Update: The city of Wisconsin Rapids announced Aug. 28 that its planning commission on Sept. 16 will hold a hearing and make a recommendation to the city council on the request for a conditional use permit for the proposed data center. 

Editor’s note: A breach-of-contract lawsuit in Pennsylvania against Andrey Sharkov remains pending, but a claim of fraud in the case was dismissed. This story has been updated to note the claim’s dismissal.

No matter where in the U.S. an artificial intelligence data center is proposed, communities express the same worries.

Water scarcity and contamination, electricity rates and reliability, air pollution, noise.

Residents are voicing those same concerns 100 miles north of Madison in Wisconsin Rapids, where developers want to replace a former paper mill with a 210-acre data center.

But there’s another worry in Rapids that makes the situation different from other Wisconsin communities where data centers have been proposed:

Russians...

Since 2023, the Taubman Center has hosted the Economic Development Post-Graduate Fellowship—a yearlong, competitively paid fellowship for a graduating HKS student to work full-time with a state, county, regional, or city economic development agency. 

As we mark our fourth year of the fellowship, we’re excited to announce our newest fellow Sahian Valladares MC/MPA 2026 who will be working in the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce in Madison, WI. Sahian joins an impressive group of past fellows serving in roles across the country, including Virginia Carefoot (MPP 2023) with the City of San Antonio Economic Development Department?, James Schisler (MPP 2024) with the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade, and, most recently, Gloria Korpas (MPP 2025) with the Miami-Dade County Office of Innovation and Economic Development...

As the west side Glass Nickel Pizza Co. plans to move to a new location in Middleton within the next year, its current location — part of a collection of buildings in a triangular space at University Avenue, North Whitney Way and Old Middleton Road — is pegged for redevelopment. 

Galway Companies has plans to redevelop the area with about 500 apartments and commercial space, according to an article in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Galway Companies, a Monona developer, presented its redevelopment plans to the city of Madison’s Urban Design Commission on Wednesday.

Preliminary plans also call for 6,000 square feet of commercial space at the corner of University Avenue and Whitney Way...

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Waushara County Circuit Court Judge Guy Dutcher has walked back his Aug. 24 ruling that the state of Wisconsin does not have the right to buy the Wisconsin Veterans Museum building on the Capitol Square, according to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal.

The state is embroiled in a fight with building owners to determine how to redevelop the 10-story building, located at 22 and 30 W. Mifflin St. in Madison.

State officials contend the building lease gives them the right to purchase the aging facility and even dictate how the purchase price should be set. Judge Dutcher’s ruling gives the state more time to present evidence of its claim.

The State Building Commission approved the purchase of the property for $9 million in August 2024, but property owners, who argue the property is worth more than $9 million, sued to block the purchase.

In his August summary judgment, Dutcher said the state’s purchase option expired several years ago and ruled in favor of the building owners...

NEW GLARUS — Matt Streiff’s ancestors would likely be proud of his recent investment.

Streiff is one of 25 investors — a majority of them local residents — in the 173-year-old New Glarus Hotel, which is undergoing a facelift in the Green County village about 30 miles from Madison. The hotel was established before the town was officially founded, and many of the contributors have fond memories of the longtime building.

“I’ve had 16 ancestors who immigrated to New Glarus from Switzerland,” Streiff said. “I think about those ancestors of mine coming into town, and I wonder how many of them spent their first nights in the New Glarus Hotel when they arrived.”...

Businesses that were hoping for some financial relief following this summer’s demonstrations at the intersection of Williamson and South Baldwin streets will not find help from the city of Madison.

The Madison City Council voted 13-7 Tuesday to reject a plan to provide $100,000 in financial relief to businesses affected by a protest encampment, according to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal.

The protest encampment sprang up and lasted about two weeks following the fatal police shooting of 38-year-old Corey Ruiz in July, causing some business to temporarily close and others to lose sales.

Ald. Davy Mayer, who represents the area, introduced a plan to establish a one-time relief fund for affected businesses.

The money would have come from a city reserve fund.

He said he decided to support the Finance Committee’s pared-down recommendation, rather than sticking with his initial proposal, because the $100,000 fund seemed more likely to pass...

Commercial real estate isn’t simply where companies work anymore. Whether it’s housing, office, retail, life science or industrial, these spaces are redefining the city.

The prevailing story about AI and the workplace has been one of contraction. Automation eliminates roles, headcount falls, and companies need less space to house a smaller workforce. It is a tidy narrative, it fits the anxiety of the moment, and it has shaped a great deal of commentary about where office demand is headed. It also does not match what the executives actually making these decisions say they are planning for.

Capital favors trophy assets with strong tenants

Goldman is buying LCN for up to $410 million

In 2024, Madison's city leaders standardized an incentive that allowed developers to build additional stories on student housing projects if they offered some beds at lower rents.

Two years later, officials say the incentive has added 212 lower-cost beds for University of Wisconsin-Madison students, and by fall next year, a new complex at Broom and West Johnson streets will add another 165 beds. Three more projects in the pipeline could then bring Madison’s total of lower-cost student beds to 645 by fall 2029...

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Contract manufacturer and power products company EK has purchased a former trucking company's real estate in Fall River, Wis., adding three buildings that total about 230,000 sq. ft. on 15 acres of land.

The company plans significant upgrades to all three facilities, including new break rooms, bathrooms, locker rooms, and offices, as part of a total investment in buildings, equipment, and facility upgrades of $22 million.

Each of the newly acquired facilities will serve a distinct role in EK's manufacturing operations. Plant 5 will be set up as a manufacturing facility, equipped with fabrication equipment and a powder coat paint line. Plant 6 will operate as a central warehouse, feeding inventoried components to the manufacturing plants as they are needed. And Plant 7 will serve as a maintenance facility for the company’s fleet of vehicles...

Henry Doane, owner of the Tornado Steak House and Tempest Oyster Bar, plans to open a neighborhood-style restaurant and a boutique hotel in the 1000 block of Williamson Street in Madison, according to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal.

The first floor bar and restaurant and 10-room, second-story boutique hotel would occupy a redeveloped building at 1053 Williamson St. and an adjoining building at 1051 Williamson St...

Google Map Street View

As top-tier space grows scarce, some tenants opt for new development

Some fundamentals are now approaching pre-pandemic levels.

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Microsoft purchased around 240 acres in early 2025 for a data center

Sun Prairie has no current plans for a large data center, but the city council wants time to devise rules for any potential projects.

Last week, the Sun Prairie City Council enacted a 12-month moratorium on data centers exceeding 10,000 square feet, according to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Part of the council’s reasoning is the city lacks access to a 138- or 345-kilovolt transmission system, which would be required for a data center of that size...

CARW Deal of the Year Awards and Annual Meeting

With growth anticipated along the major east-west corridor, the city’s Transportation Commission unanimously approved a new layout for Milwaukee Street between Starkweather Creek and West Corporate Drive at a meeting this month.

Planned work will include medians throughout the segment and a new shared-use path on the north side of the street from Walter Street to West Corporate Drive. The project will include a bike lane on the south side of Milwaukee Street, several raised intersections, wider terrace spaces, parking on the north side of the street, and replacement of underground water and sewer infrastructure...

MADISON, Wis. — Breese Stevens Field could receive major upgrades designed to support both Forward Madison soccer matches and concerts.

Big Top Events, the venue operator, said its plans include new buildings and a stage at the Madison venue. The proposal also includes new locker rooms, artist greenrooms and a new concessions area.

Conor Caloia, Big Top Events’ chief operating officer and partner, said the upgrades would expand the venue’s ability to host larger entertainment events while improving the experience for soccer fans.

“These improvements will allow us to bring more national acts to Madison while enhancing the soccer match-day atmosphere as part of a long-term commitment to the city of Madison,” Caloia said...

MADISON, Wis. — A new apartment building has opened on Mifflin Street in downtown Madison, adding 40 homes, including 30 designated for lower-income residents.

SSM Health, Lake Ridge Bank and the Madison Development Corp. partnered to make the project possible.

“A neighborhood and an area of the city can’t be entirely student housing and student life,” said Stu Levitan, emeritus director of the Madison Development Corp. “You have to have a mix of professionals. You have to have workforce housing for nurses, teachers, police officers and people who work in the state Capitol.”

The Madison Development Corp. was founded in 1977. The organization develops, owns and finances affordable housing...

Introduction

Higher yields threaten CRE refinancing economics

The multifamily market has spent the better part of two years absorbing the largest wave of new supply since the 1980s, and the numbers have finally caught up with the narrative. National vacancy has climbed to 8.6%, the highest level in years, while asking rent growth has flattened to roughly 0.2% annually. Absorption through the first five months of 2026 fell 61% year over year, with just 108,000 units absorbed. Occupancy has slipped to 94.1%, down 60 basis points from a year earlier, and among the top 30 markets tracked by Yardi, only San Francisco posted an occupancy gain.

“The second quarter this year was the big pivot everyone has been waiting for,” said Greg Willett, Chief Economist at LeaseLock. “We are starting to see price corrections, particularly for the bottom part of the market.” That correction has not translated into transaction volume, though, because the financing environment has not settled enough for buyers and sellers to agree on value. “The wildcard has been interest rates,” Willett said. “It has created some price correction but they haven’t stabilized in order to see better deals come to the market.” The result is a market where owners who might otherwise sell are holding assets, which puts more weight on operating performance to carry returns that would previously have come from a sale...

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Wisconsin’s Buc-ee’s story has taken another turn. After one Wisconsin project moved forward while another remained stuck, construction activity has finally started at the state’s first location—and the city has now locked the company into a firm schedule.

The travel center is being built in Oak Creek, just south of Milwaukee, in the southwest quadrant of the Interstate 94 and Elm Road interchange. Plans call for a 74,000-square-foot store, 120 fueling positions and electric-vehicle charging stations. The city describes it as a private investment of at least $65 million that should create about 200 full-time jobs.

Buc-ee’s originally targeted an early 2027 opening. The latest timeline points to early 2028 instead.

Voter anger over higher electricity bills and grid strain is pushing governors in Texas and Pennsylvania to halt or limit new data center projects

Cerberus sold Tenet Equity for $1.6 billion

Cerberus Capital Management sold its five year old net lease portfolio, Tenet Equity, to CBRE Investment Management for $1.6 billion on Monday. Tenet’s portfolio currently holds more than 200 properties totaling roughly 12 million square feet across 39 states, 26 industries, and over 65 tenants. Five years from formation to a billion-dollar-plus exit is a fast build for a real estate platform, and the speed says something about how much capital is chasing this specific structure right now.

Net lease sits between two things investors want at the same time. Bob Davenport, Global Head of Corporate Credit at Cerberus, described it as an asset class at the intersection of corporate credit and real estate. The investor owns a building. The tenant signs a long lease and pays taxes, insurance, and maintenance on top of rent. What the buyer is really underwriting is the tenant’s ability to keep paying, which is a credit question more than a property question. That appeals to institutions that want duration and predictable cash flow without taking on lease-up risk or capital expenditure exposure...

Construction Increases While Vacancy Falls to New Low

Overview

Governors are turning to community benefit agreements as they scramble to address data center blowback without alienating tech giants.

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State lawmakers gutted an old Jim Crow-era state law that required a city council supermajority to approve a new housing development if neighbors petitioned the proposal.

It's the first time since Bisnow launched its annual analysis of the industry’s upper-level diversity in 2020 that the industry's dominance by white men increased. Every prior year in the analysis showed gradual, steady gains in the diversity of CRE's upper echelon. 

This shift didn't come as a surprise to diversity advocates and employment attorneys, given how noticeably commercial real estate companies have backed away from their efforts to hire diverse executives as the Trump administration has cracked down on corporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies...

New York City's 394,300 tech talent jobs edged out the San Francisco Bay Area's 375,730, the first time NY has led in 13 years of CBRE analysis

Question:

A licensee has a drone and would like to use it to take aerial photographs of a listed property for use in the property's advertising. The licensee does not have any FAA certification or other credentials to operate a drone commercially. May the licensee take and use drone photographs for the listing?

Answer:

A licensee who uses a drone to take photographs or videos of a listed property for use in marketing the property is operating the drone for a non-recreational purpose. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulates this activity under its Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems rules, commonly referred to as Part 107.

To operate the drone under Part 107, the person manipulating the drone's controls must hold an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate with a small UAS rating or be under the direct supervision of a person who holds such a certificate. A licensee who does not hold a Remote Pilot Certificate therefore should not independently operate a drone to take photographs or video for a listing....

          

	The Gialamas Company, Inc.	RFA Asset Management Madison, WI	Key Commercial Real Estate, LLC
Madison Commercial Real Estate LLC	St. John Properties	IA Management, LLC	Wisconsin Commercial Real Estate
Park Towne Realty LLC	Mullins Group, LLC	Crown Commercial	Flad Development & Investment Corp.
Evans Properties, LLC	Keller Real Estate Group		MIG Commercial Real Estate, LLC
First Weber Group, Inc - West Towne	Opitz Realty, Inc.	First Weber Group, Inc - Prairie Du Sac	Peterson Management Company Inc.
The Lenhart Company, Inc	Scott Faust & Associates	Shamrock Real Estate Services, LLC	Targa, Inc
Executive Management, Inc	Stark Commercial - East	Urban Land Interests	Slinde Realty Company
Assist-2-Sell/Pohlkamp & Associates	Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Matson Real Estate	Artisan Graham Real Estate

Hovde & Hovde, Inc