CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Batson-Cook Construction breaks ground on The Gibson, a 250-unit apartment community located at 1000 Central Ave. in Charlotte. The developer on the $25 million project is Pollack Shores Real Estate Group and the architect is Poole and Poole Architects. The apartment development will neighbor the historic Plaza Midwood and Elizabeth neighborhoods. Batson-Cook expects to deliver the mid-rise, infill apartment community in the fourth quarter of 2015.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Trinity Capital Advisors plans to develop 1000 S. Tryon St., a new 300,000-square-foot, Class A office building in Charlotte’s South End submarket. The 14-story building will be located on the gateway corner of Tryon and Morehead streets. The office building will feature retail space on the ground floor and a multifamily façade is planned for the side of the parking deck fronting Morehead Street. The project is a joint venture between Trinity Capital Advisors and Honey Properties, the long-time owner of the site. Once the asset has a committed anchor, Trinity Capital Advisors will break ground on the property with a 15-month construction schedule, according to Gary Chesson, founding partner of Trinity Capital Advisors.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Trinity Capital Advisors, owner of the six-building Toringdon Office Park in Charlotte’s Ballantyne submarket, has struck a deal to bring a new Hampton Inn and Suites to one of the office park’s outparcels. The 120-room, six-story hotel will feature a fitness center, indoor/outdoor pool and meeting space. The new hotel will be Beacon IMG’s fourth hotel in the greater Charlotte area. Construction will begin in the fall and wrap up in late 2015 or early 2016. Trinity Capital Advisors has also signed TIAA-CREF to a 24,190-square-foot lease in the Toringdon 4 building. TIAA-CREF will have signage on the exterior of the building that is visible from nearby Interstate 485, as per the lease agreement. Josh Lebowitz and Rob Hinton of CBRE represented TIAA-CREF in the lease transaction. Rhea Greene and Jennifer Kurz represented Trinity Capital Advisors internally.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Lowe Enterprises Investors (LEI) has teamed up with Blue Ridge Realty to develop The Gramercy, a 203-unit multifamily property located at 401 Glenwood Ave. in Raleigh’s Glenwood South neighborhood. The community will sit atop 6,900 square feet of ground-floor retail space and a 260-space parking garage. Wells Fargo provided a $26 million construction loan, which was arranged by Howard Brooks of Medalist Capital. The six-story building will offer studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, nine-foot ceilings and individual balconies. Amenities include a clubhouse with a kitchen and lounge area, resort-style pool and a business center. The design team includes architect J. Davis and general contractor Choate Construction. Construction of the project has begun this week.
The Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill Triangle has captured national attention as a powerhouse of innovation and economic growth for many years, winning a steady stream of accolades for growth, technology, entrepreneurial drive and quality of life. So it comes as no surprise that while some parts of the country are still limping along in what has been the longest and most tepid recovery in recent memory, the Triangle is booming. Indeed, it’s hard to find a metric that shows the region as anything less than thriving. The unemployment rate declined sharply over the past year, down over 2 percentage points from the first quarter of 2013 to 5.1 percent in April 2014, and the region has been adding jobs — more than 26,000 nonfarm jobs in the past four quarters and 7,700 in March 2014 alone. As a result, the region’s industrial market is rapidly accelerating. Raleigh-Durham has consistently placed in the top 10 fastest growing MSAs since 1980, and the Triangle’s industrial market is primarily geared toward providing goods and services for the burgeoning local population, ensuring that demand for institutional-grade industrial product remains strong. This dynamic has also created a tendency toward a high degree of diversification, and both factors …
As the first quarter of 2014 comes to a close, the biggest question mark facing the Charlotte market is whether or not it can handle the historically high supply levels. Despite nearly 3,500 units delivered over the past 12 months, vacancy has held steady, and rents have continued to grow by 2 to 3 percent. But with another 10,000 units under construction, Charlotte is at a critical juncture. With the pipeline at an all-time high and new projects being announced seemingly every week, will there be enough continued demand to absorb the next wave of deliveries? The ability to absorb the pending supply is largely based on the area’s favorable demographic trends and potential job growth. Between 2000 and 2010, Mecklenburg County’s population grew by 32 percent, over three times the national average, and that trend has continued with more than 7 percent growth since 2010, including the second-highest growth rate in the state from 2012 to 2013. Moreover, since 2010, Mecklenburg and Wake (Raleigh/Durham) counties have accounted for nearly half of the state’s overall population increase. That pattern mirrors a national trend of a growing desire to live in an urban environment. That paradigm shift is largely based on …
The Charlotte market is emerging from the sluggish economy of the last several years and is booming with economic and commercial activity. In fact, Forbes recently recognized Charlotte as the fourth fastest growing city since the recession. The retail market is no exception and is continuing to improve with tenant activity increasing and vacancy rates dropping. From desirable South Charlotte to Independence Boulevard, new projects are coming out of the ground in an effort to meet the needs of the tenants in the market that are struggling to find locations. The suburban markets are seeing increased growth as people continue to move to Charlotte. South Charlotte continues to be the most desirable market for tenants, but limited availability has been a problem. The new Waverly project, a joint venture between Crosland Southeast and Childress Klein, will help to provide some options for tenants looking to expand into South Charlotte. Waverly will be located at the intersection of Providence Road and I-485 and is a 90-acre, master-planned development anchored by Whole Foods. The project will deliver in 2016 and consists of more than 230,000 square feet of retail space in addition to 330,000 square feet of office and medical space, a …
The year 2013 marked a turning point for the Triangle office market. While overall vacancy remains stubbornly high, ending the third quarter at 17.2 percent, Class A vacancy is rapidly approaching equilibrium, spurring increased investment and development activity in the region. A lack of new construction in recent years has led to a shortage of large blocks of prime office space. Class A vacancy ended the third quarter at 13.7 percent, down by 260 basis points year-over-year. As a result, owners of select properties are finding themselves with more leverage, and tenants are increasingly turning to their second and third choices when securing space. This lack of quality options kept a lid on absorption through most of 2013. Annual absorption stood at just 107,306 square feet through the third quarter, well below historical norms for a recovering market. This figure, however, is not a true reflection of leasing activity. Faced with limited choices, some growing and new-to-market tenants turned to developers, preleasing 700,000 square feet and driving a wave of new construction activity in the second half of the year. Duke Realty broke ground on two new office buildings in the I-40/RTP submarket. Perimeter Two and Perimeter Three will total …
The Raleigh industrial market dipped slightly in the third quarter of 2013 with negative net absorption, yet overall it improved from a year earlier, in part because of the general health of the North Carolina economy. Four factors are pushing the state’s economic recovery: a manufacturing revival, a construction surge, a boost of college graduates who are attracting knowledge-based industries and an influx of retirees, according to Dr. Michael L. Walden, a North Carolina State University professor and author of a report on the North Carolina economy that was published in the summer of 2013. The combination of factors led Dr. Walden to forecast that North Carolina’s Research Triangle, which includes Raleigh, would have an unemployment rate below 6 percent by the end of 2014. Ironically, some of the positive news for the state’s economy is putting pressure on the region’s industrial marketplace and driving these trends in Raleigh: • Net positive migration and population growth, year-after-year • The loss of industrial development opportunities to the homebuilding industry • Local pressure to prioritize live/work/play environments and de-emphasize industrial development • Constrained land supply • A lack of institutional grade space Consistently ranked by Forbes as one of the best places …
The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill market, known as the Triangle, has long been viewed as a market favorable for investors, due to very strong demand metrics. The state capital’s thriving economy and excellent demand drivers have made it a prime renter destination and the new darling for yield-chasing institutional investors. A skilled workforce, transitional student renter pool and national trend of millennials “de-nesting” have continued to keep the apartment market strong and attract institutional investors such as Redwood Capital Group, Guardian Life Insurance and Heitman. As one of the most active firms in the Carolinas, Cassidy Turley has witnessed the transition firsthand as the Triangle has transformed from a regional player into a national powerhouse that has attracted some of the world’s most savvy institutional groups. According to Reis, the apartment vacancy rate in the third quarter of 2013 stood at 3.9 percent, well below the greater South Atlantic region’s average of 4.9 percent. Furthermore, the vacancy rate has actually decreased 20 basis points since last quarter, demonstrating the strong momentum of the local market and the appeal to institutional investors. Contributing factors include: A 20 percent population growth in the Triangle over the last decade The area boasts a total student …
