Data storage may be the key to rebooting commercial construction in New Jersey. Companies that are only now beginning to recover from the crisis simply don’t have the capital to invest in building their own data storage facilities. And even if they did, with a $1200 per square foot construction cost, most businesses find it more cost effective to lease data storage space than to own. Plus, the exponential growth of data makes storing it a growing headache that most companies just don’t want to deal with anymore.

With the economy recovering, data storage companies are reviving construction projects planned as long ago as 2007 and planning new projects. States are scrambling to make themselves appealing homes for the new sites, which represent the majority of current activity in a commercial real estate industry that is still reeling. One state that is well positioned (literally) to take advantage of the data center construction recovery is New Jersey.

Why is a New Jersey data center so special? Well, as with all real estate, the answer has three parts: location, location and location. First, New Jersey has the space to build the enormous buildings that house the servers and other equipment. Second, New Jersey is close to Manhattan—and the financial services industry has massive data storage needs. Third, New Jersey land is reasonably priced, relatively speaking.

Sure, land out in the middle of nowhere might be cheaper, but it would be further way from Manhattan. New Jersey data centers provide the proximity that is required for speed. The further the data center is from the activity, the longer the data takes to travel. While most of us don’t consider that a problem when posting a Facebook update, it is an enormous consideration for companies that have massive numbers of financial transactions daily. A New Jersey datacenter is the closest thing to being a Manhattan data center without being in Manhattan.

Although you may not recognize the names of some of the companies that store the data, the enterprises leasing the space, such as the New York Stock Exchange and Goldman Sachs, are pretty familiar. Several new data centers in New Jersey have already been built in Bergen County and Passaic County, and many more are predicted.

So New Jersey, known for its attractive industrial areas and sprawling malls, now has one more lovely landscape feature to brag about—so much for the Garden State.

Jessica writes about a wide variety of topics. She especially enjoys writing about technology. You can learn more about New Jersey Data Center at http://www.digitalrealtytrust.com/