ASHEVILLE – A local renewable energy company has received a over half billion dollar investment to allow the company to expand their services and continue the development, operation and financing of solar energy production and energy storage facilities.
Pine Gate Renewables, based in Asheville, has received a $650 million investment from three investment partners: Generate Capital, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, and HESTA.
The renewable energy company employs over 300 people and develops and operates “utility scale solar and energy storage projects across the United States,” according to its website. The company headquarters are off Roberts Street in the River Arts District.
Pine Gate Renewables has experienced strong growth since its founding in 2016. Since opening, the company has closed $7 billion in project financing and capital investment while developing and supporting 82 solar and storage projects in North Carolina and 33 states.
Pine Gate Renewables CEO Ben Catt told the Citizen Times the investment comes as the company and solar power industry continues to see strong growth.
The 2023 Annual Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, produced by BloombergNEF in partnership with the Business Council for Sustainable Energy, recently indicated more Americans than ever receive power from carbon-free sources — with nearly 40% of US power originating from nuclear energy and renewables, as reported by USAToday.
For Pine Gate, the $650 million is a “platform investment,” meaning the money will be put toward maintaining current and developing future projects while continuing to work on staff resourcing.
“We continue to create projects, so this investment allows us to fuel that growth and be able to not only invest in existing operating farms but ultimately grow our business,” Catt said.
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The three investment groups represent a mixture of “mission-driven” investors and pension funds seeking stable, growing industries, Catt added.
As one of the investing companies, Generate Capital is a sustainable investment and operating platform that provides financial solutions to companies, communities and cities developing sustainable resource infrastructure, according to its website.
“We have been incredibly proud to work with the best-in-class team at Pine Gate since 2022, providing strategic growth capital, asset financing, and integrated services to accelerate their success and market leadership,” wrote Scott Jacobs, Generate Capital’s CEO and co-founder, in an April 29 news release on the investment.
The inclusion of the HOOPP and HESTA pension funds also demonstrates confidence in stability, Catt said, as pension funds typically “are looking for long-term stability and long-term returns.” HESTA is an Australian industry “superannuation fund” for people working in health and community services, according to their website.
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“HOOPP is pleased to partner with the Pine Gate team supporting their work as a leader in renewable energy. We look forward to collaborating with Pine Gate and Generate in providing much-needed clean energy to the company’s customers and communities,” wrote Steve Smith, HOOPP’s Head of Global Infrastructure, in the news release.
Catt said the investments and growth only come as the “early innings” of the company’s long-term growth, as the renewable energy industry sees “double-digit annual growth rates.” Catt also said the investment was the product of a “fantastic” and “mission-driven” team at Pine Gate.
“It speaks to where the renewable energy industry has gone from 20 years ago to where we are today,” Catt said.
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
The company that operates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp has completed the $8.5 million purchase of more than 1,000 acres of city-owned Northeast El Paso land for a proposed huge data center.
Meta Platforms Inc., under a company it established to buy the land, completed the sale on Dec. 29. That’s 3½ months earlier than the sale contract’s April 18 deadline for moving forward with the sale without a contract extension.
The land sale agreement was approved by the El Paso City Council on Dec. 4, but city officials did not announce its completion.
The City Council and El Paso Commissioners Court on Dec. 4 also approved providing millions of dollars in tax rebates to Meta over 25 years to encourage it to spend a minimum of $800 million to build a hyperscale data center.
Meta officials have yet to publicly announce the company will build a data center at the vacant El Paso site. However, the land sale is a big step toward proceeding with the project. It has up to five years to develop the property, according to the sale contract.
The vacant land is located along a little-used portion of Stan Roberts Sr. Avenue and just off of U.S. Highway 54 — not far from the New Mexico state line.
Data centers house computers and servers to process data for customers. Hyperscale data centers are large and can quickly scale up or down to meet demand. However, the centers don’t have large workforces.
The land sale was contingent on Meta obtaining a water-supply agreement with El Paso Water, which it did in early December. It waived a contract requirement that it also have a power-purchase agreement with El Paso Electric prior to the sale closing.
Meta and EPE are still negotiating a power agreement, Kelly Tomblin, the utility’s chief executive officer, recently told the El Paso Times.
The Meta-tied company, Wurldwide LLC, entered an agreement with the city and paid a deposit of $333,600 on April 18, 2022, to inspect the land for up to a year, with possible extensions. Meta instead completed the land sale on Dec. 29, a city spokesperson said.
CBRE, a global commercial real estate firm, did an appraisal in April 2023 of the 1,042-acre site for the city and concluded the site’s market value was $8,156 per acre. It based that value on evaluating sales of five El Paso-area vacant land sites, which sold for prices ranging from $6,550 to $16,929 per acre, the CBRE appraisal report shows.
The city sold 1,039 acres of the site for $8,156 per acre, or just under $8.5 million, and retained three acres. City staff handled the land deal without using an outside broker, said Karina Brasgalla, interim director of the city Economic and International Development Department.
The money from the sale goes into the city’s capital assets fund for future capital-asset purchases as required by city charter, Brasgalla said.
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Meta has to build at least an $800 million data center and invest at least $2.8 billion over 25 years, including costs of periodically updating the center’s equipment, to get $110 million in mostly tax rebates and other incentives, a city official reported in December.
However, if it builds a five-phase campus, as city officials are hoping, and spends at least $14 billion, including equipment refreshes every five years, it could get more than $500 million in tax rebates over 25 years, city information shows.
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter, now known as X.
Though the owner of Kinship Brewery told the Des Moines Register in November he had no plan to sell the foreclosed business in Waukee, a commercial real estate firm is now listing the building and land for sale.
Lincoln Saving Bank foreclosed on Kinship’s Waukee taproom at 255 Sunrise Dr. N.W. in October, saying the brewery and the limited liability company that owns the property, Sunrise Drive Acquisitions, had defaulted on loans of $3.5 million and $2.4 million and that Kinship had failed to keep up payments on an operating loan with a $44,898 balance.
Owner Zack Dobeck insisted in an interview the following month that there was “a path forward” for the brewery, which opened in 2021, and at the time he still was operating the taproom with attenuated hours. In December, however, amid complaints by employees that they hadn’t been paid, Kinship closed the taproom, posting on Facebook that it would reopen May 1.
Court records show that on March 21, Kinship, Sunrise Drive Acquisitions, Lincoln Savings Bank and Dobeck told a Dallas County judge they had agreed to a settlement in the foreclosure case, but needed until April 4 to finalize the terms. As first reported by the Des Moines Business Record, the property is now on the market.
Riley Hogan, a senior vice president at West Des Moines commercial real estate firm CBRE, said Wednesday he is marketing the property on behalf of Kinship’s investors. Dobeck did not respond to a request for comment.
The listing says the 12,180-square-foot building sits on 5.95 acres with a 156-space parking lot. There is a half-acre dog park, a large patio and a beer production facility with $1,5 million in equipment and a 40,000-barrel annual capacity. In addition, Kinship for a period in 2023 also was hosting a fine-dining restaurant.
Other breweries inquiring about property, agent says
Hogan said several breweries, both in Iowa and elsewhere, have inquired about the facility. Likely its best use would be as a brewery because it is ready to start making beer immediately, he said. In fact, Kinship brews continued to be on draft at some local bars as recently as last month.
But Hogan said the building also could lend itself to other uses, such as a bowling alley with a restaurant. And he said there is enough room on the site for a separate retail or office building, Hogan said.
“We could have a business owner buy the building and build their office building there,” Hogan said. “Build an apartment building there. Build condo units. There’s so many opportunities out there that present itself that are different in today’s world than it was five years ago. This building plays right into those expanding categories.”
The sales listing does not specify an asking price, and Hogan said it is negotiable. The Dallas County Property Appraiser lists the building’s assessed value at $2.4 million, but Dobeck in November said a private appraiser had valued it at $5.3 million.
Brewery sits amid booming development
Dobeck in 2020 said he had moved to the Des Moines metro with his wife, an Iowa native, from Atlanta in 2018 with opening a brewery in mind.
Areas surrounding Kinship have boomed since Kinship opened. Waukee is among the fastest-growing cities in Iowa, and single-family and multi-family housing developments are being built along the Raccoon River Valley Trail, which is connected to property. Waukee Northwest High School sits about a half mile away.
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Hogan described the project as “slightly ahead of its time,” and said that with the infrastructure work that has gone into the area since Kinship opened, it is primed for another owner to turn it into an asset for Waukee.
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“The landscape out there has changed so much over the last 24 months, 12 months,” Hogan said. “The residential rooftop growth is feeding a bunch of demand for new retail. So I think we’re in a good position.”
Philip Joens covers retail, real estate and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.
The closed University Club on downtown’s east side is being sold to a Northwestern Mutual affiliate.
The company isn’t yet disclosing specific plans for the six-story, 58,125-square-foot building, 924 E. Wells St., which was constructed in 1926.
“As an active real estate investor, Northwestern Mutual is a steward of our downtown Milwaukee campus and neighboring area and the opportunity to invest in the University Club property allows us to ensure the building continues to serve as a prominent, thriving downtown hub for the Milwaukee community,” said a company statement issued Monday.
“We plan to share Northwestern Mutual’s intended use for the building in the near future,” added Julia Fennelly, senior director of strategic communications and corporate reputation.
Terms of the pending sale, first reported by Urban Milwaukee, weren’t disclosed. The property’s assessed value is $2.7 million, according to city records.
University Club in December closed its downtown operations due to declining membership, maintenance issues and growing restaurant competition.
University Club continues to operate its golf course, tennis courts and swimming pool at 7401 N. 43rd St., Brown Deer.
The club’s downtown property is just northeast of where Northwestern Mutual is redeveloping an 18-story office building, 818 E. Mason St., to help house around 2,000 employees relocating from the company’s Franklin operations. That project is to be completed in early 2027.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, X and Facebook.
The Walt Disney Company announced Wednesday that it would invest $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in video game maker Epic Games.
The company said that it would create a “new persistent universe” within Epic Games’ Fortnite to integrate the company’s franchises within the gaming monolith.
“Our new relationship with Epic Games will create a transformational games and entertainment universe that integrates Disney’s world‐class storytelling into Epic’s cultural phenomenon,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in the company’s first quarter earnings call. “This marks Disney’s biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion.”
The investment was announced in the same earnings call that saw Disney announce that it won the streaming rights to “”Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Concert Film” film for Disney+. It also came on the heels of a blockbuster agreement announced Tuesday between Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery for a joint sports streaming platform.
Fortnite has collaborated with Disney, others before
Disney has previously worked with Epic Games to create Fortnite character skins from Disney properties including Marvel, Star Wars and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Epic Games partnered with LEGO to create a crafting mode within Fortnite. The company has also worked with Harmonix, the developers behind Rock Band, to add a musical mode called Fortnite Festival.
“We’re collaborating on something entirely new to build a persistent, open and interoperable ecosystem that will bring together the Disney and Fortnite communities,” Tim Sweeney, CEO and Founder, Epic Games said in a press release.
Just under 150,000,000 players play Fortnite worldwide, according to Fortnite Tracker. The earnings call did not provide a valuation for Epic Games.
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Fortnite Chapter 5 Season ends at 2 a.m. ET March 8 (11 p.m. PT March 7).
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Huntington Bank is selling three Downtown buildings, two of them historic, as part of a plan to redevelop the properties.
The bank announced Thursday that it is partnering with the Columbus Downtown Development Corp. to find buyers for the buildings who will overhaul them.
“Spurring new uses for these buildings signifies Huntington’s commitment to creating a more vibrant, livable city,” Steve Steinour, Huntington president and CEO, said in a news release.
“Each of these buildings holds a rich history in downtown Columbus, and we believe redevelopment is key to ensure downtown Columbus thrives for years to come. As the hometown bank, we will maintain our large presence at Huntington Center.”
Huntington plans to seek requests for proposals from developers for the three buildings:
- Huntington Bank Building, 17 S. High St., a 12-story building. The oldest part of the building, called the Harrison Building, was built in 1903-1905, and was expanded in 1925 to include the bank’s striking main lobby.
- The Wyandotte Building at 21 W. Broad St., an 11-story building completed in 1898 and designed by famed Chicago architect Daniel Burnham. The building, on the National Register of Historic Places, is considered the first skyscraper in Columbus.
- The Huntington Plaza building at 37 W. Broad St., a 12-story building erected in 1967 in what was then a modern concrete style.
“Certainly the Wyandotte Building is wonderful,” said Susan Keeny, preservation services director for Columbus Landmarks preservation association. “Whenever a building is up for sale, we always worry. The best we hope for is that a preservation-minded developer acquires it.”
In a news release, Huntington said the 200 bank employees in the three buildings will be relocated to one of the bank’s other buildings. Huntington said it will maintain a branch Downtown.
The bank did not say how much of the buildings are occupied or whether it would vacate the buildings before they are sold.
Huntington also did not say why it is taking this step now beyond noting that it is selling the buildings “as part of a broader national push toward revitalizing downtown office buildings to suit modern needs,” according to the news release.
“We are honored to work with Huntington to provide input and perspective into the (requests for proposals) process and ensure we find the ideal future owners of these buildings,” Greg Davies, CEO of the CDDC, said in the release. “These are premier locations offering unique opportunities for mixed-use spaces, such as retail and housing benefitting both Downtown residents and workers.”
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Huntington’s decision to sell reflects the continued challenges of filling office buildings, many of which have yet to recover from 2020, when COVID sent workers home.
About 23% of central Ohio office space was vacant at the end of 2023, according to the commercial real-estate company CBRE. In downtown Columbus, about 21% of office space is empty, including space that is being sublet. Despite an uptick in office leases at the end of last year, Downtown ended 2023 with 277,794 less square feet of occupied offices than in the previous year, according to CBRE.
The most obvious redevelopment possibility for the Huntington buildings would be residences. Two Downtown high-rises are already being totally or partially converted into apartments: the former PNC building (now called Preston Centre) at 155 E. Broad St., and the Continental Centre building at 150 E. Gay St.
In addition, owners have submitted plans to convert nearly all of the Chase Tower, at 100 E. Broad St., into apartments.
“Certainly this is a trend we’re seeing across growing metropolitan downtowns, where there is selective redevelopment of what I consider to be prime real estate,” said Michael Copella, senior managing director of the Columbus office of CBRE. “This is exactly what cities should be doing, to identify buildings for reuse.”
While redevelopment would most likely focus on residences, Copella said other uses, such as hotels or retail/restaurants could be in the mix.
“There’s a need for hospitality Downtown, and when you look at other successful mixed-use developments Downtown, they have hospitality, like the Junto or the LeVeque,” Copella added. “I do look at this move as a positive. It’s very rare to get Downtown sites, especially with such history and character, in proximity to other great developments.”
Amy Taylor, president of the CDDC, noted that demand for Downtown apartments remains strong. The city’s Downtown Strategic Plan calls for 40,000 people to live Downtown by 2040, up from about 12,000 now.
“The strategic plan prioritized increasing residential, so we know there’s a market there, but developers will review the art of the possible given the specific nature of each building,” Taylor said.
jweiker@dispatch.com
@JimWeiker