I recently came across a collection of thoughts to consider when upgrading or repurposing a building or site for a data center. In many ways, it resembled an edition of the CRS-Sirrine site planning guidelines (of course I am dating myself with that reference, as that Texas-based firm divested itself in 1994 when it was acquired by HOK). In any case, those guidelines consisted of many good things to think about when kicking the tires on an existing piece of real estate.
In school — and throughout our careers — we have been taught this same list of questions to ask of a site, to the point that they are now indelibly ingrained into our minds. Our inquiries over the years led us to pore over existing zoning requirements and permissible uses to requirements for acoustic and visual separation from adjacent noncompatible uses. Delving deeper, we were taught to inquire whether there was a slope to the site — one significant enough that locating a large quantity of ground-mounted equipment enclosures might have proven a cumbersome endeavor. Were there designated wetlands or floodplains that needed protection or, at least, some consideration? Was there an archaeological history to the site or any existing structures of historic value? And the list goes on.