The development of data centers has been on a tear but tempered a bit in June, dragging down overall growth in construction project planning, according to Dodge Construction Network, Boston.

The analytic firm’s Dodge Momentum Index (DMI) fell 1.9% in June to 271.7 from the upwardly revised May reading of 277.1 (2000=100). Over the month, commercial planning declined 6.8% and institutional planning momentum grew 10.9%.  

The decline in June’s DMI was almost entirely driven by slower momentum in data center planning, while almost all other sectors improved, said Sarah Martin, director of economic research at Dodge Construction Network.

“After a stretch of record-breaking monthly planning, we’d expect some months where data center activity takes a breather,” Martin said. “While local pushback, power and labor bottlenecks are ever-growing constraints for the sector, growth is expected to resume over the coming months.”

Without data centers, commercial planning was up 7.6% year-over-year, as owners and developers increasingly expect more stability and a stronger economy in mid-2027 and 2028, she said.

On the institutional side, healthcare planning has been one of the more structurally durable sectors—aging demographics, continued replacement and modernization of older hospital stock, and expansion of outpatient and specialty facilities have supported steadier planning activity, Martin said.

“Education remains the outlier, with planning continuing to normalize from its elevated levels in late 2025,” she said. “Weaker enrollments, tighter state and local budgets, and an uncertain policy environment are all weighing on education planning.”

A total of 59 projects valued at $100 million or more entered planning throughout June. The largest commercial projects included the $500 million Stak Energy A.I. Data Center Campus in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska; the $480 million Project Swan Data Center Complex in Lakeland, Fla.; and the $456.8 million Parcel A Data Center in Manassas, Va.

The largest institutional planning projects included the $437 million replacement of the DCSO Correctional Facility in Nashville, Tenn.; the $320 million Cone Health Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C.; and the $303 million El Camino Health Hospital in Los Gatos, Calif.

“Project delays and lingering macroeconomic uncertainty will keep a lid on how quickly planning-stage projects convert to construction spending, but 2027 and 2028 should present a more positive picture for spending activity,” Martin said.

The DMI is a monthly measure based on the three-month moving value of nonresidential building projects going into planning, shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year to 18 months.