North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — AS Colour, a New Zealand-based apparel designer and manufacturer, has signed a 240,000-square-foot lease at 11109 Quality Drive in southwest Charlotte. The new facility will be the largest among AS Colour’s existing network of distribution centers in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and California, and will serve as the firm’s base of operations on the East Coast. Chris Skibinski, Henry Lobb and Colin Ferguson of Avison Young represented the landlord, Charland Partners, in the lease negotiations. Tom Tropeano, also with Avison Young, represented AS Colour.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C. — Aldon, a multifamily developer and investor based in Bethesda, Md., has purchased Elevate Powell & Broad, a luxury apartment community located at 141 Stobhill Lane in the Raleigh suburb of Fuquay-Varina. The undisclosed seller traded the 384-unit community to Aldon for $129 million. Completed in 2021, Elevate Powell & Broad has been rebranded as Aldon at Powell & Broad. The property features one- and two-bedroom floorplans with stainless steel appliances, movable kitchen islands, granite countertops, private terraces and balconies, nine-foot ceilings and sunrooms in select units. Community amenities include a resort-style pool, fitness center, two dog parks, dog spa, coffee bar, game room, car care center, cornhole, playground and an outdoor pavilion with a fire pit. Aldon’s purchase of Aldon at Powell & Broad caps a trio of multifamily investments the company has made in the Research Triangle in the past 12 months totaling $315 million.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

The Raleigh-Durham office market is poised for future growth as it exits the pandemic, however the question for us all is when. Re-occupancy of buildings by office users has been stubborn in the current post-pandemic environment. Despite the sluggish activity since the beginning of the year, there have been bright spots with companies becoming more strategic about their office space decisions as they return, especially in newer projects that offer best-in-class experiences. Moving forward, there will be economic and geopolitical headwinds that may interfere with the pace of recovery. However, investors and developers continue to the see the value in the market due to our highly educated workforce, favorable business climate and one of the fastest growing population centers in the country. The return of the workplace is the main driving factor for the activity in the office leasing market. As companies execute their re-occupancy plans, they are reevaluating their existing buildings, footprints and workspaces in a way that we have never seen before. Forward thinking organizations are making decisions to create unique spaces where their employees want to come to work, rather than a space where they have to come to work. We have quickly seen that one size …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

DURHAM, N.C. — Virginia Beach, Va.-based Armada Hoffler Properties has sold two single-tenant retail properties in Durham for a combined $23.9 million. The assets include a 120,000-square-foot store at 1700 N. Pointe Drive that is leased to The Home Depot and a 148,663-square-foot store at 1510 N. Pointe Drive leased to Costco. The adjacent, triple-net-leased stores are situated within two miles of Duke University and downtown Durham. Alex Sharrin, Alex Geanakos and Michael Roberts of JLL represented Armada Hoffler in the transaction. An unnamed investment firm based in New York City purchased both stores.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the $64 million sale of Union Cross Distribution Center, a newly built logistics center located at 4051 Wallburg Road in Winston-Salem. The developer, Front Street Capital, sold the 610,000-square-foot facility to Galaxy Investments LLC, an affiliate of The Halle Cos. Rob Cochran, Nolan Ashton, Bill Harrison, Stewart Calhoun, Casey Masters, Bobby Finch, Jason Ofsanko and Hap Royster of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction. Union Cross Distribution Center was fully leased to an undisclosed tenant at the time of sale. The property features 40-foot clear heights, cross-dock loading, LED lighting, concrete tilt-wall construction and access to the Triad’s major transportation arteries along with Piedmont Triad International Airport. It is also located adjacent to the established Union Cross Business Park, a 403-acre industrial park.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

MEBANE, N.C. — Blaze Capital Partners, a multifamily investment firm based in Charleston, has purchased Fieldstone Apartments, a 240-unit, garden-style community in Mebane. This deal marks the first in the Triangle market for the investment firm. The seller and sales price were not disclosed. Blaze Capital plans to invest $2.5 million in property improvements at Fieldstone, including select unit interior enhancements and upgrades to landscaping and community amenities. Fieldstone offers one-, two- and three-bedroom residences with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and outdoor patios and balconies. Community amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, resort-style pool and sundeck, coffee bar, dog park and a playground.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

LINCOLNTON, N.C. — A joint venture between Magma Equities and Prudent Growth Partners has purchased The Oaks Apartment Homes, a 111-unit multifamily community located in the Charlotte suburb of Lincolnton. The duo purchased the property from the undisclosed seller in an off-market transaction for $17.8 million. Built in 2002, The Oaks comprises one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments located on an 11.7-acre site. Community amenities include a fitness center, basketball court, grilling area, playground and a dog park. The community was 97 percent occupied at the time of sale.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

In a constantly evolving and unprecedented era, Charlotte is an extremely well-positioned industrial market experiencing significant rent growth, an influx of new capital and development in new frontiers. As of first-quarter 2022, Charlotte was nearing an all-time low vacancy rate and rental rate growth reached more than 12 percent year-over-year. Needless to say, Charlotte has become a prime target for industrial investors, developers and tenants. Staggeringly low vacancy, strong tenant demand and rapid rent growth are trends the industrial real estate sector is experiencing around the county. While these trends are not necessarily unique to Charlotte, they are having a particularly large impact on how Charlotte is growing. These strong underlying leasing fundamentals accompanied by land scarcity left Charlotte under-supplied with developers on the hunt for land. A recent announcement by the Silverman Group is a great example. After closing on a 200-acre site just 30 minutes northeast of Charlotte in Rowan County, the Silverman Group announced a speculative industrial development capable of up to 1.9 million square feet and quickly signed a lease with Macy’s for an e-commerce distribution center spanning 1.4 million square feet. On the west side of Charlotte in Gaston County, NorthPoint Development has seen similar …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

ARDEN, N.C. — Capital Square has acquired Retreat at Arden Farms, a 312-unit apartment community located at 539 Long Shoals Road in the Asheville suburb of Arden. The Richmond-based firm purchased the property for an undisclosed price through CS1031 Retreat at Arden Farms Apartments DST, a Delaware statutory trust investment offering that seeks to raise $68 million in equity. The seller was not disclosed. Situated on 28 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains off I-26, Retreat at Arden Farms offers one-, two- and three-bedroom units averaging 957 square feet with tile backsplashes, stainless steel appliances, nine-foot ceilings, walk-in closets and balconies or patios. Amenities include a clubhouse with a lounge, cyber café with a coffee station, resort-style saltwater pool, 24/7 fitness center, wellness studio, poolside grilling area, dog park, electric car charging stations and private garages and storage units.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

As Charlotte continues to expand its economy and population, its multifamily market is reporting unprecedented levels of activity. The market has experienced a tremendous rebound from the artificial pandemic performance in terms of investor demand, in-migration and rent growth. The market recorded double-digit rent growth in 2021, extremely tight vacancies across submarkets, record lease-up velocity and a modest supply of new deliveries. All these signs clearly point to a landlord’s market, and investors have taken notice. This year looks to be another solid one for Charlotte’s multifamily investment market, coming off a record-setting 2021 with nearly $6.4 billion in transactions (compared to $3.5 billion in 2020 and $3.7 billion in 2019). So far in 2022, pricing remains strong and sales are ahead of the pace set at the start of last year ($1 billion in first-quarter 2022 vs. $566 million in first-quarter 2021). Companies and residents are flocking to Charlotte, which is increasingly recognized as a high-growth market. It is business-friendly, offers a great lifestyle and is a talent magnet. Lowes, USAA and Centene are examples of companies expanding their footprints and hiring thousands of employees, all who need a place to live. Moreover, these are high-paying jobs ($100,000-plus), targeting …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail