gorrie, Turner Construction and Mortenson are among the contractors with documented roles. The work of electricians, mechanical installers, engineers, civil contractors, equipment suppliers and commissioning specialists is equally important.
The technology industry may be driving demand. The construction industry is determining how much of that demand can become reality.
Corporate Rizz covers the companies, projects, capital and construction decisions shaping commercial real estate and infrastructure across the Southeast.
Editorial Methodology
This report reviews publicly disclosed data center construction projects and contractor relationships as of November 4, 2026. Specific assignments are distinguished from general contractor rankings and proposed developments. Project capacity, investment and schedules may change. Announced investments are not general-contractor contract values.
Sources include CBRE data center trends, public project profiles from DPR Construction and Brasfield & Gorrie, 2026 Engineering News-Record contractor reporting, Charlotte construction permitting coverage and data-center equipment lead-time reporting.