Turning Old Factories Into the Data Centers of the Future with Gabe Andrews

What if an old factory or abandoned industrial site could become part of the future of AI?

In this episode of the Mile High Success Podcast, Nick Elder sits down with Gabe Andrews, a data center veteran with 25 years of experience. Gabe has helped deploy data centers on six of the seven continents and in 49 of the 50 U.S. states.

Gabe shares how his career started after nine years in the military. What began as a search for his next job turned into a career that has taken him around the world.

Today, Gabe is helping develop data centers with a different approach. Instead of only looking for new land, his team looks for old industrial sites, including former paper mills, manufacturing plants, and other brownfield properties. Their goal is to bring these sites back to life and turn old factories into the factories of the digital age.

Nick and Gabe also talk about one of the biggest challenges facing data center development: getting communities involved. Gabe explains why developers need to listen first, understand what matters to local residents, and explain projects in simple terms.

The conversation also explores the growing interest in data centers because of AI, what investors should understand about the time it takes to develop these projects, and why access to materials and skilled people may become an even bigger challenge as demand grows.

For Gabe, education is a big part of the answer. He shares his experience with students from fourth-grade classrooms through college and believes knowledge becomes more valuable when it is shared.

Gabe also explains why he is excited about bringing new life to old industrial properties and creating data centers that can provide jobs, revenue, and new opportunities for communities.