ASHEVILLE, N.C. AND COLUMBIA, S.C. — University Park, Fla.-based Benderson Development has purchased two single-tenant retail properties located at 120 Merrimon Ave. in Asheville and 4516 Forest Drive in Columbia. Both properties are leased to grocer Trader Joe’s. The seller for both stores is Los Angeles-based CIM Group. The sales price were not disclosed.
GARNER, N.C. — Beacon Partners has broken ground on 2000 Citation Drive, a 115,831-square-foot, Class A industrial building in the Raleigh suburb of Garner. Ann-Stewart Patterson and Austin Nagy of CBRE | Raleigh are handling leasing for Beacon. The project team also includes general contractor Choate Construction, Merriman Schmitt Architects and Advanced Civil Design. Atlantic Union Bank is providing an undisclosed amount of construction financing. Situated near the intersection of I-40 and Jones Sausage Road and two miles south of I-440, 2000 Citation Drive will feature 30-foot clear heights, full concrete truck courts and 180-foot building depths. The site is directly across I-40 from Beacon Commerce Park, a 48-acre, master-planned industrial park under development by Beacon Partners and HM Partners that features 631,000 square feet of distribution space.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — JLL has arranged $29.5 million in financing for Whitehall Tech Center, a three-building industrial park totaling 279,150 square feet in Charlotte’s Southwest submarket. The third building in the development, Whitehall III, will break ground this quarter. Kevin MacKenzie, Peter Thompson and Taylor Alison of JLL arranged the three-year, floating-rate loan through an undisclosed life insurance company on behalf of the borrower, CIP Real Estate. Whitehall Tech Center is situated on nearly 27 acres close to I-77 and I-485. At full completion, the park will feature a combined 493 parking stalls, clear heights ranging from 20 to 28 feet and 57 dock-high doors.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Milestone Group has delivered the second phase of Courtney Ridge Apartments, a garden-style multifamily community located in Charlotte’s LoSo (Lower South End) neighborhood. Phase II is a 13-acre expansion that comprises 180 units across seven new buildings. The project team includes Atlanta-based general contractor TuckerCraft, architect SGA|NW and engineer Design Resource Group. PNC Bank provided construction financing for Phase II, which features a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Phase II also features a new clubhouse equipped with individual workstation consoles, a main conference room, 24/7 package delivery center, coffee bar, kitchen area and patio overlooking a pond. Milestone purchased the existing, 280-unit Courtney Ridge Apartments in 2018.
AYDEN, N.C. — Frampton Construction Co. has broken ground on a build-to-suit industrial project for Pepsi-Cola franchiser Minges Bottling Group in Ayden. Upon completion, the facility will total 223,375 square feet and include warehouse space, a vending repair area, three-bay fleet maintenance shop and more than 20,000 square feet of office space. The rear-load building will feature 32-foot clear heights, 24 dock doors and 10 drive-in doors. Charlotte-based The Keith Corp. is developing the project, with Thomas & Hutton acting as the civil engineer and McMillan Pazdan Smith serving as architect. Completion of the facility is scheduled for January of next year.
CHARLOTTE. N.C. — Arden Logistics Parks (ALP), Arden Group’s industrial real estate operating platform, has purchased Northridge Business Center, a four-building, 174,000-square-foot industrial portfolio in Charlotte. Located at 50045, 5009-15, 5019-25 and 5029-35 W. W.T. Harris Blvd., the buildings range in size from 22,655 to 65,382 square feet. ALP acquired the portfolio from Fort Lauderdale-based SunCap Property Group for an undisclosed price.
KNIGHTDALE, N.C. — Beacon Partners has broken ground on Knightdale Gateway, a 511,000-square-foot industrial park about 15 miles east of Raleigh in Wake County. Slated for completion in the second quarter of 2024, the project will feature two Class A buildings with 36-foot clear heights. The assets will include a 221,363-square-foot building anchored by the new 195,056-square-foot headquarters facility for Kitchen Cabinet Distributors (KCD) and a 289,632-square-foot building with frontage along U.S. Highway 64. Al Williams and Michael Morgan of JLL represented KCD in the lease transaction, and Tim Robertson with Beacon Partners represented the landlord internally. Williams, along with JLL colleague Matt Winters, will handle the leasing assignment for the remaining space at Knightdale Gateway. The design-build team includes general contractor Choate Construction, Merriman Schmitt Architects and Advanced Civil Design. Fifth Third Bank is providing an undisclosed amount of construction financing to Beacon Partners for the project.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Portman has signed local coffeeshop concept Night Swim Coffee to anchor the ground level retail space at 2161 Hawkins, a 34-story apartment tower under construction in Charlotte’s South End district. The coffeeshop is expected to open in third-quarter 2024 and will activate the space between 2161 Hawkins and The Line, Portman’s adjacent Class A office tower that will include Sycamore Brewery, GritBox Fitness, Chapter 6 and Savi Provisions. The Night Swim Coffee space represents the 15th location for Black Rock Hospitality, the team behind local purveyors Not Just Coffee and Undercurrent Coffee. In addition to the coffeeshop, the 370-unit apartment development will house Bar One South End, which is expected to open in fourth-quarter 2024. Foundry Commercial is handling the retail leasing assignment at 2161 Hawkins. Portman has also enlisted local artists Eva Crawford and Caroline Simas to transform the temporary Rail Trail protection at 2161 Hawkins into a new public art installation.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dominion Realty Partners has broken ground on The Exchange Apartments, a 252-unit multifamily development in southwest Charlotte. The community will be situated within the Exchange Business Park off I-77 and Tyvola Road, about a half-mile from the Woodlawn stop on the Blue Line Light Rail. Units will feature oversized windows, sliding glass doors, Nest thermostats and smart locks. Community amenities will include a resort-style pool and sundeck, coffee bar, fitness center with a yoga and spin room and a game room. United Bank and Dogwood State Bank are providing an undisclosed amount of construction financing for the development. The design-build team includes architectural firm Rule Joy Trammell & Rubio, civil engineer LandDesign and general contractor Harkins. Katherine Southard of CBRE assisted in the land sale between Dominion Realty and the seller, Dilweg. Dominion Realty expects to deliver the first units in first-quarter 2025. The Exchange represents the developer’s fifth project in the metro Charlotte area.
ATLANTA AND CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carter has plans to develop two apartment communities in Atlanta and Charlotte under its Story brand. Patterson Real Estate Advisory Group arranged construction financing through Truist for Story Mt. Zion on Atlanta’s south side and South State Bank for Story University North on Charlotte’s north side. The projects represent the sixth and seventh Story communities that Carter is developing in the Southeast. Summit Contracting Group is developing both properties, which will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts and comprise 300 to 330 apartments. The construction timelines for the communities were not disclosed.
