Reviewed by: Pat Byington
Factory at Golden Flake partially sold to data center developer for $2.5 million
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A little over a year after the historic Golden Flake campus completed its transformation into a mixed-use commercial destination, a large chunk of the property has changed hands. Earlier this week, owner 2nd in Building Materials, Inc. sold 15.7 acres at 700 Golden Flake Drive for $2.5 million to DC Blox, a southeastern digital infrastructure company that develops and operates data centers.
What is the Factory at Golden Flake?
For 65 years—1958 to 2023—Golden Flake produced its potato chips, crackers, nuts and other snack foods out of a massive, 283,310-square-foot manufacturing facility at 1 Golden Flake Dr. However, in 2023, Golden Flake parent company Utz Brands., Inc. decided to close the Birmingham manufacturing facility for good.
The nearly 37-acre campus didn’t sit vacant for long. In 2024, Chattanooga-based 2nd in Building Materials, Inc. acquired the property with plans to create a mixed-use destination featuring retail, warehouse, office and industrial space called the Factory at Golden Flake.
In June 2025, the project reached a major milestone when Southeastern Salvage officially opened its new flagship Birmingham location inside the former factory. The 135,000-square-foot store—roughly twice the size of its previous Irondale location—serves as the anchor tenant for the redevelopment and includes an expansive outdoor garden and patio center.
DC Blox expands Birmingham footprint with Factory at Golden Flake acquisition
On Monday, July 20, 2nd in Building Materials, Inc, completed the sale of 15.7 acres of the property—nearly half the campus—to digital infrastructure company DC Blox for $2,500,000. The transaction was brokered by Mark Byers of EGS Commercial Real Estate on behalf of the buyer, while Robert Crook and Bart Moore of IronVest Partners represented the seller.
The acquisition is a major investment for DC Blox, an Atlanta-based developer of digital infrastructure—including data centers and fiber networks—throughout the Southeast. While the company has an existing presence in Birmingham, the purchase of the 15.7-acre parcel positions it for future growth at one of the city’s most strategically located industrial sites, just minutes from downtown and I-65.
What do you think about DC Blox’s acquisition of a portion of the Factory at Golden Flake? Tag us @bhamnow to let us know!
