SB Energy, an affiliate of Japan-based SoftBank Group, bought the Highpoint 2222 campus earlier this year for $286 million and appears poised to turn it into an R&D hub and data center operations facility.
The property at 6801 River Place Boulevard, just west of Vandegrift High School and south of a fire station, was bought from California-based Karlin Real Estate in March. SB Energy already has another SoftBank affiliate locked in to a lease, according to the Austin Business Journal.
A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing disputes what SB Energy told the 2222 Coalition of Neighborhood Associates would be coming to the campus. The company allegedly told the neighborhood nonprofit development watchdog group that a data center would not be built at the campus. However, a filing on Monday with the SEC said the new tenants lease is for office and data center use.
The proposed 50 megawatts of energy is far smaller than other SB Energy developments; an Aug. 27 S&P Global report says that part of the campus is earmarked for a research and development tech center.
SB Energy has $999 million in financing ready to roll for what it’s now calling the Cosmos Technology Campus, but recent political activity in Texas concerning data center developments could be difficult to push through.
The race to develop artificial intelligence has required substantial amounts of power and massive data center infrastructure developments. The sheer number and size of the developments coming both outside and within Texas cities has everyone from ranchers to Dallas socialites concerned about what they’re being used for and how much power and water they’ll need to function.
All Texas data center developments are now being subjected to more stringent audits, and several have agreed to regulations proposed by Gov. Greg Abbott. Despite the restrictions and the audit stalling the pipeline, Texas overtook market-leader Virginia in its data center development pace, and is on track to be the state with the most amount of data centers by 2030.
Tenants at SB Energy’s new campus are set to include U.K.-based Graphcore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group and an AI chip and systems company, and British Arm Holdings, a semiconductor giant, according to the outlet.
— Hunter Cooke
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