CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Bissell Cos. Inc. has completed the sale of most of its interests in Ballantyne Corporate Park, a 535-acre, master-planned business community in Charlotte, to Northwood Investors, a global real estate investment and management firm.
Northwood will acquire over 4 million square feet of Class A office space and nearly 600 hotel rooms within the development, including The Ballantyne Hotel Charlotte. Terms of the sale were not released, but the Charlotte Business Journal reports that the sale closed in more than 40 separate transactions totaling in excess of $1 billion.
Current office tenants at Ballantyne Corporate Park include MetLife, Wells Fargo, Premier, TIAA, Liberty Mutual, Snyder’s-Lance, Synchrony Financial, Sonic Automotive, XPO Logistics and Siemens.
“What Smoky Bissell and the Bissell team have created in Ballantyne Corporate Park is remarkable,” says John Kukral, president and CEO of Northwood Investors. “We are excited that the Bissell team will join Northwood and help lead the next phase of Ballantyne Corporate Park. This transaction represents one of our largest acquisitions to date and reinforces our commitment to Charlotte.”
Northwood has been an active investor in the Charlotte market since 2011, when Northwood and David Ravin formed Northwood Ravin, a multifamily development company based in Charlotte. Northwood Ravin currently owns and manages 2,353 units and is under construction with another 1,168 units in the Charlotte market.
Through its retail platform Northwood Retail, Northwood owns and manages Blakeney in south Charlotte and Latta Arcade in Uptown. In partnership with local developer Steven Hinshaw, Northwood is developing McLean, a 670-acre master planned community on Lake Wylie in nearby Belmont that will include more than 850 single-family homes, a commercial center, marina and neighborhood parks and walking trails.
Wells Hill Partners, a New York-based real estate investment banking firm, served as the advisor to Bissell on this transaction. Travis Anderson of HFF’s Charlotte office assisted in arranging $350 million in combined financing on behalf of Northwood financing for the acquisition.
Troutman Sanders LLP acted as legal advisor to Bissell. Northwood was advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in New York and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP in Charlotte.
Founded in Charlotte in 1964, The Bissell Companies Inc. is the principal developer of Ballantyne Corporate Park and SouthPark, two of the Southeast’s largest and most successful mixed-use communities.
Northwood Investors is a privately held real estate investment and management firm that has invested in over $11 billion of gross assets across the United States and Europe to date. The firm currently owns and manages a portfolio of hospitality, office, retail, residential and industrial properties.
— John Nelson