CORNELIUS, N.C. — One Alliance Cos. has fully leased Johnsbury Square, a mixed-use property located at 19901-19905 W. Catawba Ave. in Cornelius, about 20 miles north of Charlotte. RE/Max Executive leased the last remaining office suite at Johnsbury Square. Kasandra Brew Blum represented the landlord on an internal basis. Existing tenants include Fusion Bowl, FitFast20, Apotheca Canabis Dispensary and Coffee Republic & Bakery, among others.
DURHAM, N.C. — Welcome Group has signed four tenants to join the roster of the first phase at Welcome Venture Park, an industrial park underway in Durham. Phase I will total nearly 400,000 square feet upon completion, which is slated for the first quarter of this year. The new users include Mitsubishi Logistics, doing business as Cavalier Logistics (128,000 square feet); Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina (64,000 square feet); and Great Day Improvements and Pep Move (20,400 square feet combined). Larry Lakins, Hunter Willard, Andrew Young and Shields Bennett of Colliers’ Raleigh office are handling the leasing for Welcome Venture Park. Randy Warren of RW2 Development Co. is steering the project’s development and management.
GASTONIA AND RALEIGH, N.C. — Charlotte-based department store chain Belk will open two new outlet stores in North Carolina this spring, marking its second and third outlet locations in the state. The stores will occupy the Eastridge Mall in Gastonia and Triangle Town Center in Raleigh. Belk Outlets offer a selection of high-end brands and products at a discounted price; fashion and home merchandise purchased specifically for the outlet locations; and products that come directly from traditional Belk department stores. Both locations will continue to operate traditional Belk stores on the second floor, while the first floor will be converted to outlet spaces. Belk opened its first outlet store in January 2023 in Greeneville, Tenn., and has opened 16 more locations in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.
Raleigh-Durham’s office market entered the year on a positive note as 2024 ended strong. Vacancy was largely flat in the fourth quarter, net absorption neared 300,000 square feet and move-outs were sparse. After years of uncertainty and short-term renewals dominating the landscape, companies are now committing to longer leases. Clarity around business drivers, a growing labor pool and new market entrants are all contributing factors to this decisive turn. Firms are confidently making long-term real estate decisions, bringing lease terms back to the five- to 10-year range. While the vibrancy of the pre-pandemic era has not fully returned, data shows a steady recovery throughout 2024, and 2025 is poised to bring even stronger growth. In 2024, Raleigh-Durham welcomed several notable commitments from companies establishing a foothold in the market, like Jewelers Mutual, JTL and Amgen. Leasing activity stayed strong through the fourth quarter, supporting the net absorption of nearly 160,000 square feet of office space over the course of the year. Rents have seen some downward corrections overall, but well-located, highly amenitized assets have retained rent stability. Recent recommitments from major companies like Nutanix and Hitachi highlight the area’s enduring appeal. Vacancy closed out December at 17.3 percent but was …
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Crescent Communities has sold its interest at Novel Ballantyne, a 285-unit upscale apartment community located at 14011 Bespoke Road in south Charlotte’s Ballantyne district. The buyer and sales price were not disclosed, but Charlotte Business Journal reports that Crescent Communities netted roughly $95 million in the sale. The Class A property is a component of a master-planned residential community that includes an active adult property (The Balmore at Ballantyne by Laurel Street) and an upcoming townhome community. Built in 2023, Novel Ballantyne features a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments, as well as an amenity package that includes a resort-style saltwater pool area, fitness center, dog park, coworking library and an outdoor lawn with a putting green. The design-build team for Novel Ballantyne included Cooper Carry (architect), Ellinwood + Machado (structural engineer), IMEG Corp. (MEP engineer), LandDesign (landscape architect and civil engineer) and Vignette (interior designer).
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — New York-based Andover Properties has purchased a self-storage facility located at 102 W. Greene St. in Rockingham, about 70 miles southeast of Charlotte. Renovated in 2022, the property comprises nearly 500 climate-controlled units and spans 63,000 square feet. The facility represents the 15th North Carolina facility for Andover’s Storage King USA brand. The property features three loading docks, multiple levels of storage units, keypad-controlled entry and 24/7 video surveillance. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. AND CHEVY CHASE, MD. — Barings, an investment manager based in Charlotte, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Artemis Real Estate Partners, a commercial real estate investment firm based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Chevy Chase. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. Financial terms were not disclosed. This acquisition will strengthen Barings’ position in the U.S. commercial real estate market and accelerate the company’s long-term growth by combining the firms’ complementary investment capabilities and expertise, according to company officials. Executives from Barings, as well as parent company MassMutual, also say that the move will enhance Barings’ real estate equity business. Deborah Harmon, co-founder and co-CEO of Artemis, believes that the merger will create “a more powerful platform for our investors” while simultaneously “preserving our culture while creating new opportunities for our team.” “We are deeply grateful to our investors for the past 15 years and look forward to continuing our partnership as a force multiplier for performance and purpose,” Harmona adds. Dechert LLP served as legal counsel to Barings for the transaction. Berkshire Global Advisors served as financial advisor to Artemis, with Paul Hastings LLP acting as the firm’s legal …
The secret is getting out about Apex, a western suburb of Raleigh that also lies 20 miles south of Chapel Hill. In 2018, Realtor.com ranked the city as the No. 1 fastest growing suburb in the United States. This was aided by the master planning of local homebuilder/developer ExperienceOne Homes, which debuted its large-scale Sweetwater residential development in 2016. The allure of Apex didn’t stop there as the local schools within the Wake County Public School System have long been considered top-notch. As more and more families moved to the once-sleepy town, the need for community-serving retail became apparent. And not just any sprawling shopping center would suffice. Retail Strategies of N.C. Inc., on behalf of development partner The Kalikow Group, a multifamily and mixed-use development firm based in Westbury, New York, and the aforementioned ExperienceOne, set out to create a sense of place that would resemble village towns in Northeast states such as Maine and Massachusetts. What all of these hamlets have in common is they are built up over decades around a town center, thus the idea of Sweetwater Town Center was established. East Side The “hard part” was essentially in the rearview mirror as ExperienceOne had already …
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Riverside Investment & Development and Woodfield Development have topped out a 42-story apartment tower in Charlotte. Goettsch Partners served as the architect and Clark Construction Group served as the general contractor for the 409-unit property, which is the multifamily component of the Queensbridge Collective mixed-use development. The development also includes a 35-story office tower, nearly 30,000 square feet of retail space and more than 90,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor amenity space, including more than two acres of indoor and outdoor fitness, recreation and entertainment spaces. Charlotte-based Night Swim Coffee is scheduled to open later this year on the ground floor of the apartment tower, and Denver-based steakhouse Guard and Grace will debut its 10,224-square-foot venue on the 10th floor in mid-2026. Riverside and Woodfield broke ground on Queensbridge Collective in May 2023 and plan to fully deliver the project in 2027.
For all Top 50 NMHC third-party management firms, the subject of managing rising operating costs is a topic that has come to be front and center in many recent client conversations. “As 2025 budget discussions were taking center stage toward the end of 2024, our clients increasingly highlighted the issues of rising operating costs,” says Lisa Narducci-Nix, director of business development at Drucker + Falk. “This trend”, she adds, “underscores our need for strategic planning and cost management to navigate the continued challenges ahead.” The multifamily sector is facing unprecedented headwinds as operating costs continue to rise, driven by factors ranging from inflation and labor shortages to increased insurance premiums and energy expenses. As a result, multifamily operators are working to find ways to maintain profitability while providing quality living spaces for their residents. “In this challenging environment, it is clear to us that adapting to these rising costs will require a multifaceted approach — one that blends innovation, strategic marketing, operational efficiency and technological adoption,” says Narducci-Nix. Challenges of rising costs Across its 11-state footprint spanning over 42,000 units, Drucker + Falk has seen operating costs for many of its managed assets surge in recent years. The supply chain …
