Latin America data center site selection: the same five questions in every country, ten different answers. A rule that's routine in Chile can void a sale in Brazil. passive.investments/data-cen…

Some people in commercial real estate don't take confidentiality seriously. The problem? Property owners can smell that a mile away, just like they can smell commission breath. Not every owner wants the world knowing their property or business might be for sale. Especially when it comes to Data Centers and protesters showing up. An industrial property owner may be evaluating offers from data center developers without wanting tenants, vendors, or neighboring property owners asking questions. A family farm owner may simply want to explore what their land is worth without the entire community finding out. . And sometimes, an owner isn't even sure they want to sell. They're just exploring their options. That's their business. Not yours to broadcast. Here's something else brokers forget. The person receiving your confidential information is judging you, too. You think that family office is impressed when you send them confidential financials, ownership information, or off-market opportunities without proper authorization? They're not. They're wondering what confidential information of theirs you'll be sharing with the next person. Institutional investors, family offices, and sophisticated buyers pay attention to how brokers handle sensitive information. Discretion is a two-way street. Too many brokers get so excited about the possibility of a commission that they start dropping names, forwarding documents, and discussing deals they have no business discussing. Confidentiality isn't just about getting someone to sign an NDA. It's about knowing what to share, when to share it, and who has been authorized to receive it. And sometimes, it's about knowing when to keep your mouth shut. The best brokers don't just market properties. They protect relationships, reputations, and information. Not every conversation requires an NDA. Sometimes the right approach is a principal-to-principal conversation, with the owner's authorization, to determine whether there's a legitimate opportunity worth pursuing. But there's a big difference between facilitating a discreet conversation between decision-makers and blasting confidential information to everyone in your contact database. One builds trust. The other destroys it. Bridges burn quietly. If a broker sends you confidential information without authorization, does that change your willingness to do business with them?

Mexico vs. the U.S. for data center sites: same order, power first. But land tenure, water law and CFE timelines can kill a Mexican deal before price ever comes up. passive.investments/data-cen…

In about three years, data centers went from a quiet niche to the most sought-after asset class in the country. Here's the big picture through 2035. passive.investments/data-cen…

Land, power, brownfields, water, fiber and investment. The data center questions owners actually ask, answered in plain English. passive.investments/data-cen…

For sale: a powered campus in North Memphis. ±49 acres, two on-site substations, 161 kV transmission, 4.5 MW contracted today, data center use by right. Unpriced call for offers. passive.investments/data-cen…

Description: Shannon Robnett grew up on job sites. His dad was a builder and developer and his mom was a third-generation real estate broker. Over 35+ years he has gone from framing houses and building cabinets by hand to developing multifamily, industrial, and build-to-rent communities across Idaho, Texas, and Florida. On this episode of Carson’s Corner: Entrepreneurship & Investing, Shannon explains why his construction background gives him an edge in raising capital and running deals, and why he plans every project for decades, not quarters. In this episode:
→ Why about 70% of Shannon’s investments are new construction, and how a 29–30% expense ratio compares with the ~52% some older portfolios are running
→ How he locked a $3.4M lumber package during COVID, watched it climb to $9M, resold it, and made $2.5M for investors before breaking ground
→ The short-term debt mistakes behind today’s asset price resets, and why 3–4% rates were never coming back
→ Why he tracks wage growth instead of rent growth when picking markets
→ How a $75 rent gap on a 200-unit property adds up to roughly $3M in terminal value, and why most property managers miss it
→ How to vet a property manager: ask for the before-and-after T12
→ Why he calls industrial “the bond of real estate”: NNN leases, sticky tenants, steadier cash flow
→ How his Strategic Income & Opportunity Fund mixes multifamily, industrial, and preferred equity for better year-one returns
→ Why build-to-rent works now: renters pay $3,200/month for a townhome that would cost $4,500/month to own
→ Class A vs. Class C in a recession, and what makes a deal worth rescuing If you’re an investor, developer, or entrepreneur trying to build long-term wealth in commercial real estate, this conversation shows how an operator who has built through several cycles approaches risk. ▶️ Connect with Shannon: shannonrobnett.com/ (book a call with him directly) and LinkedIn
 Watch the full episode at: passive.investments/podcast/

The retired, rusting industrial sites communities write off are often the best data center sites in their region. Why? They already sit on power. passive.investments/brownfie…

I just published Brownfields & Retired Coal Plants: Why Old Industrial Sites Are Data Center Gold medium.com/@carson_70326/bro…

Is Tennessee a real data center market? Short answer: yes. TVA power, water, central geography and deep industrial land, plus what the new TVA data center rate means for owners. passive.investments/tennesse…

Could you build a $10 million business and walk away with $9.5 million in potentially tax-free gains? 💰 That's the kind of opportunity worth understanding. Under the right structure, you could invest eligible capital gains through a Qualified Opportunity Fund into a business located in an Opportunity Zone, hold the investment for at least 10 years, and potentially exclude millions in appreciation from federal capital gains tax. Now imagine stacking additional tax strategies: ✅ Opportunity Zones — Potentially eliminate federal capital gains tax on qualifying investment appreciation. ✅ R&D Tax Credits — Offset eligible expenses while developing new products, technology, or processes. ✅ Cost Segregation — Accelerate depreciation deductions on qualifying commercial real estate. Build the business. Maximize cash flow. Position for a tax-efficient exit. Join us for an evening of real conversations about building wealth, reducing taxes, and creating long-term value. 🗓 Wednesday, December 9 | 5–9 PM 📍 Thrive | Alpharetta, GA 🎤 Featured Experts: John Vachon — Opportunity Zones Erich M. Feierabend — Cost Segregation 🤝 Sponsored by Thrive — Commercial Real Estate Operator & Expansion Partner 🎟 Early Bird: $45 through November 15 👉 luma.com/xh55jgvv No hard pitches. Just real conversations with entrepreneurs, investors, and business owners. Educational purposes only. Tax benefits depend on eligibility, investment structure, applicable law, and individual circumstances. Not tax or investment advice.

Few people connect data centers and Opportunity Zones. That's exactly why it's an opportunity: long-hold, capital-intensive assets in the same rural, post-industrial places the OZ program rewards. passive.investments/data-cen…

Most landowners have no idea how valuable their property could be to the energy and data center industries. And here's something else they may not realize: You don't need thousands of acres to have a valuable powered-land site. But I recently evaluated two big ones. 📍 Alabama | ~1,000 Acres Near existing 115 kV and 230 kV transmission infrastructure in one of the Southeast's busiest growth corridors. 📍 Mexico | 2,000+ Acres Large-scale energy and data center development opportunity near existing utility infrastructure, with acreage already committed to future solar development. Here's what makes this market interesting: Bigger isn't always better. Smaller sites (5–100 acres) can have a significant advantage. They may require less power, move through utility approvals faster, and sometimes fall below regulatory thresholds that complicate larger projects. Larger sites (100–2,000+ acres) offer something different: the ability to combine data centers, battery energy storage (BESS), solar generation, and other energy infrastructure into a much larger development. But acreage alone doesn't determine value. Access to power, available capacity, transmission infrastructure, and the timeline to energization are what really matter. Land near a substation is scarce. Land with an energy developer already on-site can be even more valuable. And proximity to transmission doesn't automatically mean power is available. Powered land is becoming the new prime real estate. So what's the sweet spot? 20 acres? 50 acres? 500 acres? Or 5,000? The answer depends on who's buying, how much power they need, and how quickly they need it. Coming Soon to Market: ~2,000-acre site in Mexico

How many square feet do I need for a cold storage facility? Cold storage is not sized in square feet. It is sized in pallet positions. Peak pallets ÷ rack levels your usable clear height supports = floor positions. Then convert to footprint. 5,000 pallets in a 36 ft clear building: roughly 21,000-26,000 SF. The same 5,000 pallets at 20 ft clear: more than double. Full guide: passive.investments/cold-sto…

Do brokers measure industrial square footage as gross or usable? Usually gross building area — which includes walls, columns, mechanical rooms, and mezzanines you may not be able to use. Ask what is included, ask for the measurement standard, and ask whether mezzanine SF is counted. The number in the flyer and the number you can rack are rarely the same. Full guide: passive.investments/cold-sto…

What is the right dock door to square footage ratio? Distribution and 3PL: one door per 5,000-10,000 SF. Manufacturing: one per 15,000-20,000 SF. Cross-dock: far more. Too few doors bottlenecks every shift, and cutting in new ones is expensive structural work you may not have budgeted. Full guide: passive.investments/cold-sto…

How much square footage does a cross-dock facility need? Cross-docks are shallow and door-heavy — the opposite shape of a storage building. The metric is doors and yard, not square footage. Product should never sit long enough to need racking. Buying a deep building for a cross-dock operation wastes most of what you paid for. Full guide: passive.investments/cold-sto…

A data center got a small town a new high school. On the podcast with Brandon Eaton, we talked about a project that landed in a small town. By the end, the town had a brand-new high school, new sports stadiums, and new roads. Because it was done the right way. If you're spending a billion dollars on a data center, a little ancillary spend for the city and the residents goes a long way. Here's where I'll be honest. I spend a lot of my time on power-adjacent sites. The community conversation isn't a side issue. Often, it is the issue. The pushback is real. Power bills. Water. Noise. Tax breaks that don't seem to give much back. The projects that move faster are the ones where locals can point to something they got. The megawatts get the headlines. The high school gets the vote. What are your thoughts?

How do I size a warehouse for seasonal inventory peaks? Two options, and picking wrong is expensive. Size to peak and carry empty space nine months a year. Or size to average and rent overflow at premium rates during peak. The second is usually cheaper. Run the math before you assume you need the bigger building. Full guide: passive.investments/cold-sto…

What square footage do I need for a last-mile delivery hub? Sized by van bays and sort capacity, not storage. Last-mile facilities are shallow, door-heavy, and inventory-light. Dwell time is measured in hours. If you are underwriting one like a distribution center, you will overbuild storage and underbuild the yard. Full guide: passive.investments/cold-sto…