“We're most focused on first generation assets,” Pruett adds, meaning “net lease real estate that originates from the growth and future needs of expanding tenants.” And providing build-to-suit financing “gives us the opportunity to get in early. It's something we do a little different from anyone.”

But this method provides good opportunities for everyone involved. “You essentially de-risk the project for the developer,” which has certainty about its capital needs and knows upfront that it has a buyer. The subsequent savings can then be passed on to tenants such as Syneos. And in this case, Capri ended up with a long-term net lease that includes contractual annual increases and provides for future expansion.

Such considerations may be more important than ever. Institutional investors have been pouring money into the US office market, and properties in top tech markets like Raleigh are on many wish lists. That level of competition has resulted in many record-shattering sales. But doing it Capri's way, Pruett says, means completing deals without “artificially pushing up prices through a bidding process.”