Connect | Virginia // Major Panel: Built for speed - Solving Virginia’s data center construction crunch

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  • —
  • Main Stage
  • Data Center Construction
  • Open Session
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Speakers

Sean Farney

Vice President, Data Center Strategy- Americas, JLL

Nancy Novak

Chief Innovation Emeritus, Compass Datacenters

Karen Petersburg

Vice President of Data Center Development & Construction, American Real Estate Partners (AREP)

Vincent Calvo

Vincent Calvo

Director, Data Center Infrastructure Build, Oracle

Mario Sawaya

Senior Vice President, Global Head of Data Centers and Technology, AECOM

Northern Virginia remains the world’s largest data center hub, but rapid growth is pushing the region’s infrastructure, workforce, and supply chains to their limits. As demand for hyperscale and AI-ready facilities accelerates, builders face a high-stakes logistics puzzle: how do you deliver faster, smarter, and at scale in one of the most competitive and constrained markets?

This panel will examine how evolving tariffs, grid interconnection delays, material shortages, and a red-hot real estate market are reshaping construction strategies in Virginia. With federal economic policy in flux and local municipalities tightening regulations, how can developers adapt to build at speed, without sacrificing quality, cost control, or long-term operability? Join this session to learn about:

  • Chain Reaction: Can Virginia untangle its supply chain snags before the construction clock runs out?
  • Permit pressure cooker: How are red tape and labor gaps slowing down the shovels?
  • Prefab to the rescue? Is modular the secret to building fast without breaking the budget, or the grid?
  • Speed to revenue: Which project management tools help drive earlier revenue?