The Data Center Crisis No One Is Talking About — With Simon Enwia, CCIM

If you want to understand data centers, the power grid crisis, and the real estate race behind the future of AI — this is the episode.

Today on Commercially Speaking, we sit down with Simon Enwia, CCIM — a multi-state broker, tech-driven developer, and one of the few people specializing in data center development sites. And what he reveals is wild:

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why data center vacancy is below 1% nationwide
• The reason America will need 2x the power by 2030
• What makes land “powered land” — and why it’s becoming the new gold
• The exact criteria hyperscalers (Amazon, Meta, Google, Oracle) look for
• Why data centers are now measured in megawatts per acre, not square footage
• How the U.S. is locked in an AI arms race with China
• The brutal truth about NIMBY pushback and community approvals
• Why some utilities are charging $250,000+ just to get in line for power studies
• The four things every site absolutely must have:

Simon breaks down the economics, the pipeline issues, the insane permitting timelines, and why the next decade of CRE may hinge entirely on data center development.

This is the deep dive on data centers you’ve been looking for.

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🙌 Huge Thanks

A massive thank-you to Simon Enwia, CCIM for breaking down the world of data centers and the future of AI infrastructure.

Email: simon@senw.io

Real Estate Forum: forum.senw.io

dc.land

00:00:00 - Cold Open00:01:29 - Welcome Simon Enwia, CCIM00:04:34 - Becoming an SIOR Candidate00:06:37 - Welcome to KY Bourbon Lesson by Bo00:11:01 - Getting Into CRE00:13:23 - House Flipping00:17:04 - Creating The First Digital Security for REITS00:19:50 - COVID Hits00:20:33 - The Love Of Deal Making00:21:46 - Licensed In 3 States In 10 Days00:24:16 - Senior Advisor At SVN00:26:52 - Getting A Managing Broker’s License In Multiple States00:29:38 - Building A Tech-Based Brokerage00:34:36 - CCIM is Better Than Real Estate MBA00:40:23 - Never Use Your Network. Provide Value To Your Network00:40:53 - Knakal Affiliate Program00:41:32 - An Inch Wide And A Mile Deep00:43:29 - How To Figure Out What To Specialize In00:47:54 - Fiduciary Responsibility00:52:06 - Cheers, Jesus!00:53:01 - A Good Name Is Worth More Than Gold and Silver00:55:55 - The Incredible Worth Ethic Of Immigrants00:57:47 - Data Centers01:02:30 - 1. Vacancy For Data Centers Is At A Low 1%01:03:12 - 2. There Is Not Nearly Enough Power (Will Need Double By 2030)01:05:19 - Bill Gates On Climate Change01:07:23 - 3. There Is An AI Race!01:09:55 - How Important Is Taiwan Right Now?01:14:21 - The Ideal Data Center Property01:17:39 - How Much Power a Hyper Scaler Needs! (Meta, OpenAI etc)01:18:34 - Quantifying The Power Needed01:19:38 - Infrastructure Proximity01:20:43 - The High Cost Of Getting In Line01:21:55 - $200K A Year Software Per User01:22:56 - Several Years To Close01:25:26 - Convincing The Community To Allow A Data Center01:31:48 - Land Size01:33:08 - Water Usage01:34:08 - Fiber and Redundancy01:36:37 - Leasing a Humanoid Robot01:39:41 - Behind The Meter (What’s Not Connected To The Grid)01:40:33 - Becoming The Knakal Of Data Centers01:42:35 - Simon@SENW.io, dc.land01:43:09 - Simon Is Hiring01:44:19 - Pop Quiz02:03:25 - forum.senw.io02:04:04 - Outro