A Virginia-based developer is aiming to bring a new 400-acre data center to North Carolina in a county southwest of downtown Raleigh.

PointOne Data Centers submitted an application to the Sanford/Lee County/Broadway Technical Review Committee to build a 90-megawatt center at 4079 Lower Moncure Road in Lee County, the Triangle Business Journal reported.

The first phase of the project would entail the build-out of the 300K SF facility. Construction would begin this fall, with completion in 2028, TBJ reported.

The proposed project would be a $900M investment, according to TBJ. Texas-based CyrusOne, a global data center developer, would own and operate the site. CyrusOne has built more than 60 data centers globally, including one near Research Triangle Park in Durham that it acquired in 2017. Since then, the company has sought to expand its presence in North Carolina. The state currently houses at least 93 data centers, according to Data Center Map.

Data centers have been a controversial issue in the Carolinas over the past year, with several counties and cities imposing moratoriums on new development. Earlier this week, the city of Charlotte approved a 150-day pause on new projects following public outcry. Lee County does not have a moratorium, but in April, it amended its Unified Development Ordinance to clarify where data centers can be located and what standards they must adhere to.

Data center opponents argue that data center development requires intensive water and power usage and can cause noise pollution and neighborhood displacement. In Raleigh, many residents say water usage is critical as the area faces extreme drought conditions.

But a PointeOne executive told TBJ its data center would use very little water due to its closed-loop cooling system. The executive said it would need an initial fill of 200K gallons and that other water usage for things like restrooms would utilize 1,100 gallons per day. 

If the review committee approves the plan, the next step would be applying for a building permit.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) took the first steps toward finding a partner to turn the Alewife Complex in Cambridge into a public transit and mixed-use development. The MBTA will issue requests for proposals seeking developer qualifications by late this summer, with proposals due in the fall.

The transit agency got the ball rolling recently with a joint development forum that drew 175 attendees in person and more than 75 virtually. The Alewife Complex includes a Red Line station, a 2,733-space parking garage and additional commuter rail facilities.

Redevelopment of the Alewife Complex will address several key priorities, including sustainability, infrastructure modernization, multimodal integration, climate resilience and transit-oriented development. “Mixed-use transit-oriented development opportunities like Alewife can really spur economic development in local communities, introduce more affordable housing and assist the Commonwealth in its climate change goals,” said MBTA general manager and CEO Phillip Eng.

Photo courtesy of the MBTA.

Childress Klein is asking the city of Charlotte to rezone a 213,000 square foot office property at 2101 Rexford Road so it can redevelop the property into a mixed-use venture. If the developer gets its way, the property, Esplanade at SouthPark and an adjacent parcel, could include up to 675 multifamily units and 277,000 square feet of office space.

The Charlotte Business Journal reported Childress Klein acquired the property in June 2023 for $31 million. Esplanade at SouthPark was built in 1982 and renovated in 2015. Current tenants include Noble Insurance Advisors, McMichael & Gray and Terrascope Public Relations.

The development site shown in the rezoning also includes Rexford Park II, a 77,000-square-foot office building at at 2115 Rexford Road.

The development is expected to include four total buildings, as well as outdoor amenity areas and green space.

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) on Wednesday announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a construction management firm to manage construction of the first phase of the Science Park and Research Campus (SPARC) Kips Bay project, intended to transform Hunter College’s Brookdale School of Nursing Campus into nearly two million square feet of academic, healthcare and life sciences space.

The total anticipated contract award is expected to be more than $1 billion, and the work will be governed under a Project Labor Agreement. Construction is expected to begin at the end of 2025 and to be completed in 2031. The RFP can be viewed here.

The construction manager will oversee deconstruction of the existing buildings on the current Hunter Brookdale School of Nursing campus, construction of the first phase of the SPARC Kips Bay development and reconstruction of the existing 25th Street pedestrian bridge over the FDR Drive.

“SPARC Kips Bay is a transformative and generational project that will cement New York City as the global leader in the life sciences industry while building a more vibrant and inclusive economy,” said NYCEDC president & CEO Andrew Kimball. “Securing a construction manager is a monumental step in turning this vision to reality and creating a first-of-its-kind campus that will create a diverse talent pipeline of students looking to enter the life sciences and health sectors.”

Red Lobster Management LLC said late Sunday evening that it had filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. The move was widely expected; CNBC reported in April that the seafood restaurant operator was seeking a buyer to avoid a bankruptcy filing.

Further store closures and a sale of substantially all its assets are part of the plan outlined in Sunday’s bankruptcy filing. Red Lobster said it had entered into a stalking horse purchase agreement pursuant to which the company will sell its business to an entity formed and controlled by its existing term lenders.

Meanwhile, the company has received a $100-million debtor-in-possession commitment from its lenders and plans to keep all locations open while the bankruptcy case runs its course.

“This restructuring is the best path forward for Red Lobster,” said Jonathan Tibus, a restructuring expert who was recently appointed as CEO. “It allows us to address several financial and operational challenges and emerge stronger and re-focused on our growth. The support we’ve received from our lenders and vendors will help ensure that we can complete the sale process quickly and efficiently while remaining focused on our employees and guests.”

CNBC reported that in a court filing, Tibus blamed a “difficult macroeconomic environment, a bloated and underperforming restaurant footprint, failed or ill-advised strategic initiatives, and increased competition within the restaurant industry” for the chain’s need to seek Chapter 11 protection.

The chain was divested by Darden Restaurants in 2014 and sold to private equity firm Golden Gate Capital, which subsequently sold its ownership stake to an investor group.

Bisnow/Jon Banister

Carlyle co-founder and co-Chair David Rubenstein in conversation with Cushman & Wakefield Executive Vice Chairman Darian LeBlanc at Bisnow’s 2023 D.C. State of the Market.

An investment firm backed by Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein has launched a new fund to invest in commercial real estate, as falling property prices have created buying opportunities. 

Declaration Partners is seeking to raise $400M to invest in multifamily and industrial properties as part of the firm’s second real estate fund, Bloomberg reported. Rubenstein, who is the largest backer of the New York-based firm, provided an anchor allocation along with other investors from the firm’s first fund.

The first fund also targeted multifamily and industrial properties. It closed in 2022 with $240M raised from wealthy individuals and family offices from the U.S., Middle East and Latin America.

This first fund’s investments included an industrial property in the Inland Empire, California, an apartment complex in Charlotte, North Carolina, and a student housing joint venture project in Pittsburgh.

Last year, the firm acquired a 442-unit multifamily property in Pittsburgh and provided preferred equity financing for a 364-unit property near Chicago, Bloomberg reported.

Rubenstein, speaking in June at Bisnow‘s D.C. State of the Market event, said that the distress in the office market has also created major opportunities for investment.

“I would say the best single investment that I know of today is probably going to be commercial real estate debt in downtown office buildings, buying it from the banks when the banks want to get it off their books,” Rubenstein said.

While multifamily and industrial haven’t been as hard hit as office, both still experienced significant drops in pricing last year as rising interest rates took a toll on the industry. According to Green Street’s Commercial Property Price Index, apartment property prices ended the year down 30% from their peak, while industrial prices were down 16%. 

The retail building at 1065 Wisconsin Ave. NW in Georgetown

A retailer that opened last year in Georgetown is looking to use the coronavirus pandemic as a reason to terminate its lease.

The Candle Bar filed a lawsuit Aug. 14 against an affiliate of Bethesda-based Cascade Realty Partners, its landlord at 1065 Wisconsin Ave. NW, after notifying the landlord it was terminating the lease. 

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asks the court to declare that the retailer is discharged from its obligations under the lease. It says it has the right to terminate the lease because its performance as a tenant has been made impossible by the coronavirus and the ensuing government regulations on nonessential businesses. 

The Nashville-based retailer signed a 2,111 SF lease on the second floor of the building in January 2019. The building, sitting near the prime intersection of Wisconsin and M streets NW, is also occupied by apparel retailer South Moon Under.

The Cascade Realty Partners affiliate, 1065 Wisc LLC, acquired the building in 2016 for $7.3M, property records show. Cascade didn’t respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit. 

Before opening in D.C., The Candle Bar operated two locations in Nashville and one in Charlotte. It also signed a lease last year to open in Reston Town Center. In addition to selling candles, the retailer hosts candle-making classes.

The retailer was unable to operate its D.C. location after the mayor ordered the closure of nonessential businesses March 24, and it was also unable to open when Phase 1 began May 29, according to the lawsuit. The second phase of reopening June 11 allowed The Candle Bar to reopen, but it says the restriction to 50% capacity has made its operations “impracticable.”

The Candle Bar reached an agreement with its landlord June 1 that included a temporary rent abatement through October, according to the lawsuit. But it says the pandemic and related restrictions still made its ability to operate its business impossible. 

“Throughout the shutdown, and subsequently limited reopening, it has been impossible and commercially impracticable for TCB to engage in its retail business, including its custom-making candle classes,” the retailer’s attorney, Dykema Gossett Senior Counsel Charles Chotvacs, wrote in the lawsuit.

The tenant notified the landlord Aug. 11 it was terminating the lease as of Aug. 14, and the landlord maintained that The Candle Bar wasn’t discharged from its lease obligations. The lawsuit also includes Designworks Investments as a plaintiff, as the investor is the guarantor of The Candle Bar’s performance under the lease. It is asking the court to discharge it from that guarantee. 

This is not the first case of a retail tenant citing the pandemic as a reason to terminate its lease. Multiple retailers in New York City, including Victoria’s Secret, have sought to get out of lease agreements for the same reason. But a New York judge ruled one Manhattan tenant couldn’t legally avoid its obligations, and one attorney told Bisnow she saw the strategy as a “Hail Mary.”