NEW YORK— In a groundbreaking deal for the digital infrastructure sector, Newmark Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRK) has arranged a $7.1 billion construction loan to finance the second phase of a massive AI-focused data center campus in Abilene, Texas.
The loan will support the expansion of a 1.2-gigawatt hyperscale facility, part of a broader $15 billion joint venture between Crusoe, Blue Owl Capital, and Primary Digital Infrastructure.
The financing, led by J.P. Morgan and backed by a syndicate of institutional lenders, represents one of the largest construction loans ever arranged for a data center development globally.
The deal was orchestrated by Newmark’s Co-President of Global Debt & Structured Finance Jordan Roeschlaub, Vice Chairman Nick Scribani, and Managing Director Ben Kroll, in collaboration with Brent Mayo, Head of Data Center Capital Markets, Doug Harmon, Co-Head of U.S. Capital Markets, and Andrew Warin, Co-Head of Strategic Advisory.
“We are proud to advise on this landmark transaction between Crusoe, Blue Owl, and Primary Infrastructure, which represents a significant milestone in the evolution of sustainable digital infrastructure,” said Roeschlaub. “This partnership not only validates Crusoe’s innovative approach to energy and computing but also highlights the growing role of infrastructure capital in enabling next-generation technologies.”
“This funding solution represents a pivotal step forward in delivering next-generation digital infrastructure at a scale and speed that meets the demands of AI innovation,” added Mayo. “Newmark played a critical role in structuring and securing the capital required to bring this transformative project to life, aligning innovative operators with long-term institutional partners.”
A Mega Data Center in the Age of AI
The loan supports the second phase of the development, which includes six new buildings and will bring the data center campus to a total of eight buildings. The initial phase—comprising two buildings with more than 200 megawatts of capacity—began construction in June 2024 and is expected to go live in the first half of 2025.
Phase two construction began in March 2025 and is on track to be energized by mid-2026, marking a rapid deployment timeline for a greenfield hyperscale project of this magnitude.
The facility is expected to support the increasing power demands of artificial intelligence applications, machine learning models, and large-scale cloud computing environments. Crusoe, known for its innovative energy-efficient computing solutions, will leverage renewable and stranded energy resources to reduce the environmental impact of high-performance computing.
Strategic Role of Newmark
Newmark has been deeply involved in the venture from the outset. The company also acted as strategic advisor for the first phase, securing both equity and debt components of the capital stack. With this second-phase financing, Newmark solidifies its role as a key player in capital markets for next-generation infrastructure projects.
This announcement reinforces Newmark’s growing leadership in high-tech real estate advisory, at a time when AI-related infrastructure is rapidly becoming one of the most capital-intensive and competitive sectors in global real estate.
