In the News—Week of May 31 2021
Around the Nation
Tech company ditches California for … nowhere
Snowflake, a cloud data analytics vendor that in 2020 held the biggest U.S. software IPO ever, has decided to jettison California as its headquarters, CNBC reports. The company, formerly based in San Mateo, will list its headquarters as Bozeman, Montana. Securities and Exchange Commission rules require a physical address. The CEO and CFO live in Bozeman. “While San Mateo continues to remain an important location for us, we do not have a single office that is at the center of Snowflake’s operations,” a spokesperson said in an email to CNBC.
Energy & Environment
Duke Energy battles Duke Energy over energy-efficiency program
Duke Energy’s effort to expand an energy-efficiency program to its entire North Carolina service area is facing opposition from another part of the company, Energy News reports. Piedmont Natural Gas — a wholly owned subsidiaries of Duke — has played a role in slowing expansion of a program that offers rebates to new high-efficiency homes. Piedmont and other gas companies say the program will unfairly cost them customers.
Texas
Foreign investors see Houston as hot market for commercial real estate
Foreign investors like Houston for commercial real estate, Innovation Map reports. Houston tied for No. 14 in a survey from an industry group for real estate investors. Austin topped the list, Dallas was third and San Antonio 15th. The survey showed foreign real estate investors see apartment buildings as the best investment with warehouses coming in second.
Developer scraps plan for office tower/ hotel, wants to build apartments instead
Developer KDC has big — but changing plans — for the site of an Uptown grocery store that has been vacant for more than five years, The Dallas Morning News reports. KDC originally planned an office tower and hotel along with the grocery store and other retail. KDC decided to scratch the office and hotel components from the $200 million project. Instead the plan now is to build 800 apartments. The City Council has approved the new plans.
Arizona
CityScape project lands big law firm; project is almost fully leased
KTAR reports that CityScape, a mixed-used project, has landed Snell & Wilmer, the largest law firm in Arizona, as a tenant. The law firm will relocate its headquarters from the nearby Arizona Center and occupy 115,000-square-feet and five floors. RED Development says the project is now 98% leased. “Bringing the largest law firm in Arizona to CityScape Phoenix, and with it nearly completing the leasing of the building, is an accomplishment we’re proud to reach,” RED Development’s managing partner Mike Ebert said in a press release.
Mexico
More than $73 million worth of tourism projects scheduled for Yucatan
The Yucatan governor says 17 companies will develop tourism projects worth over $73 million and generate over 4,800 jobs in Yucatan, Mexico Business News reports. Mauricio Vila Dosal says the projects include apartments, restaurants and wellness camping sites. The governor says the tourism industry is coming back from the pandemic. “The confidence that investors are having in Yucatan, surely, in a year and a half, we will have recovered,” Vila Dosal says.
