Starwood Capital Group has cashed in with a more than $60 million gain on a Northern Virginia data center it received through a deed-in-lieu foreclosure just two years ago.
Starwood, a global private investment firm, sold a fully leased data center in Ashburn for $150 million, according to CoStar data. Starwood acquired the property two years ago for $88.13 million, an amount equal to the amount of the outstanding debt at that time.
In a statement, Starwood said it owned the property in partnership with Digital Realty, which was a minority investor as well as the property manager and leasing agent.
The sale is indicative of the increasing demand for data center properties as the rapid adoption of new artificial intelligence applications is pushing the need for more digital storage capacity.
A joint venture between GI Partners and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System acquired the property at 43915 Devin Shafron Drive. Known as Building A at the Digital Realty campus in Ashburn, the property is a 135,000-square-foot data center with 9 megawatts of critical power with the capacity to expand in the future.
“This property is centrally situated within the largest and most important data center market in the country,” GI Partners said in the statement. “The recent leasing velocity of Northern Virginia affirms the value tenants place on locating at the center of the modern digital ecosystem. This network dense data center is a great addition to our core investment programs.”
GI Partners is a private alternative investment firm based in San Francisco.
The property is 100% leased to two creditworthy tenants and has been institutionally maintained since its initial construction in 2010.
For the Record
CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.