New Orleans-based JECohen topped $100M in assets under management on Jan. 31, 2026 as the firm prepares a Cotton Exchange headquarters renovation and street-level restaurant. The milestone follows a 2025 merger and strong 2025 investment returns.

Microsoft has resumed work on a long‑paused $1B, four‑site data center project in Catawba County; permits show nearly $909M in construction value and officials say obligations run through 2032.

U.S. Forged Rings will invest up to $875 million in a three-phase project in Hertford County; the first two phases are expected to add roughly 625 full-time jobs.

A $77 million building permit was filed for Eli Lilly’s Concord campus expansion, covering interior upfits and packaging and injectable-line work. Local contractors are already on site.

Greystone arranged $80.9M to recapitalize and rehab a 640-unit portfolio across 10 rural North Carolina properties, pairing USDA 538 financing with LIHTC equity.

GrayCo paid roughly $75M for NoDa Flats, a 273-unit complex in Charlotte's NoDa, underscoring investor demand for transit‑adjacent infill assets.

East Charlotte neighbors object to a rezoning bid for 8036 Hood Road after a developer sought approval to allow office and data-storage uses, raising traffic and utilities concerns.

Council approved a short-term land loan to help a nonprofit secure West Trade Street parcels that could deliver about 145 affordable apartments in Five Points.

A roughly $9 million Myers Park purchase by Sonic Automotive’s CEO led Mecklenburg County’s January luxury home sales, underscoring continued strength at the top of Charlotte’s market.

Stanley Martin agreed to buy United Homes for about $221 million, offering $1.18 a share and planning to take the South Carolina builder private in Q2. The move follows months of board turmoil at United Homes.

CenterSquare bought the Shoppes at Indian Trail for $11.4M, adding a roughly 33,000‑sf neighborhood retail center to its Charlotte‑area holdings.

Salisbury chose two nonprofits to transform the former Kesler Mill into roughly 150 mixed‑income homes, moving a long‑stalled brownfield toward housing for seniors and working families.

Median asking rents in Gastonia eased from last January, offering modest relief to renters amid mixed snapshots from major trackers.