New REIT Targets Data Center Sector

A new real estate investment trust is seeking to raise $1.5 billion in a public offering, and plans to use the proceeds to buy data centers and medical facilities. Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT, Inc. is based in Tampa and headed by John Carter, a veteran real estate investor and principal of Carter & Associates. The firm's other principal is Mario Garcia, who is the chairman of GulfShore Bank in Tampa and CEO of medical device company EMSI.

Last year Carter & Associates formed a strategic alliance with T5 Partners to pursue development opportunities in the data center business. T5 is currently marketing several North Carolina properties for data center use, and also serving as a leasing representative for Power Loft.

Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT says it hasn't yet bought any properties or identified specific assets to acquire. "Our acquisition strategy will focus on the sourcing of acquisitions, investments and developments through existing relationships of T5/Carter with data center users, as well as through traditional channels," the company said in an SEC filing related to its public offering.

Data centers are part of a broader strategy in which Carter Validus hopes to take advantage of opportunities created by health care reform and its pending impact on medical real estate and IT infrastructure.

"As the healthcare industry continues to evolve as a result of recent healthcare reform legislation and increased government spending, we believe that new medical facilities and supporting office properties will be developed and existing facilities will need to be repositioned to conform to new standards and redefined user groups and to accommodate the increase in demand created by more insured Americans," the company said in its filing.

"Changes in healthcare technology and data center needs also are expected to drive a need for space proximate to medical facilities," the filing adds.