4.6 KiB
4.6 KiB
Contact List: Raleigh Sports & Entertainment District — $1B Development
Project: 80-acre mixed-use entertainment district surrounding Lenovo Center (Hurricanes/NC State arena) Developer: Pacific Elm Properties (Dallas, TX) + Gale Force Sports & Entertainment (Hurricanes parent) Owner/Driver: Tom Dundon (Carolina Hurricanes owner) Est. Cost: $1 billion across 4 phases (7-10 year buildout) Stage: Phase 1 construction expected 2026 Civil Engineer: Kimley-Horn Updated: 2026-02-01
PACIFIC ELM PROPERTIES (Lead Developer)
Billy Prewitt
- Title: CEO (appointed Sept 2025, succeeding founder Jonas Woods)
- Organization: Pacific Elm Properties, Dallas, TX
- Why: Current CEO running the firm. Previously CIO — founding partner since 2008. Will be the key decision-maker for capital partnerships on this project.
- LinkedIn: Search "Billy Prewitt Pacific Elm Properties"
- Source: Dallas Business Journal, Sept 2025
Jonas Woods
- Title: Founder (stepped down as CEO Sept 2025 — launched separate $4B venture)
- Organization: Pacific Elm Properties (founder) / New venture
- Why: Original Raleigh district visionary. Led Victory Park development in Dallas (2M SF mixed-use). Principal in Dallas Mavericks acquisition. Led American Airlines Center financing. Even if not day-to-day at PacElm anymore, still influential.
- Background: 30+ years RE, $6B+ in acquisition/development transactions. Office, residential, industrial, retail, mixed-use.
- LinkedIn: Search "Jonas Woods Pacific Elm"
- Website: pacelm.com
Pacific Elm Portfolio Context
- Existing: 6 Class A towers, 4.4M SF (office, residential, hotel, retail)
- Pipeline: 9.7M SF mixed-use development including 2.8M SF office, 4,400 residential units, 1,000 hotel keys, 500K SF retail
- This means: Raleigh is one piece of a massive pipeline — they likely need capital partners across multiple projects
GALE FORCE SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT (Hurricanes Parent)
Tom Dundon
- Title: Owner, Carolina Hurricanes / Chairman, Gale Force Sports & Entertainment
- Why: THE driving force behind the district. Extended Hurricanes lease through 2044 in exchange for development rights on surrounding 80 acres. Ultimate decision-maker.
- LinkedIn: Search "Tom Dundon"
- Notes: Dallas-based billionaire. Made fortune in auto lending (Santander Consumer USA). Also explored AAF football league investment.
Don Waddell
- Title: President & GM, Carolina Hurricanes
- Why: Operational leader of the Hurricanes organization. May have connections to business development side.
CITY/COUNTY OFFICIALS
Mary-Ann Baldwin
- Title: Mayor, City of Raleigh
- Why: Approved the development deal, extended arena lease. Pro-development.
- Contact: raleighnc.gov
Wake County Board of Commissioners
- Why: County owns the arena land. Key stakeholder in the development agreement.
- Contact: wake.gov
Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority (RDU)
- Why: Pacific Elm is ALSO in discussions with RDU to redevelop 100+ acres of Lake Crabtree County Park off I-40 — another potential partnership angle.
- Source: Triangle Business Journal, July 2025
ENGINEERING/DESIGN
Kimley-Horn
- Role: Civil engineer for the project
- Why: Already engaged — could provide introductions or context on project timeline
- Website: kimley-horn.com
INDUSTRY COMMENTARY
Jim Anthony — CEO & Founder, APG Companies
- Quote: "The only other person in Raleigh who has pulled off something this ambitious is John Kane. Let's hope and pray that Tom Dundon is successful."
- Why: Local CRE leader who understands the market. Potential intro or market intelligence source.
- Website: apgcre.com
OUTREACH STRATEGY
- Primary Target: Billy Prewitt (new CEO, Pacific Elm) — he's running the development side and likely open to capital partner discussions as they tackle a $1B multi-phase project
- Secondary: Tom Dundon's business office — harder to reach but the ultimate decision-maker
- Municipal Angle: Wake County commissioners — they control the arena land and could facilitate introductions
- RDU Angle: If Pacific Elm is doing 100+ acres with RDU AND 80 acres at the arena district, they have massive capital needs across multiple projects
- Timeline: Phase 1 breaking ground 2026, 4 total phases over 7-10 years = multiple capital raise windows
- Competitive Intel: Compare to John Kane's North Hills development in Raleigh — that's the local benchmark