North Carolina: A $2.24m North Carolina Data Facility Becomes an Eatery And Grocery Store

Advanced Internet Technologies (AIT) sold its Fayetteville, North Carolina base and data center, with plans to convert the majority of the space.

The 93,000 square foot data center was wholly controlled and run by hosting and service provider AIT since 2004, but was sold to AIT's subsidiary Ace Capital LLC in 2012 following AIT's 2010 loan default. The AIT family has sold the data center to ROI of Houston and Smooth Ruckus LLC of Sheridan, Wyoming for $2.24 million. The facility is situated on 1.62 acres at 421 Maiden Lane in Cumberland County, next to Segra Stadium. According to AIT's founder and proprietor, Clarence Briggs, the data center has been sold because data center equipment has shrunk in size over the years and AIT requires only a tiny portion of the construction, which it will sublet from the new owners.

According to reports, World Class ROI and Smooth Ruckus are investigating the possibility of transforming the building into a restaurant, grocery store, event space, and other amenities. The structure was built in 1937 and inaugurated as a Sears department store. In the 1980s, it became the Cumberland County Department of Social Services, and in the 1990s, it was acquired by AIT, which initially rented the facility.