MIPIM 2025 Wrapup
Commercial Observer
Connecting and informing industry leaders of trends and individuals defining the global commercial real estate landscape
The big, annual MIPIM conference in France has wrapped, and the biggest thing on everyone’s mind was the direction of U.S. policy — especially when it comes to things that commercial real estate really cares about such as construction costs and borrowing rates. Also for today: Yet another data center development sale in Northern Virginia.
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— Tom Acitelli, Deputy Editor
MIPIM Wraps With One Thought On Everyone’s Mind: What’s Trump Going to Do?
It was clear from the first question during the March 11 keynote of the annual MIPIM global real estate convention in Cannes, France, what the topic on everybody’s mind was going to be this year: President Donald Trump. Mario Draghi, the former Italian prime minister and ex-president of the European Central Bank, was asked his thoughts about Trump and what the United States’ relationship with Europe is going to be like. Draghi demurred. “People like me, and most of you, have grown up basically thinking that we share with the United States much more than we have something to share with Russia or with China,” Draghi said. “The question that is deep, and without an answer, is will all commonality continue … during this cultural revolution that is taking place in the United States?” “The big ‘T,’” as AEW Capital Management Europe CEO Rob Wilkinson put it, was on everybody’s mind during the convention as they wondered what the impact of Trump’s policies and tariffs would be as they try to finance deals, get development projects off the ground, convince Europeans to invest in U.S. real estate, or branch off to create European divisions.
BlackChamber Buys Data Center Development Site in NoVA for $190M
Fresh off of landing $1.2 billion in construction financing in 2024 to build a new crop of data centers in Northern Virginia, the BlackChamber Group has spent nearly $200 million on a chunk of land in the region for that same purpose. The Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm paid $190 million to affiliates of Pruitt Corporation for a 65-acre industrial campus adjacent to Manassas Regional Airport, about 40 miles southwest of Downtown D.C. JLL began marketing the property for sale in November, claiming at the time that the property was a by-right data center development site of up to 2 million square feet. The land currently houses five industrial buildings, together totaling about 500,000 square feet, across four parcels at 10230-10251 Harry J. Parrish Boulevard. The brokerage’s Drake Greer and Jamie Leachman represented BlackChamber in the sale.
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