Rural Landowners Cash Out as AI Data Center Demand Surges
Marilee and David Kiliti sold their 89-acre Pennsylvania farm for more than $22 million to QTS, a Blackstone subsidiary, as part of a $586 million land assemblage for a data center. The Kilitis were among 96 families in Salem Township, Pennsylvania, who collectively sold about 1,700 acres at an average price of $330,000 per acre, earning $5.5 million per family on average. The couple, who raised hogs and struggled financially for years, are now building a hilltop dream home with a pool, theater room, and second-story hot tub. David Kiliti worked construction jobs while Marilee drove forklifts before the sale allowed them to retire comfortably.
Jack Sordoni, a land developer who previously worked on oil and gas deals, organized the property assemblage after learning Amazon was buying land in the area. He spent two years persuading landowners to sell, some of whom were skeptical after receiving lowball offers in the past. The land proved valuable because existing transmission lines and substation infrastructure serving a nearby natural-gas plant and nuclear plant were already in place. A second deal next door involving 200 landowners and $1.3 billion is now in the works, with Sordoni recently addressing a room of 200 prospective sellers at the Berwick Golf Club.
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, where the sales occurred, has a median household income below the national average and was largely bypassed by the natural-gas boom two decades ago. More than three-quarters of the land sellers are staying within 25 miles of the data-center site, buying more land and building new houses, while others are purchasing local businesses including a furniture store and a brewery. QTS projects 50 permanent jobs per building across 12 buildings, plus more than 1,500 construction jobs, though some residents in nearby Mifflinville have organized opposition to data center development, citing environmental concerns and threats to rural character.
The post Rural Landowners Cash Out as AI Data Center Demand Surges appeared first on Propmodo.
