Digital Realty DFW40: $140M Garland Data-Hall Filing

Digital Realty’s Garland campus has a substantial data-hall project for contractors to watch. A Texas registration for DFW40 describes four suites with 32 megawatts of IT design capacity and an estimated $140 million cost. The address is 1512 Ferris Road in Garland, northeast of Dallas. HED is the named design firm, and Digital Garland 2B, L.P. is the owner listed on the suite filing.

The useful detail is in the scope. An earlier registration describes a larger six-suite building at the same address. Reading those records together shows how a building and its data-hall work can carry different areas, capacities and estimates. For fiber, security and controls firms, understanding which package a number describes is the starting point for deciding whether a lead fits their business.

Reporting checked November 11, 2026. Featured and social artwork are AI-generated concept illustrations. They do not depict a verified DFW40 design, selected equipment or current site conditions.

DFW40’s two construction scopes

The March 2026 Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation registration covers four DR800 suites, identified as 200, 100, 205 and 105. Each is listed at 8 MW. The document explicitly describes their combined capacity as IT power and gives an aggregate area of 236,600 square feet.

Measure	2026 suite scope	2025 building scope
Facility	DFW40, four suites	DFW40, six suites
Design capacity	32 MW IT	48 MW; basis unspecified
Registered area	236,600 sq ft	280,000 sq ft
Estimated cost	$140 million	$75 million
Filed schedule	May 2026–June 2027	May–August 2025

The March 2025 building registration describes six 8 MW suites plus office, loading and storage space. Its 48 MW figure is an ultimate design capacity; that record does not explicitly label the number as IT power. Both registrations concern the same facility, so adding their capacities would overstate what the documents establish.

The estimates also require care. The documents do not explain the precise commercial overlap between the earlier building scope and the later suite scope. A combined $215 million project value would therefore be unsupported. Neither estimate establishes a financing close, a signed construction contract or a low-voltage subcontract value. Contractors need the buyer’s current package boundaries before pricing work against either number.

What the schedule and registration status establish

The four-suite filing gives May 6, 2026 as the start date and June 10, 2027 as the completion date. Its current status is Project Registered. The earlier building entry says Review Complete and retains its historical 2025 schedule. These are entries in TDLR’s architectural-barriers system; their status labels alone do not establish a municipal construction permit, actual mobilization or completed occupancy.

Groundbreak’s November 9 coverage reports construction underway and a May 2026 start. That is useful secondary reporting. The primary records reviewed for this article do not independently confirm physical progress, so the filed dates remain schedule targets in this analysis. An owner update, dated site evidence or a relevant municipal record would give contractors a firmer basis for scheduling crews.

This distinction affects estimating effort. A registration can identify a real facility, a design team and a substantial intended scope while leaving procurement timing unresolved. Before assigning an estimator, ask which suites are being released, who controls the bid list, what drawings are current and whether the requested price covers base infrastructure, tenant work or both. Those answers determine the practical opportunity.

The named companies and the delivery-team gap

Organization	Verified relationship	Evidence
Digital Realty	Campus developer; earlier filed owner	2025 registration; city history
Digital Garland 2B, L.P.	2026 filed owner	Four-suite registration
HED	Design firm	Both DFW40 registrations
GC and trade contractors	Unverified	No award identified

The two owner names should travel with their respective records. Digital Realty is named in the building registration; Digital Garland 2B, L.P. appears in the later suite registration. The reviewed evidence supports those filed roles. It does not establish the entity that will execute every purchase order, subcontract or tenant installation agreement.

HED’s current website describes an integrated architecture and engineering practice with mission-critical and information-and-communications-technology services. Its DFW40 design role comes directly from the registrations. A corporate service list does not identify every discipline in its appointment for this facility, and it provides no basis for assigning HED an installation contract.

No general contractor, electrical installer, low-voltage contractor or commissioning contractor was verified in the reviewed material. A useful first commercial conversation would request public delivery-team and procurement information. It should identify the relevant building and suites precisely, then establish whether an introduction, prequalification submission or issued bid package is available.

Where low-voltage work could emerge

The registrations describe data halls without publishing their low-voltage design. The following opportunities are prospective trade analysis. They identify interfaces worth investigating once drawings and package assignments become available. No quantities, manufacturers, bid dates or awards are established by this table.

System	Work to investigate	Required clarification
Fiber and outside plant	Entrances, pathways, handoffs	Routes and carrier responsibility
Structured Cabling	Rack feeds, termination, labels	Suite and tenant boundaries
Access Control and CCTV	Door, camera and network interfaces	Device counts and integrations
Controls networking	Monitoring links and alarm interfaces	Controls vendor and protocol
Fire Alarm	Life-safety interfaces and testing	Approved design and responsibility
Commissioning records	Test results and as-built documentation	Acceptance criteria and format

Fiber teams can prepare around measurable deliverables: an agreed route, documented terminations, clean connectors, test records and an accurate handoff schedule. Once a package is issued, review pathway capacity, bend-radius requirements, access restrictions and the distinction between campus backbone and tenant cabling. These are estimating questions, not disclosed DFW40 specifications.

Security and controls firms face a similar coordination problem. A camera or door interface can involve power, network connectivity, software configuration and acceptance testing across several organizations. The useful bid scope identifies who furnishes each component, who configures it and who signs off on performance. Work that crosses suite boundaries deserves particular attention before a price is committed.

For project managers, documentation deserves a labor allowance of its own. Labels, test-result naming, redline drawings and turnover records can affect acceptance even when the physical installation is finished. Confirm the required format early, then carry those obligations into procurement and crew planning. The reviewed filings provide no basis for a dollar estimate of this work.

Jobs, trades and skills to prepare

No DFW40 construction job total, operations headcount or project-specific vacancy was verified. Digital Realty’s careers site is a general company resource. Applicants should check the actual location, employer, discipline and requisition details of any listing before connecting it to this facility. HED’s corporate website likewise offers a route into its practice without establishing hiring for this particular assignment.

For technicians, the relevant preparation includes fiber inspection and testing, orderly cable routing, labeling, pathway coordination and clear closeout records. The Fiber Optic Association’s workforce resources provide general training context. No affiliation between that resource and the DFW40 project is claimed, and no specific certification requirement has been disclosed.

For supervisors, safety preparation includes understanding the actual site’s access and task requirements. OSHA’s Outreach Training Program covers common workplace hazards through 10-hour and 30-hour courses. Confirm project requirements with the employer and site team; general training does not resolve every task-specific requirement or establish that a crew has been accepted for this job.

A practical capability package could show comparable work, relevant training, example test reports, available supervision and the firm’s process for controlling changes. Keep those materials ready while the delivery team becomes clearer. Staffing a specific number of workers or promising a mobilization date would require evidence beyond the registrations.

Keep the Garland campus boundaries clear

The City of Garland’s archived 2018 announcement documents the campus’s development history and Garland Power & Light’s involvement. It is historical context. Its long-term campus plans do not establish the service agreement, available load or energization schedule for the current DFW40 suite work.

There is also a separate DFW45 registration at 1602 Ferris Road. That filing names Digital Garland 2C, L.P. and describes a different building. Its capacity, cost and schedule belong to DFW45. Neighboring facilities can share a campus identity while having separate commercial arrangements and construction packages.

The DFW40 street-address map point is approximate along the address range. It is useful for orienting research, but a confirmed entrance, parcel boundary and site-access instructions remain necessary before a visit. No tenant, executed lease or specific AI workload has been verified for this report. Digital Realty’s broader AI offerings do not establish the customer or equipment inside these suites.

What to watch next

The strongest next milestones would be a current owner or designer update, primary confirmation of construction progress and a named delivery team. Issued drawings or procurement notices could then clarify suite releases, carrier responsibilities, security integrations, controls interfaces and turnover requirements. A confirmed utility milestone would answer a separate question about power readiness.

For now, DFW40 is a source-backed construction lead with a substantial suite estimate and a named design firm. Use the filing details to qualify the opportunity, then verify the buyer and released scope before committing bid time or crews. Follow LVN Signal for construction intelligence and browse the data-center map to compare projects by location. The article’s source links provide the starting documents for your own review.