Featured image by DarkmoonArt_de from Pixabay

Once the numbers were verified Mo again asked “So what’s up?”

“I’m going to need the REIT to start building a few data centers with attached office space” answered Gina. “It’s too big for me to do here, but you should be able to quietly and cleanly transfer funds from those accounts to pay for everything.”

“Paying for it won’t be a problem, doing it will be. Never gotten into that business. Thought about it but never took the gamble” answered Mo.

“I just sent you an email from a new account which has some links and research I’ve done” stated Gina. “My dream was to find two contiguous square miles I could buy and start building on along one of the fiber backbones in the Midwest, but that dream seems to be going up in smoke.”

“Well, I hear that is legal in California now.”

“Not that kind of smoke” Gina laughed “though it might be an improvement.”

“Yeah, you are trying to do what every other rich Californian is trying to do. Buy a bunch of land over a backbone and get rich leasing server time” answered Mo.

“A new company of mine will be the primary client. Will be sending contact information for another individual and company to do the data center designs”

“Designs, plural?” questioned Mo.

“The quick start location I found isn’t big enough” answered Gina. “If you have that email you can click the link for the food distribution center.”

“Just a sec.” Pause. “Got it. Sure looks big enough.”

“It won’t be. At least not for everything. But big enough for the start” replied Gina.

“Trying to rape a person with that price tag though” Mo mused. “We might be able to haggle a bit. Already has a lot of built in power and cooling though. I see some empty land there beside it and other warehouse type buildings in the areal shot. Want me to go on a buying spree?”

“Well, maybe not all at once. I will trust your judgment there. Go back to the email and click on the link for the Phoenix Trotting Park.”

“Okay. This isn’t a listing. Says it was demolished in 2017 but not on the market.”

“Need you to find out who owns it and if they are willing to part with it for a decent price. Actually need to find out just how much land it is and how much can be bought around it.”

“Looking for two square miles I take it?”

“Depends on how the distribution center site works out, but yes, that would be ideal. At that site, if we get it, I would like enough for a massive data center, small office complex and luxury apartment complex with underground parking. Put a solar farm on the roof of the data center to help with the cost of electricity” answered Gina.

“And if we can’t get that site?” asked Mo.

“Go hunting.”

“Have a name for your new company yet?”

“No. Haven’t formed it.”

“Do I want to know about it?”

“The first one, sure. A Web site for peer reviewed scientific papers and patent database . Will also be engaging in leasing some high end server time out to other research projects and some dream therapy research” answered Gina.

“Sounds like a lot of computers for that” Mo said hesitantly.

“Yeah. Some of my other research projects will involve massive amounts of data points which need to be crunched. I could try setting it up as a BOINC type project but honestly, I’m a bitch when it comes to getting my results. I want them now not when a bunch of volunteer computers get around to doing the work.”

“Have a preference for how we move the money?”

“As long as it is clean and can survive scrutiny, I don’t really care” answered Gina.

“Hmmm.”

“What?”

“I’m wondering if a straight up low interest bad deal bond offering wouldn’t be the easiest” mused Mo. “This is a new line of business for us so it makes sense. Anyone with a brokerage account can buy the bonds. No major investors would if the return was around 2%. How much do you wish to pony up?”

“You can liquidate the stocks and drain those accounts. This is a long term deal and my last big hurah. Once this is all running well I will most likely retire to some place far away.”

“Come the first big snow in Illinois you will be longing for California.”

“Trust me, I will never long for California, especially if you get me the Phoenix site.”

“You know, Illinois puts more politicians in prison than any other state” offered Mo. “Some say it is the most corrupt state in the union.”

“Not the most corrupt, just the least tolerant of corruption. There’s a difference” answered Gina.

“I suppose there is. That all or do you have something else for me to do this weekend?”

Laughing out loud “Oh, you don’t have to get it done this weekend!” exclaimed Gina.

“Trust me, if you found this place, everyone else looking for a server farm location can find it. You definitely don’t want to build apartments of any kind next to those railroad tracks though. Not unless the first 14 floors are for parking and retail. Probably can’t put a high rise up there. I’ll set the guys to work on getting the bond offering together this weekend. Do you want to liquidate the securities in those account or have me do it?”

“Have Martha dump at market on Monday morning” Gina responded.

“Weeeeellll, we’ll bleed it off over the course of a few months. I assume you are holding an awful lot and a dump like that would bring attention. We don’t really want attention, do we?”

“Attention isn’t a good thing but she can honestly say she was asked by the owners to liquidate the positions so they could join in an upcoming bond offering for data center construction. Everybody is building data centers and everybody is issuing bonds.”

“Let me check something. Hold on. Holy shit, we can’t do that! Can’t dump that much in a month no matter what the story is. We can start with a hundred million and the story we will be doing multiple rounds of bond issues, up to one billion, as acquisition and construction progresses” Mo responded.

“Whatever you think is best, Mo.”

“As to what you said earlier . . .” Mo started. “About not wanting to wait for results . . . This isn’t going to be fast. Even if I had the money in the account to buy this property tonight, there will still be 120 or more days for closure. Commercial properties have to go through a mountain of inspections. Your architect will have to draw up plans and those plans will have to be approved by whatever board or city counsel has jurisdiction and with that kind of money on the table they will all claim jurisdiction. It will be at least five months before work can begin and a year before it is close to move-in ready. You’re used to California office space. This is going to be warehouse office space. Total culture shock for you. The architect is going to have to find a way to thump in some 4-story California grade office space with a two story lobby, etc.”

“Technically I don’t have to be there much or often. I was latching onto the location because I thought it might be quick and it is rather central to area universities. I don’t yet know how many would be working on site but most of the people in that part of the business will be recent PhD. graduates. Perhaps a few current students.”

“Ah. Let me poke around. You want something along the fiber backbone and preferably quite large for the data center. You need to build a nice office building somewhere between Champaign and Effingham near Interstate 57.”

“I don’t need to build” interrupted Gina.

“Yes you do California girl, yes you do. Unless you go all the way to Champaign. Drivable to and from Effingham for the occasional trip, but even then you are only going to get a 2-story Class-A building. I’m looking at one right now. Modern 2-story corporate campus like building. Just under $7 million. You could, however, start with some servers in there. Have to get the actual specs from the listing agent, but it had to have a small server room. Has huge conference room. That you could close on quickly once some inspections happen. I need to have someone tour it first. Maybe I need to tour it? Make sure it is not a rat infested fire trap.”

“Can you send me the link?” queried Gina.

“Already sent.”

“Wow. We could make that work. It would let me start staffing right away.”

“Now, now, now”

“Okay, would let me start staffing in a few months” said Gina sounding defeated.

“This is a brick and mortar company dear. How long has it been since you set one of those up?”

“I’ve set quite a few up” said Gina rather defensively.

“You’ve set up a lot of Internet companies which needed a few people having laptops and cell phones anywhere in the world. Sign a contract with a hosting company, buy some boiler plate HR documents and boom you are running. Take this one slow. Get the legal beagles to set up all of the correct paperwork, bank accounts and financial paper trail. Find an HR person actually willing to work on-site. You will have to be on-site for a while. Choose an office furniture plan, assuming the stuff in the pictures wasn’t left behind. Painting, carpet and build out.”

“Build out?”

“This was a counseling and mental health building it appears”

“An asylum!?” Gina nearly screeched.

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