Data Center Shell Construction in Texas

Seventy-five megawatts is the number. Under Texas Senate Bill 6, the Public Utility Commission is directed to adopt interconnection standards for large load customers in ERCOT with a demand threshold of 75 megawatts, and large loads must show site control, pay a study fee of at least $100,000 for initial transmission screening and meet financial commitment requirements. A data center owner in Texas is therefore dealing with the grid before dealing with the building.

That order matters for a tilt wall contractor. The shell of a data center is a large, simple, repeatable building, a good fit for tilt-up, but its schedule is controlled by power, equipment and approvals. The panels can be cast and lifted fast, but if the substation is not ready the building waits. We plan the shell around the owner's power date and not the other way around.

A data center shell is what we build: the structure, slab, roof, envelope and site that house the owner's electrical and mechanical systems. The owner's design team and equipment suppliers handle the technical fit-out, and we coordinate the structure and the interfaces.

Large campuses are being announced across the state. In Abilene, the Stargate data center projects are developed by a joint venture of Blue Owl Capital, Crusoe Energy Systems and Primary Digital Infrastructure and leased to Oracle, with one report describing more than 6,400 workers on the campus (that figure comes from a secondary source and should be confirmed with the operators). In El Paso, Meta announced an estimated $1.5 billion, 1.2-million-square-foot AI data center on roughly 1,039 acres in the northeast part of the city, with 1,800 construction jobs at peak and an expected online date in 2028.

Smaller sites also exist. An 87.97-acre tract in Taylor is slated for a 135,000-square-foot data center, the kind of building tilt wall handles well. Our location pages for Abilene, El Paso and Taylor describe those markets. Tilt-up competes best in the 100,000 to 500,000 square-foot range, where repeated halls and a big roof are the main need. The same repeated-hall logic shows up in our distribution warehouse work.

ERCOT serves about 90 percent of the state's electric load, and its resource adequacy page sets a minimum target reserve margin of 13.75 percent of peak demand. Utility Dive reported on August 21, 2026 that ERCOT interconnection requests total about 474 GW, roughly 90 percent of them data centers, and that the Governor had called on August 3, 2026 for a moratorium on new data center interconnections and a community impact review of data centers and crypto facilities of 25 MW and above. The policy picture is moving, and an owner needs to track it.

On the building side, the city issues the permit, using the International Building Code as the statewide commercial base under Local Government Code Section 214.216, subject to local amendments. Owners should confirm with the city which amendments apply and how large-load electrical gear is handled. We help the design team assemble the permit set and respond to review comments.

A data center shell has a few distinct zones. The data halls are big, clean, repeated rooms with slab on grade, high clear heights and heavy roof loads for cooling equipment. Electrical rooms and galleries hold switchgear, UPS and batteries. A mechanical yard holds chillers, generators and fuel storage. An office and operations area support the staff. Around all of it runs security: a perimeter, mantraps, and controlled entry.

Tilt-up panels give a solid, secure wall that resists forced entry and wind. The slab is another critical item. Heavy racks, battery rooms and cooling equipment demand flatness and load capacity, and the panels may carry embedded plates for cable trays and equipment. See our notes on tilt wall floor slabs and panel connections and embeds.

Data centers are secure by design, and construction security starts early. We control site access, track workers, secure materials and limit photography. Owners often have strict rules on who can be on site and what can leave it. We follow those rules and build them into the schedule and the safety plan.

Fire protection is another distinct subject. Data halls often use clean agent or pre-action sprinkler systems, and battery rooms and generator fuel storage add hazards that the fire marshal reviews carefully. Roof loads for cooling equipment, parapet heights and screen walls need coordination between the panels and the mechanical design. The manufacturing plant page describes related questions about heavy loads and utility-driven design.

The shell is rarely the longest item. Transformers, switchgear, generators, chillers and UPS equipment can take many months to deliver, and utility substations take longer. We build the schedule from the owner's energization date, then place the shell, dry-in and rough-ins to meet it. If the equipment arrives before the building is ready, it is stored at the owner's expense, and if the building is ready first, it sits idle.

Because owners build in phases, we plan for repeat halls. The first hall absorbs the learning, and later halls are cast and lifted faster. Utility and site work for the whole campus is done once. See the long-lead procurement page for the way we handle equipment dates and the industrial developers and REITs page for how we work with those who build data center shells for lease.

Send the campus plan, the hall size and the power date. We will lay out the shell, slab and site so the building is ready when your equipment is.

Is tilt wall suitable for data centers?

Yes, for the shell. The system gives a secure, durable, large-volume building with a flat roof and room for rooftop equipment. Very tall multi-level data centers may use other structures, but single-level halls fit tilt-up well.

Who handles the electrical and cooling systems?

The owner and their design team usually specify and procure those systems. We build the structure, slab, roof, envelope and site, and coordinate openings, embeds, pads and interfaces with the owner's contractors.

How long does the shell take?

Depending on the size, a shell can be dried in within several months of starting. The finish date, however, depends on power and equipment. We schedule from the energization date.

How do the state's large-load rules affect construction?

They affect when the owner can energize and what must be installed, such as equipment that lets large loads be curtailed during emergencies. We build space and pads for that equipment and coordinate with the electrical designer. Owners should track the Public Utility Commission rulemaking and utility requirements.

Can we expand a data center shell later?

Yes. Many are planned in repeating halls, with end walls designed for extension and utilities sized for the full campus. The key is to decide the expansion direction early.