David Levine
Co-head of Americas acquisitions at Blackstone Real Estate
Since joining Blackstone in 2010, David Levine has been involved in more than $100 billion worth of real estate investments. But lately he’s been focusing on data centers.
Blackstone is the world’s largest data center provider following its 2021 acquisition of data center operator QTS Realty Trust for $10 billion and its joint venture with data center provider Digital Realty in 2023 to develop four hyperscale data center campuses across two continents.
Most recently, Blackstone acquired AirTrunk, a leading Asia Pacific data center platform, from Macquarie Asset Management and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board for an enterprise value of more than $24 billion.
“The scale of what is happening is massive, and we typically excel when it comes to things that are really large scale,” Levine said.
Besides data centers, Blackstone has remained “very bullish” on logistics, said Levine, who created Link Logistics, the firm’s roughly 500 million-square-foot industrial platform. In April, Blackstone bought a 25-building industrial portfolio in Texas from Crow Holdings for $718 million.
In terms of housing, Blackstone is focusing on both urban markets and the Sun Belt, as cities such as Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Dallas, Atlanta and Charlotte are experiencing an increase in both in-migration and jobs, Levine said.
As for office, the firm has a much more targeted approach when it comes to investing in specific properties, as showcased in its deal at 1345 Avenue of the Americas. Blackstone bought a nearly 50 percent stake in the Midtown Manhattan office tower mostly owned by Fisher Brothers through an $850 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan.
“For office, it really comes down to a focus on investing in the right buildings and the right markets,” Levine said. “And the right markets might be very micro. It might be the right submarket, the right block, the right building on the right block.”
And the work won’t stop anytime soon, as Blackstone always has “something big in the works,” Levine said.
