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Epic Games has reached an agreement with Turnbridge Equities and Denali Properties to purchase North Carolina's Cary Towne Center.
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The 980,000-square-foot and 87-acre shopping mall will be converted into the Fortnite creator's new global headquarters by 2024. A source familiar with the matter told FOX Business the price tag for the deal came in at roughly $95 million.
According to a news release by Epic, the facilities will include a mix of office buildings and recreational spaces, giving the company "flexibility to create a campus customized from the ground up to accommodate its long-term growth."
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Epic will begin development of its new headquarters later this year. In the meantime, the company will remain at its current headquarters at Cary, North Carolina's Crossroads Boulevard.
"Epic has been proud to call Cary home for over 20 years and has immersed itself into the community, often hiring locally and from nearby universities as the company continues to grow and scale," the company said in a statement. "While plans for the Epic campus are still in the early phases, the company is already working with the Town of Cary on its development and exploring ways some of this property might be used by the community. Epic is grateful to the Town and its leadership for how welcoming it has been to the company over the years, and this positive relationship played a significant role in Epic’s decision to pursue a campus that secures its future in Cary for decades to come."
Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said the city is "extremely proud that Epic has chosen to call Cary home for their new global headquarters" and greatly appreciates the company’s "recognition of Cary’s existing assets as well as the unlimited potential of the area for their growing business.”
“We look forward to continuing to work closely and collaboratively with the Epic team as they conceptualize their new campus, and we’re honored to partner with them on this exciting new development,” Weinbrecht added.
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Turnbridge and Denali acquired the Cary Towne Center mall in January 2019 in a distressed sale following the loss of three of its main tenants.
“Epic shares our vision for transforming Cary Towne Center into a vibrant community space. This sale is further validation of our value-driven investment strategy, and the property could not be placed in better hands,” Jason Davis, Managing Director at Turnbridge Equities, said in a statement. “After years of shifting development plans for the Center, we are thrilled the space will be utilized to its full potential and turned into something the Town and community of Cary can be proud of.”
In December 2019, the Cary Town Council approved a request to rezone the mall for a mixed use project that included up to a maximum of 1.2 million square feet of office space, 360,000 square feet of commercial space, 1,800 multi-family/townhouse units, and 450 hotel rooms.
However, the city said in a project update last week that the approved development plans are "no longer moving forward" due to Epic's acquisition. However, the city will continue with plans for the Cary Community Recreation and Sports Center.
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Epic is valued at more than $17.3 billion after the company raised $1.78 billion during its latest funding round in August. The round included a $250 million strategic investment from Sony Corp.
"Fortnite" is one of the world's most popular video games, with more than 350 million accounts. Epic also operates the Unreal Engine, a 3D creation tool for developers.
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