Digital Realty offers De Soto $20M ahead of 600 MW data center

WIRE · AI DATA CENTERS · US · Data as at 14 Oct 2026

Digital Realty is paying the town before it builds the halls. On 9 October 2026 the data center landlord said it will put $20 million into credits of up to $1,000 a year for every household in De Soto, Kansas, for 10 years, toward utility bills and property tax. The money is meant to arrive ahead of Astra North, the first phase of a campus on the old Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, where Digital Realty's deal with the local utility promises 600 MW of power by early 2028 and 2 GW at full delivery. No tenant has been named. The next local test is a public hearing on a tax increment financing district, expected at the city council on 19 November. On the AI Data Centers layer, this is a landlord paying its neighbours before the power, the building or the tenant arrive.

What happened

Why cash cares

Start with who gets paid first: De Soto's households. Digital Realty said the credits are meant to reach residents "in the near term, ahead of the recurring tax revenue" the campus should bring once it runs. So the town is paid before the halls exist, before a tenant is named, and more than a year before the first 600 MW is due.

The seller of the land was paid even earlier. In June Digital Realty paid about $475 million, in cash and units in its operating partnership, for about 1,440 acres at Astra Enterprise Park. It said the deal gave it a powered site to serve hyperscale customers' near-term needs.

The utility is next in line. Its Energy Service Agreement gives it a large new customer, 600 MW by early 2028 and 2 GW at full delivery. Neither side has published the price or who pays for the new lines and substations.

Digital Realty is paid last. A data center landlord earns rent once a tenant moves into a powered hall, which is why data center leases start when the power does. No tenant has been named for De Soto, and Digital Realty has not said how much the first phase will cost.

The tax step is where the money could come back. A tax increment financing district sets aside part of the extra property tax a project creates to pay for project costs, often through bonds, instead of sending all of it to the city's general fund. The size of De Soto's district has not been published. One neighbour told KSHB 41 she thinks the credits were timed to come "before they ask for tax incentives to help with bonds". Digital Realty said the commitment "accelerates benefits the community will receive". The city is not expected to pay any of the credits from its general revenue fund, KSHB 41 reported.

Here is our own arithmetic, not a company figure. $20 million over 10 years is $2 million a year. At the full $1,000, that covers about 2,000 households a year. The $20 million is about 4.2% of what Digital Realty paid for the land, and the land cost about $330,000 an acre. Spread over the first 600 MW, the credits come to about $33,000 per MW of contracted power. Spread over 2 GW, about $10,000 per MW. The offer came 109 days after the land deal, and the hearing is 34 days away from 16 October.

Figure: De Soto ledger. The town is paid before the power, and the landlord is paid after it. The per-household, per-acre, per-MW, 4.2% and day-count figures are our arithmetic on Digital Realty's June and October releases.

The step that is still open

Local permission, then power. Digital Realty says the project still needs construction permits and planning commission approval, and the tax district goes to a hearing on 19 November. Construction is due to start in 2027, and the first 600 MW is due by early 2028. That leaves a short window between breaking ground and the power date.

De Soto is not choosing on one project alone. Beale Infrastructure has already started building another data center campus down the road, KSHB 41 reported, and the neighbours behind the petition oppose both.

We have seen the load pay up front twice this week. On 13 October PJM filed a study for SoftBank's 10 GW Ohio campus, where SB Energy has committed to pay for the new transmission. On 14 October AEP named Google as the 20-year buyer for a $4 billion fuel cell plant in Wyoming. Now a landlord is paying the households next to the site. Our Analysis on utilities that bill data centers before the power arrives traces the same shift.

The second-order read

Who gets paid. The land seller, in June. De Soto's households, from when the credits start. The utility, as the 600 MW comes on from 2028. Builders, from 2027.

Who pays. Digital Realty, now. If a tenant signs, the tenant pays it back over time through rent.

Who waits. Digital Realty's rent, until a tenant moves into a powered hall. The city's tax revenue, until the campus runs and the tax district's share is settled.

Stuck step. Permission at the local level, then power at the hall. The money for the neighbours is the easy part.

Three cautions

The credits are not final. Digital Realty says they are "up to" $1,000 per household, based on current population estimates, so our 2,000-household figure is a ceiling, not a count.

The 600 MW and 2 GW are utility power under the service agreement, not IT capacity, and they cover the whole site, not only Astra North. Our per-MW figures spread a community payment over contracted power. They are not a building cost.

No tenant, no first-phase cost, no tax district size and no power price have been published.

What to watch

• 19 November: the De Soto city council hearing on the tax increment financing district.
• The final credit terms: how and when households are paid, once Digital Realty and the city confirm them.
• Digital Realty's next quarterly report: whether De Soto shows up in leasing, or a tenant is named.
• Early 2028: the first 600 MW under the service agreement, with construction due to start in 2027.

Read: AI Data Centers, what Digital Realty does and how long it takes to build an AI data center

Get the Wire. A free brief every day, here and in your inbox. Subscribe free →

Not investment advice. Do your own research. The $2 million a year, 2,000 households, 4.2%, $330,000 an acre, $33,000 and $10,000 per MW, 109-day and 34-day figures are our arithmetic.

References

1. Digital Realty, "Digital Realty Commits $20 Million Toward Utility and Property Tax Credits to De Soto Residents", news release, 9 Oct 2026. $20 million, up to $1,000 per household a year for 10 years, credits ahead of tax revenue, about 1,400-acre site at the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant, about 250 permanent jobs.
2. Digital Realty, "Digital Realty Announces Transactions to Drive Continued Platform Growth", Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K, 22 Jun 2026. About 1,440 acres at Astra Enterprise Park for about $475 million in cash and operating partnership units; Energy Service Agreement for 600 MW by early 2028, rising to 2 GW at full delivery.
3. KSHB 41, "De Soto data center plans to offer $1,000 to households, but neighbors say they're not so sure", 11 Oct 2026, updated 12 Oct. Tax increment financing hearing expected 19 Nov, construction from 2027, petition past 400 signatures, Beale Infrastructure campus, no city general revenue used.
4. KCTV5, "Proposed data center would pay De Soto households $1,000 annually", 12 Oct 2026. The data center has not been fully approved.
5. CBS News, "Data center developer offers residents of Kansas town $1,000 each for 10 years", 14 Oct 2026. 280-acre first-phase site within a planned 1,400 acres.
6. Digital Realty, "De Soto data center project", project page, accessed 16 Oct 2026. Astra North about 280 acres; permits and planning commission approval still required.