THE LAUNCH DOCK

Examining how large-scale infrastructure, public-private investment, and emerging technologies reshape local communities—from rural Missouri to the national economy.

What Development Looks Like From the Front Porch

It often starts quietly.

A parcel of land changes hands.
A zoning request appears on a meeting agenda.
New development terms enter the local vocabulary: mega-site, data center, industrial campus.

In Montgomery County, Missouri, residents are being asked to consider development proposals that could reshape thousands of acres of farmland for industrial or digital infrastructure. For some, these opportunities represent potential jobs and renewed growth. For others, they raise substantial questions about energy, environment, land use, and long-term community impact.

This pattern isn’t unique to one county.

But it is personal here.

And it reflects broader trends driving infrastructure investment in Missouri and across the United States.

Montgomery County: Where the System Becomes Real

Community meetings in Montgomery County have highlighted how local land and decision-making intersect with larger economic forces.

For residents, the questions are concrete:

• What will the energy demand look like?

• How are utilities and taxes affected?

• What environmental protections apply?

• How does zoning now dictate what land will look like 10–20 years from now?

Infrastructure development — whether industrial parks or large data centers — creates value. It also changes communities in ways that may last generations.

Missouri: Positioned for Infrastructure

Across Missouri, similar forces are at play:

• expansion of industrial parks,

• development assistance programs,

• state incentives for technology infrastructure,

• tax abatements and utility commitments,

• and active recruitment of new facilities tied to national supply chains.

These trends place rural regions in direct competition for projects that require:

• inexpensive land,

• access to high-capacity power,

• and supportive local governance.

But those advantages come with tradeoffs. Residents deserve to understand what is proposed, how the community benefits, and what obligations remain decades into the future.

National Trends: The Data Center and Infrastructure Boom

Infrastructure investment in digital systems — particularly data centers — has become a defining force in the U.S. economy.

Record construction and growth:
• U.S. data center construction reached $40 billion annually in 2025, up 30% from the prior year as AI demand drives buildouts. Data centers are a standout growth segment even as other nonresidential construction slows.

Economic impact on the nation:
• J.P. Morgan projects that data center investment could add 10–20 basis points to U.S. GDP growth in 2025–26, driven by demand for AI infrastructure and related power and transmission upgrades.

Skyrocketing capital expenditures:
• Global data center capital expenditures are expected to climb to over $1 trillion by 2029 as AI becomes a structural investment driver.
• In 2024 alone, spending on AI and related infrastructure reached approximately $290 billion, and investments from major cloud hyperscalers are on pace to push that much higher.

Demand outpacing traditional infrastructure:
• Hyperscale data center expansions are projected to grow far beyond traditional IT demand, reshaping how and where digital infrastructure is built.

These trends illustrate that what might look like a localized development isn’t just local — it’s part of a multi-billion-dollar economic drivers pushing infrastructure expansion nationwide.

Private Participation in Infrastructure

Beyond data centers, broader infrastructure trends reinforce the role of private capital.

• Global private participation in infrastructure investments reached $100.7 billion in 2024, exceeding historical averages and highlighting continued financial interest in infrastructure deals.

Public-private collaboration can bring capital and expertise to long-term projects. But schools, roads, energy delivery, and digital nodes are not built without long-term implications for tax bases, environmental resources, and everyday community life.

When infrastructure is financed through private capital and public incentives, transparency and accountability matter more than ever.

Why Rural Communities Are Appealing

Developers and investors often target rural areas because:

• land costs are lower,

• permitting can be relatively faster,

• there are fewer competing land uses,

• and incentives (tax abatements, utility agreements) can be generous.

But communities should ask:

• Who pays for long-term infrastructure upgrades?

• Who bears risk if the economic assumptions change?

• How will energy and water systems handle new demand?

• Are there enforceable environmental protections?

These questions aren’t anti-progress. They are stewardship.

Public-Private Partnerships: Tools with Tradeoffs

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are often used to deliver infrastructure. They can:

• connect private capital with public needs,

• accelerate construction,

• share risk.

But PPPs also involve:

• complex contracts,

• long time horizons,

• confidentiality clauses,

• and structures that can be hard for communities to interpret without assistance.

National history cautions that opacity often accompanies complexity — and when the people affected can’t see the details, accountability suffers.

Infrastructure Is Not Anti-Progress

No serious observer argues that technology should be stopped. No county prospers by resisting all change.

But growth without involvement is displacement, not development.

Communities deserve transparent answers when:

• utility capacity is stretched,

• land use is redefined,

• long-term tax commitments are made,

• environmental impacts are at stake.

Participation is not opposition. It is participation in your future.

Call to Action: What Engagement Looks Like

If you live in Montgomery County or anywhere facing major infrastructure proposals, consider:

• Attend public meetings and ask for the full scope of plans.

• Request detailed documents (environmental, traffic, energy demand).

• Ask how utilities will handle increased power draw.

• Inquire about conditional use permits and enforcement guarantees.

• Understand what tax incentives or abatements are proposed.

• Talk with neighbors about long-term community priorities.

• Support local journalism and civic engagement groups.

Informed communities create better outcomes.

Final Thought

Montgomery County is not resisting the future.

It is standing inside it.

Asking to understand.
Asking to participate.
Asking to decide.

That is not obstruction.

That is stewardship.

In solidarity,
Lyndsay LaBrier
Founder, Merchant Ship Collective

References

ConstructConnect. (2025). Data center construction trends 2025. ConstructConnect Report.

Dell’Oro Group. (2025). Global data center capex forecast 2029.

J.P. Morgan. (2025). Data center investment and GDP growth. Reuters.

Bank of America Institute. (2025). U.S. data center construction report. Reuters.

Private Participation in Infrastructure Database. (2024). Global PPI investment trends. World Bank Group.