Company confirms acquisition and lay out plans for former Unifi site
Crypto firm turned AI and colocation provider Bit Digital has confirmed the acquisition of a large industrial site in North Carolina and plans to turn it into a data center.
WhiteFiber, the wholly-owned high-performance computing subsidiary of Bit Digital, announced this week that it has completed the acquisition of a 96-acre, 1 million sq ft (92,903 sqm) industrial property in Madison.
The company said it will retrofit the facility into a flagship AI data center campus, with Phase I going live before the end of the year.
The first 24MW is expected to be delivered by Duke Energy by September, with another 75MW due in the short term. Bit Digital said the site could be expandable up to 200MW.
While an end-user hasn’t been found yet, the company said it is in “active negotiations” with multiple potential HPC data center tenants and has already signed one non-binding letter of intent with a client.
“Securing this site is a meaningful step in scaling our AI infrastructure platform,” said Sam Tabar, CEO of Bit Digital. “The location, size, and power profile make it a rare asset, which we believe will be foundational to meet accelerating demand from AI customers and pursue long-term value creation for shareholders. We acted decisively to secure what we believe will be a cornerstone asset for our company.”
The 96-acre site, located at 805 Island Drive, was acquired from textiles firm Unifi. The company announced the sale of the former manufacturing site in Rockingham County in April.
After more than 30 years in operation, Unifi announced it was closing the 946,585 sq ft (87,940 sqm) plant in Madison in February, laying off 91 people as part of a “footprint reduction.”
BitDigital said it was using cash on hand to fund the $45 million purchase, and intends to engage in a commercial mortgage financing process for the site.
“North Carolina’s leadership in high-performance computing started decades ago with our research universities, the Research Triangle, and our focus on the future,” said North Carolina Governor Josh Stein. “WhiteFiber’s decision to join our state’s IT community will help bring the next generation of computing excellence to North Carolina.”
“We are thrilled to welcome WhiteFiber to our community,” said Kevin Berger, chair of the Rockingham County board of commissioners. “Their planned investment of over $1 billion and creation of more than 60 jobs is a tremendous boost for our region.”
“The town of Madison is excited to have WhiteFiber invest in our community,” added Madison Mayor William Phillips. “Transforming the former Unifi facility into a state-of-the-art AI data center campus is a remarkable step forward for our local economy.”
Bitcoin mining company Bit Digital acquired Enovum in November 2024. WhiteFiber is the company’s GPU cloud unit, operating out of Enovum facilities.
Founded in 2020, Enovum currently operates one site in Montreal, Canada, with two more in development in the Québec city.
