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ARTICLE · 17 APRIL 2026

Between Dirt And Data Centres: Why The Powered Shell Model Is Gaining Traction In Canada

Miller Thomson
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As demand for data centre capacity accelerates across Canada, developers, tenants, investors, and lenders are increasingly focused on where a project sits on the continuum: from bare land, to powered shell...

CanadaReal Estate and Construction
Kirk Emery
Kirk Emery
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As demand for data centre capacity accelerates across Canada, developers, tenants, investors, and lenders are increasingly focused on where a project sits on the continuum: from bare land, to powered shell, to a fully commissioned facility filled with computing hardware. The powered shell has emerged as a commercially significant middle ground, balancing capital cost, time to market, and control.

What is a powered shell data centre?

A powered shell data centre consists of a completed building envelope and critical base infrastructure. This typically includes:

  • secured power capacity (often with utility upgrades such as substations, transformer capacity, and transmission or distribution enhancements, as well as backup generators such as diesel);

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