An optical cable dealer will benefit from the surge in data center development with a billion-dollar deal that will expand its North Carolina manufacturing. 

Corning Inc. will boost its optical cable manufacturing presence in North Carolina through a $6B data center deal with Meta Platforms Inc., the Charlotte Business Journal reported.

The multiyear deal, which spans through 2030, aims to provide specialized cable to facilitate data center development for Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. 

Corning CEO and Chairman Wendell P. Weeks said in a press release that the investment will significantly expand the company’s footprint across North Carolina and boost its headcount in the state by 15% to 20%.

“Together with Meta, we’re strengthening domestic supply chains and helping ensure that advanced data centers are built using U.S. innovation and advanced manufacturing,” Weeks said.

In October 2025, Corning announced it would expand at its 378-acre cable plant at the Trivium Corporate Center in Hickory, an hour northwest of Charlotte in Catawba County. When Corning announced the Hickory expansion, it stated investment would total between $170M and $268M.

Corning’s plans will reportedly make its Hickory facility the largest fiber-optic plant in the world.

In addition to the Hickory plant, Corning has manufacturing plants in Newton, Concord, Wilmington and Winston-Salem.

Shares of Corning, which have reportedly risen more than 75% in the past year, rose 16% on Jan. 27th with news of the deal to close to reach a new 52-week high of  $110.

Meta announced in November it would commit to spending $600B on data centers and infrastructure in the U.S. by 2028. 

The company’s two largest data center clusters currently under construction are the 1-gigawatt Prometheus site in Ohio and the 5-gigawatt Hyperion site in Louisiana. Both will feature Corning fiber-optic cable, CNBC reported.

Hines, in partnership with Cresset Partners, has launched construction for the redevelopment of 429 Houston, an approximately 30,000-square-foot industrial and retail mixed-use property located in Nashville’s Wedgewood Houston neighborhood. The redevelopment will transform 429 Houston—which the company purchased in December 2019—into a dedicated retail property, including restaurant and retail tenants. It will also add a large, wrap-around outdoor patio, additional square footage, parking, new building systems, site infrastructure and extensive landscaping and hardscaping. 

The firm has also signed new restaurant tenants at 429 Houston. The new eateries include: 

• Bodega Taqueria y Tequila (4,384 SF at 429 Houston, expected to open by mid-2025);
• Aba (8,979 SF at 429 Houston, expected to open by mid-2025).

Existing 429 Houston tenant Jackalope Brewing Company will stay in its current 16,200-square-foot space and remain open throughout the redevelopment. Hines paid nearly $8 million for the 1.11-acre site.

Hines developed the nearby Finery, which includes a 383-unit apartment project and T3 Wedgewood Houston, a mass-timber office building.

Landmark Properties acquired Pointe on Rio in Austin, near the campus of the University of Texas. Pointe on Rio, soon to be rebranded as Tradition on Rio, is Landmark’s seventh asset in the Austin market; the acquisition adds 321 beds and 122 units to the company’s portfolio. 

Built in 2014, this mid-rise community at 1901 Rio Grande Street boasts a nearly 94% preleasing rate for the Fall 2024 term. It has a diverse range of apartment layouts, spanning from studio to five-bedroom floorplans. 

Pointe on Rio offers students a number of amenities, such as a courtyard pool, resident lounge with gaming area, pool table and TVs, on-site parking, fitness center, conference/study room, and numerous resident events throughout the year.

Landmark’s presence in Austin is bolstered by a portfolio totaling 3,769 beds across renowned communities including Legacy on Rio, The Mark Austin, The Standard at Austin, The Nine at Rio, The Nine at West Campus, and Moontower.

Integra Realty Resources (IRR) is expanding its Michigan footprint, acquiring Grand Rapids, MI-based Genzink Appraisal Company. The valuation and consulting firm’s second office in Michigan and 54th overall, IRR—Grand Rapids will be under the management of IRR’s newest shareholder Jeffrey Genzink (pictured).

“Grand Rapids is one of the nation’s fastest-growing economies and an important market for our clients,” said IRR chairman Anthony M. Graziano. “Jeff and his entire team at Genzink Appraisal Company bring a stellar reputation serving the West Michigan market over the past three decades, and we welcome them to our growing team.”

Founded by Genzink in 1998, Genzink Appraisal Company has grown into one of the leading private commercial appraisal firms in Western Michigan. The company has provided real estate appraisal services across a wide range of property types. The firm reportedly has extensive experience in partial takings, easement valuations and diminution-in-value assignments.

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