This Week's D.C. Deal Sheet

Sitting in the heart of downtown Richmond, Virginia, next to a major medical campus and convention center, Activation Capital's Bio+Tech Park shows the challenges the city faces — as well as its promise.

"So there are 70 companies, 2,000 employees, 34 acres, and there's nothing going on," Activation Capital Vice President of Operations Kipton Currier said. "When you walk down the street, it's exciting when you pass someone else on the street."

But Currier, speaking last week on Bisnow's Greater Richmond 2024 Development Forecast at the Henrico Sports & Events Center, has plans to change that. 

Activation Capital, an independent state authority that operates the complex, in February received a $15M grant from Gov. Glenn Youngkin's administration for life sciences development to help kick-start its next phase, the 102K SF Innovation Center. And it is planning to build additional mixed-use development after…

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Between record leasing and the artificial intelligence boom, 2023 was a banner year for data centers. But the past 12 months also produced a wide range of unconventional and bizarre data center stories. 

From robotic crabs and AI chatbots with loose lips to a data center brought down by a cat and another data center named New York’s ugliest building, these are some of the most head-turning data center headlines from the past year.

Amazon’s AI Chatbot Gives Away Secret Data Center Locations Amazon’s latest AI creation has been handing out its home address to strangers. The company’s new AI chatbot, known as Q, is “experiencing severe hallucinations and leaking confidential data” that includes the closely guarded locations of…

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In Case You Missed It...

Despite real estate industry headwinds in a time of high interest rates and sluggish deal volumes, REITs as a whole managed a net gain year-over-year. The FTSE Nareit All Equity REITs Index was up 7.2% as of the week of Dec. 18.

But the overall performance of the index masks a complicated year for REITs, which faced varying challenges depending on their focus and structure.

The following are the top five and the bottom five performers among REITs for the year, gauged by percentage change in stock price from one year ago. The metric may not tell the whole story, but it does reflect the judgment of the market.

Best Performers

Diversified Healthcare Trust Gain: 369.93% Diversified Healthcare Trust had a tumultuous ride in 2023, but ultimately gained more in terms of percentage than any other REIT. The caveat is that the company stock went from penny-stock territory a year ago to trading at about $3.56 as…

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