🏭 Amazon goes big on AI: $10B data center campus lands in rural North Carolina
🛍️ High-end retail rises from ashes in Palisades Village after wildfires
📈 Data centers crushing it: lowest cap rates and record REIT investment
📚 Upcoming courses for Raising Capital & Selling Technology/Services to Owners

Data Viz of the Week: Transit’s Uneven Recovery

Five years post-pandemic, transit usage still lags behind 2019 levels due the rise of remote work and service cuts. But transit's recovery varies significantly across metros.

NYC and DC - debatably the country's strongest transit systems - have also seen the most resilient ridership.  Transit use in Atlanta and Chicago, on the other hand, remain depressed. Proposed dramatic cuts to Chicago's metro due to budget shortfalls will not help matters.

Upcoming Thesis Driven Courses & Classes

• 📣 Last call - June 9: Fundamentals of Capital Raising (💻 Online): Insider’s guide to raising capital for real estate projects & platforms–from individuals, family offices and institutional investors - Sign up

• June 16 & 17: Fundamentals of Capital Raising (🗽Live in NYC): Insider’s guide to raising capital for real estate projects & platforms–from individuals, family offices and institutional investors - Sign up

• June 23: Selling Into Real Estate Owners (💻 Online): A bootcamp for people selling technology and products into the real estate industry - Sign up

Three Articles We Loved from Last Week

It’s not easy keeping up with everything. Here are three articles (+1 bonus) we loved from the past week that you may have missed:

1. (Axios) Amazon to invest $10B into AI data centers in North Carolina

   Amazon will build a massive AI/data center campus in rural Richmond County, NC, investing $10 billion and creating 500+ skilled jobs. The project includes major infrastructure upgrades funded with tax incentives and workforce partnerships.

2. (Vogue Business) How Caruso CEO Corinne Verdery is rebuilding LA’s Palisades Village post-fires

   L.A. retail mogul Caruso is leading a $50 million recovery of Palisades Village—enhanced streetscapes, luxury tenants, and enhanced community features—after January wildfires. With most retailers returning and brand-new retail experiences, the project aims to reopen in early 2026 and boost regional vibrancy.

3. (CRE Daily)Data Centers Lead REIT Investment Surge With Low Cap Rates

   Data centers are pulling in investor capital at unprecedented levels. With implied cap rates at just 4.4%, data center REITs now trail only tower REITs in enterprise value—signaling fierce competition and premium pricing.

Developer of the Week: Keystone Development

Office-to-resi conversions are a thing in South Florida, too.

While rare given the strength of the Miami area's office market, Keystone Development + Investment has found an office conversion project that pencils. They're converting a 145,000 sf office tower into 121 apartments.

The project had to check a number of boxes to make economic sense. Most importantly, the building has small floor plates (<20,000 square feet) and good elevator placement for conversion.

You can read more about Keystone on the Thesis Driven GP database here.

Know about a developer doing something cool? Reach out to [email protected] with the tip!

—Brad and Paul