The I-40/I-85 Corridor is an emerging distribution area with a remarkably strong tenant mix between national manufacturers and distribution users, making it one of the most fundamentally sound corridors in the Sun Belt. The I-40/I-85 Corridor, squarely centered between the Triad (Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point) and the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill), is home to companies such as Walmart, Lidl, Ford, Kidde, Amazon, Chick-Fil-A, UPS, Lenovo, FedEx, Coca-Cola, among others. This corridor is seeing rapid expansion and is poised to be an epicenter of industrial activity in the region as the logistical significance of the area is attracting larger users and a growing amount of institutional capital. Recently, this submarket has seen significant demand from larger users leading speculative developers to plan large, Class A industrial parks. Historically, the market has been dominated by older manufacturing buildings. The newer development in the area is making these properties more obsolete due to their lower efficiencies, a phenomenon marking a larger shift in the composition of the emerging submarket. The industrial inventory’s makeup is continuing to evolve over time, marking the transition from smaller manufacturing properties to distribution and significantly larger manufacturing operations. Buildings currently under construction are average a footprint …
North Carolina
CHARLOTTE AND WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the $86.6 million sale of the North Carolina Interstate 40/Interstate 85 Industrial Portfolio, a group of 22 industrial buildings located in the greater Charlotte and Triad regions. Nolan Ashton, Rob Cochran and Bill Harrison of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Charis Cos. Tom Sullivan, Richard Henry and Ross Fishman of Cushman & Wakefield also secured an undisclosed amount of acquisition financing for the buyer, Boston-based SVN Parsons Commercial Group. Cushman & Wakefield, led by Bobby Finch, will handle leasing efforts for the portfolio. The North Carolina Interstate 40/Interstate 85 Industrial Portfolio includes the following properties: • Nine buildings in Winston-Salem located at 4303 Idlewild Industrial Drive, 4965 Indiana Ave., 5160-5190 Indiana Ave., 4320 Enterprise Drive, 4415 Providence Lane and 1330 Ivy Ave. • Four buildings in Clemmons located at 6220-6295 Clementine Drive • One building in Lexington located at 111-113 Woodside Drive • One building in Salisbury located at 1335 Litton Drive • Seven buildings in Newton located at 1523/1527 7th St. SE, 2309 N College Ave. and 2855-2859 and 2875 Nathan St. The portfolio features a total of nearly 1.6 million square feet and was 98 percent leased …
ASHEBORO, N.C. — A partnership known as Flagship Realty LLC, led by Patrick O’Connell and Christian Poyant, has purchased 1334 East Dixie Drive, a two-tenant retail building in Asheboro. Jimmy Flowers of Flowers Capital Holdings brokered the $2 million sale. Flowers Capital Holdings will serve as the property manager. Pinnacle Bank provided a $1.6 million acquisition loan. The 1334 East Dixie Drive property is a 6,400-square-foot retail building that is fully occupied with long-term leases in place to Mattress Warehouse and AT&T. Additionally, the property is shadow-anchored by the Six Four Nine Commons Shopping Center, which is anchored by an Aldi and Harbor Freight Tools. The property is located near Randolph Mall, as well as a McDonald’s, a Chevrolet dealership, the Asheboro Mall and a Food Lion.
The Raleigh-Durham region is experiencing increasing optimism despite the lingering impacts of COVID-19. While some reentry plans have been delayed and companies are still grappling with the way in which they will utilize office space moving forward, tenant demand is expected to rebound sharply in the first half of 2022. “We’ve seen an encouraging uptick in tenant activity since the second quarter of 2021, and we expect that trend to accelerate,” says Kathy Gigac, principal of Avison Young and a member of the firm’s Occupier Solutions Team. “Tenants seem ready to get back to some sense of normalcy.” Local economic fundamentals are sound, as reopening efforts and positive job growth have allowed Raleigh-Durham’s unemployment rate to recover from a pandemic high of 12 percent to 3.2 percent as of Sept. 2021. The region continues to witness major economic development wins with companies such as Google and Apple announcing plans to create thousands of new jobs. In its largest presence on the East Coast, Apple will invest $1 billion over a 10-year period to create a 3,000-job campus to eventually span 1 million square feet. In the most recent announcement from an office-using tenant, Fidelity Investments will add 1,500 jobs in …
ATLANTA — Atlanta-based Space Shop Self Storage has sold two self-storage portfolios for $137 million to Salt Lake City-based Extra Space Storage, a national self-storage REIT. The nine properties are situated across Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. The first portfolio sale included five properties such as a 75,000-square-foot facility in Covington, Ga.; three properties throughout Charleston totaling 175,000 square feet; and a 75,000-square-foot facility in Cary, N.C. The first portfolio sold for $55 million, or an average of $183 per square foot. The second portfolio included four facilities in metro Atlanta totaling 300,250 square feet. The facilities are located in downtown Atlanta, the Buckhead district, Chamblee and Cumming. The portfolio traded for $82 million.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-based Crescent Communities has broken ground on three industrial properties totaling 1.7 million square feet. The company plans to build eight buildings across three markets known as AXIAL Crosspoint in Greenville, S.C.; AXIAL Bonds Farm in Concord, N.C.; and AXIAL 301 Manatee in Bradenton, Fla. The firm bought the project land for an undisclosed price, and the seller of the land was not disclosed. Along with the three land transactions, Crescent Communities announced a new brand name for its industrial platform, AXIAL Industrial. The brand will first be executed through the AXIAL Bonds Farm, AXIAL Crosspoint and AXIAL 301 Manatee projects, which are all set to begin construction soon this year and are slated for completion in 2023. “With the debut of AXIAL Industrial, we will provide our clients with a one-stop platform featuring a thoughtful and diligent process for each industrial development, from land acquisition to product development for each specific location and every stage in between,” says Bryan Blythe, managing director of AXIAL Industrial at Crescent Communities’ Commercial business unit. AXIAL Bonds Farm will feature three rear-load buildings totaling 809,720 square feet. The property will also offer various-sized buildings with ample employee parking. The property …
Crescent Communities, Nuveen to Expand $500M Life Sciences Project Near North Carolina’s Research Triangle
by Katie Sloan
HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — A joint venture between Crescent Communities and Nuveen Real Estate has acquired a 120-acre development site to expand The Yield, a $500 million life sciences development currently underway in Holly Springs, roughly 23 miles south of North Carolina’s Research Triangle. Crescent Communities broke ground on the project’s first phase of development in December 2021, which will include two 105,000-square-foot biomanufacturing buildings, 52,000 square feet of lab and office space and retail. Phase I is scheduled for delivery this summer. Crescent and Nuveen are set to break ground on the second phase of development later this year, which will expand the development through the addition of 2 million square feet of lab, office and manufacturing space. Further details on Phase II of the project were undisclosed. The Research Triangle remains a top life sciences market in the U.S., with recently announced projects including the development of a $1 billion life sciences campus in Morrisville; the acquisition and expansion of Research Commons, a life sciences campus within Research Triangle Park in Durham; and the redevelopment of a 110,500-square-foot life sciences property in Raleigh. John Brewer, Brian Carr and Ann-Stewart Patterson of CBRE are in charge of leasing for …
DURHAM, N.C. — An affiliate of Raleigh-based Blue Heron Asset Management has sold Foster on the Park, a 164-unit mixed-use property in the Central Park district of downtown Durham, for $78.3 million or $477,000 per unit. Allan Lynch, Jeff Glenn and Andrea Howard of Northmarq represented Blue Heron Asset Management in the sale. San Francisco-based Stockbridge was the buyer. Built in 2020, Foster on the Park offers studio, one- and two-bedroom floorplans. Unit features include plank wood flooring, stainless steel appliances, Nest thermostats and in-unit washers and dryers. Community amenities include a fitness center, resident library, yoga room, lounge and a saltwater pool and lounge. The property also features 2,141 square feet of ground-floor retail space leased to local liquor shop, The Glass Jug. The property was 93 percent occupied at the time of sale. Located at 545 Foster St., Foster on the Park is close to the Historic Durham Athletic Park and Durham Central Park, as well as Google’s new offices at Durham Innovation District. The property is also situated close to retailers and restaurants such as the King’s Sandwich Shop, Durham Distillery, Beer Durham and The Dankery. Additionally, the property is situated 2.3 miles from Duke University.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Locally based Tepper Sports & Entertainment is nearing completion for the redevelopment of Bank of America Stadium, a football stadium in Uptown Charlotte and home of the NFL Carolina Panthers. The development cost for the project was about $50 million. The project started in March 2021 and is expected to be complete next month. Bank of America Stadium is a 75,412-seat arena located on 33 acres. The renovation included the addition of a 211-foot LED screen and a new premium club space called The Vault, which offers field-side cushioned seats, food and drink options, a full-service bar, concierge service and a private indoor lounge. The exclusive club area will offer a range of 100 to 150 seats for Charlotte FC, the city’s professional soccer team, as well as Carolina Panthers games. The project also includes an improved Lowe’s East Gate, upgrading the main concourses to have five grab-and-go markets and two bars with two 360-degree LED displays. Lastly, the project also added a new 2,600-square-foot locker room for the Charlotte FC team with 30 lockers, USB charging ports, a coaching wall and eight television screens.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has provided a total of $48 million in financing for Eastway Park Apartments, a 132-unit affordable seniors housing development in Charlotte. The financing includes a $14.3 million construction loan, $8.4 million equity bridge loan and $13.3 million Fannie Mae mortgage-backed security (MBS) as Tax-Exempt Bond Collateral (MTEB). In addition, KeyBank subsidiary Key Community Development Corp. (KCDC) is investing $12 million of 4 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity to support the development. The nonprofit borrower and developer, Harmony Housing, did not disclose a construction timeline for the project. Eastway Park will include age-restricted units for those 55 years of age and older. The property will serve households earning a range from 30 percent to 80 percent of area median income (AMI) and will be subject to an agreement ensuring ongoing affordability for at least 30 years. Out of the 132 units, 40 of the one-bedroom units will have project-based rental assistance and veterans’ preference by way of Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) Vouchers from Inlivian, formerly known as Charlotte Housing Authority. The development will provide supportive services to tenants including a shuttle service. The development team has also contacted organizations such as …