**Laredo AI Center Secures $7.1 Billion Construction Loan**
Newmark Group has arranged a $7.1 billion construction loan on behalf of Blue Owl Capital, Crusoe, and Primary Digital Infrastructure. The financing—led by a banking consortium headed by J.P. Morgan—will fund Phase Two of a $15 billion joint venture to develop a 1.2-gigawatt AI data center in Abilene, Texas.
Under the terms of the venture, Crusoe, in conjunction with funds managed by Blue Owl’s Real Assets platform and Primary Digital Infrastructure, will sponsor the construction of six new buildings. These additions will bring the total number of buildings at the data center to eight.
Construction of the first phase, which consists of two buildings and more than 200 megawatts of power capacity, began in June 2024 and is expected to be operational in the first half of 2025. The second phase—comprising the newly financed six buildings and the full 1.2-gigawatt build-out—broke ground in March 2025, with an expected energization date in mid-2026. The project is on track to set a new industry benchmark for the speed and scale of greenfield, hyperscale digital infrastructure delivery.
Newmark’s Jordan Roeschlaub and Ben Kroll led the financial arrangement, working collaboratively with Brent Mayo, Doug Harmon, and Andrew Warin.
