{"id": "n-839cd29b56", "slug": "forest-city-meta-data-center", "type": "industrial", "name": "Meta Data Center", "aka": [], "city": "Forest City", "county": "Rutherford County", "state": "NC", "country": "US", "census_division": 5, "lat": 35.33373, "lon": -81.86492, "geocode_method": "nominatim-city", "address": null, "metro": null, "original_use": "textile and manufacturing operations", "year_opened": null, "year_closed": null, "acres": null, "gla_sqft": null, "stores_peak": null, "levels": null, "original_developer": null, "original_architect": null, "before_notes": "Draft from epa.gov, model-extracted, unreviewed: Meta converted two adjacent industrial brownfield sites in Forest City, North Carolina, into a data center.", "strategy": ["redevelop"], "new_use": ["data center"], "share_retrofit": null, "status": "built", "year_retrofit": null, "developer": null, "architect": null, "after_notes": "data center", "narrative": null, "narrative_license": null, "narrative_source": null, "zoning_change": null, "public_subsidy": "EPA funds for Brownfields assessment activities and the State Response Program supported the site reuse.", "entitlement_year": null, "planning_notes": null, "wikidata_qid": null, "wikipedia": null, "osm_id": null, "verified": "draft", "verified_by": null, "last_verified": null, "last_updated": "2026-10-18", "created": "2026-10-18", "contributor_name": null, "contributor_org": null, "contributor_link": null, "international": 0, "county_fips": "37161", "opp_score": 0.0, "opp_reasons": ["retrofit already built", "county shrank -2.5% 2018–23"], "for_sale": 0, "distressed": 0, "url": "https://retrofitatlas.org/industrial/nc/forest-city-meta-data-center/", "events": [], "sources": [{"id": 9298, "site_id": "n-839cd29b56", "url": "https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/reuse-considerations-data-centers-brownfield-sites", "title": "Reuse Considerations for Data Centers on Brownfield Sites | US EPA", "publisher": "epa.gov", "date": null, "quote": "A data center on brownfields in Forest City, North Carolina", "kind": "news", "license": null, "retrieved": "2026-10-18"}], "deals": [], "parties": [], "parcels": [], "context": {"assessment": {"what_happened": "Former textile/manufacturing site in Forest City, NC (Rutherford County) was redeveloped into a data center, completed and operational. Public funds (EPA Brownfields, State Response Program) supported the reuse assessment. The site is now a built data center with no further development opportunity.", "why": "Retrofit already built (status: 'built'). County population declined 2.5% 2018–23, reducing demand. Opportunity score 0.0 due to these factors. Housing market shows stable ZHVI ($214,563, 2026-09) but no retail growth (retail establishments down 10% since 2012).", "where_it_stands": "No active development opportunity. Traffic data (SR-2179, 4 lanes, 10,208 ADT) is present but irrelevant to current status. Peer comparisons (e.g., Midtown Square Mall, NC) are not applicable as this site is industrial, not retail.", "for_a_planner": ["Built-out retrofit (no new construction possible)", "County population decline (-2.5%) indicates reduced local demand", "Public subsidy used for assessment, not construction"], "for_a_developer": ["No opportunity to develop (retrofit already built)", "County shrinkage reduces market viability", "Data center is operational but not a new project"], "risks_and_unknowns": ["Unknown if data center is operational at scale (record only states 'built')", "No details on data center's current capacity or tenant", "County population decline trend not quantified beyond 2018–23"], "data_quality": "partial", "one_line": "Retrofit complete; no opportunity due to built status and county decline.", "model": "qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest", "machine": "Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b)", "record_sha1": "58369ebeb5f2"}, "elevation": {"elevation_ft": 1016.6, "resolution": 1, "source": "USGS EPQS (3DEP)", "retrieved": "2026-10-20"}, "food_access": {"tract10": "37161960800", "urban": 1, "lila_1_10": 0, "low_access_1mi": 0, "lapop1share": 4.25931538097227, "poverty_rate": 37.7164995442115, "median_family_income": 31134.0, "snap_households": 657.0, "pop2010": 4475.0, "source": "USDA ERS Food Access Research Atlas 2019 (ArcGIS copy)", "retrieved": "2026-10-20"}, "housing_market": {"zhvi": {"latest": 214563, "month": "2026-09", "change_1y": 0.024, "change_5y": 0.194}, "zori": {"latest": 1227, "month": "2026-09", "change_1y": null, "change_5y": null}, "county_fips": "37161", "source": "Zillow Research (ZHVI, ZORI)"}, "jobs_lodes": {"tract20": "37161960800", "jobs": 2725, "retail_jobs": 774, "food_accommodation_jobs": 541, "year": 2022, "source": "Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022 (all jobs, primary and secondary), blocks summed to the 2020 tract", "retrieved": "2026-10-20"}, "listings": {"zip": "28043", "month": "202609", "median_listing_price": 281850, "median_listing_price_yy": 0.0319, "active_listing_count": 79, "median_days_on_market": 74, "price_reduced_share": 0.2654, "pending_ratio": 0.3101, "source": "Realtor.com Research, inventory core metrics by ZIP (ZCTA at the site point)", "retrieved": "2026-10-20"}, "opportunity": {"tract10": "37161960800", "kfr_p25": 0.3266, "jail_p25": 0.0115, "kids_count": 829.6376, "commuting_zone": "Gastonia", "vintage": "children born 1978-83, outcomes measured 2014-15", "source": "Opportunity Insights, Opportunity Atlas (Chetty, Friedman, Hendren, Jones, Porter 2018)", "retrieved": "2026-10-20"}, "peers": {"peers": [{"id": "m-8699fc85c6", "name": "Midtown Square Mall", "city": "Charlotte", "state": "NC", "score": 5.0, "why": ["same strategy: redevelop", "also in NC"]}, {"id": "m-ecc37a2c35", "name": "North Hills Mall", "city": "Raleigh", "state": "NC", "score": 5.0, "why": ["same strategy: redevelop", "also in NC"]}, {"id": "n-6231c27f3f", "name": "Ballantyne Corporate Park", "city": "Charlotte", "state": "NC", "score": 4.5, "why": ["same strategy: redevelop", "also in NC"]}, {"id": "m-d9b398f7d8", "name": "Lafayette Place Mall", "city": "Boston", "state": "MA", "score": 4.0, "why": ["same strategy: redevelop"]}, {"id": "m-2afa0a0e0b", "name": "Arsenal Mall", "city": "Watertown", "state": "MA", "score": 4.0, "why": ["same strategy: redevelop"]}, {"id": "m-6ba9ad8482", "name": "Civic Center Mall", "city": "Hartford", "state": "CT", "score": 4.0, "why": ["same strategy: redevelop"]}], "method": "size, era, strategy, status, type, state, distance"}, "permits": {"county": "Rutherford County", "2024": {"units_1": 191, "units_2_4": 2, "units_5plus": 0, "value_total": 61686767}, "2023": {"units_1": 200, "units_2_4": 0, "units_5plus": 44, "value_total": 68656287}, "retrieved": "2026-10-18"}, "qcew_retail": {"county": "37161", "year": 2025, "establishments": 222, "employment": 2704, "avg_annual_pay": 32345, "lq_employment": 1.51, "employment_change_1y": 0.9, "source": "BLS QCEW 2025 annual, county, NAICS 44-45 retail trade, private", "retrieved": "2026-10-20"}, "retail_trend": {"2012": {"estab": 232, "emp": 2502}, "2023": {"estab": 209, "emp": 2736}, "estab_change": -0.099, "emp_change": 0.094, "county_fips": "37161"}, "schools": {"district": "Rutherford County Schools", "district_geoid": "3704080", "grades": "PK-12", "district_vintage": "SY2024-25", "public_schools_1mi": 1, "schools": ["Rutherford Opportunity Center"], "schools_vintage": "SY2023-24", "source": "NCES EDGE", "retrieved": "2026-10-20"}, "storms": {"county": "37161", "years": "2016-2025", "events": 109, "by_type": {"Thunderstorm Wind": 70, "Hail": 19, "Flash Flood": 10, "Flood": 5, "Tornado": 4, "Lightning": 1}, "property_damage_usd": 36146000, "deaths_direct": 1, "injuries_direct": 0, "note": "county-typed events only; events logged to forecast zones (CZ_TYPE Z: most winter, heat, flood and coastal events) are not counted", "source": "NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, details files", "retrieved": "2026-10-20"}, "traffic": {"max_aadt": 10208, "trucks_aadt": null, "road": "SR-2179", "class": "major collector", "lanes": 4, "segments_600m": 38, "year": "2024", "source": "FHWA HPMS", "retrieved": "2026-10-20"}}, "elements": [{"slug": "strategy-redevelop", "name": "Redeveloped", "group_": "strategy", "evidence": "data center", "origin": "record"}, {"slug": "use-datacenter", "name": "Data center", "group_": "use", "evidence": "data center", "origin": "newtypes-extraction"}, {"slug": "place-shrinking-county", "name": "Shrinking county", "group_": "place", "evidence": "-2.5%", "origin": "census-acs"}], "details": {}, "photos": [], "provenance": {"status": "newtypes-extraction", "after_notes": "newtypes-extraction", "public_subsidy": "newtypes-extraction"}, "restricted_fields": {"parcels": ["owner_addr", "assessed", "taxable", "tax_amount", "sale_price", "deed_ref"], "deals": ["price", "price_per_acre", "price_per_sqft", "loan_amount", "asking_price"], "how": "free API key: POST /api/v1/keys {\"email\": …}"}}