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Data center planning cooled month-over-month from “extraordinary levels” to start the summer, while other areas of construction finally picked up some steam, according to the Dodge Construction Network.
The Dodge Momentum Index, a measure of nonresidential construction projects entering the planning stages, declined 1.9% month on month in Juneaccording to a Wednesday press release. The decline, which followed two consecutive monthly gains, stemmed largely from a tap on the brakes around data center planning.
“Despite June’s pullback, nonresidential planning remains strong,” said Sarah Martin, director of economic research at Dodge Construction Network. “Data center activity continued to drive the index, but its pace moderated from the extraordinary levels observed in recent months and caused the DMI to withdraw during the month.”
Business planning, which includes data center work, fell 6.8% month-over-month in June, according to the report. Aside from data centers, however, “almost every other sector” in the business category improved over the course of the month, Martin said. Planning office buildings, warehouses, retail stores and brick-and-mortar hotels, for example, posted monthly gains in June.
Institutional project planning, which includes health and education construction, also rebounded, growing 10.9% month-on-month in June.
According to Dodge, year-over-year planning numbers were still well ahead of 2025 levels. According to the report, the Dodge Momentum Index and the commercial and institutional segments gained 21.8% compared to June 2025.
Dodge noted that without the data center plans, the commercial segment would have posted only a 7.6 percent increase from year-ago levels in June. A total of 59 projects valued at $100 million or more entered planning throughout June, according to Dodge.
Major commercial projects include:
- Stak Energy’s $500 million artificial intelligence data center campus in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
- The $480 million Project Swan data center complex in Lakeland, Florida.
- The $456.8 million Parcel A data center in Manassas, Virginia.
The largest institutional projects to enter planning included:
- The $437 million DCSO Correctional Facility in Nashville, Tennessee.
- The $320 million Cone Health Hospital in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
- The $303 million El Camí Health Hospital in Los Gatos, California.
