CARY, N.C. — Epic Games Inc., a global gaming company whose products include the hit video game “Fortnite,” has purchased a distressed mall in Cary for its new headquarters campus. The property, Cary Towne Center, spans 980,000 square feet and in recent years lost three of its five anchor tenants, with only Dave & Buster’s and Belk remaining. Epic purchased the 87-acre site from Turnbridge Equities and Denali Properties for $95 million. Stephen Porterfield of Capital Associates represented Epic in the transaction. Founded in 1991, Epic has had its headquarters in Cary for more than 20 years and will continue to operate from its offices at 620 Crossroads Blvd. until completion of the redevelopment, which is estimated to be in 2024. Epic plans to break ground on the adaptive reuse project this year, thanks in part to Turnbridge and Denali getting Cary Towne Center rezoned in late 2019. The developers purchased the distressed mall in January 2019 for $31 million, according to Triangle Business Journal. Turnbridge and Denali had planned to transform the mall into a 4 million-square-foot project dubbed Carolina Yards, but ultimately decided to sell the property to Epic. “Epic shares our vision for transforming Cary Towne Center …
North Carolina
DURHAM, N.C. — Drawbridge Realty has acquired an 11-story, 260,000-square-foot office building located at 4820 Emperor Blvd. in Durham for $89.7 million. The building, originally constructed in 2009, serves as the headquarters for IQVIA Holdings Inc., a provider of healthcare clinical research. The asset is situated on seven acres in the southeastern portion of Research Triangle Park, 10 miles southeast of downtown Durham. Russell Ingrum and Ben Kilgore of CBRE represented the buyer in the transaction. Franklin Street Properties Corp. was the seller.
Marcus & Millichap Arranges $23.5M Sale of Shopping Center in High Point, North Carolina
by Alex Tostado
HIGH POINT, N.C. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $23.5 million sale of High Point Harris Teeter Center, a 192,548-square-foot shopping center in High Point. The asset was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants including Harris Teeter, T.J. Maxx, Ross Dress for Less and Staples. The property was originally developed in 1975, and the undisclosed seller owned it for more than 20 years. Lori Schneider of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the transaction. Ben Yelm of Marcus & Millichap was the broker of record. First National Realty Partners acquired the property, which is located in North Carolina’s Triad region.
MILLS RIVER, N.C. — Collett Industrial has broken ground on a 90,720-square-foot logistics facility in Mills River. The property is being built on a build-to-suit basis for an undisclosed Fortune 500 retailer. ABC 13 News reports the site is located on School House Road, five miles from Interstate 26 and six miles from Asheville Regional Airport. Randall Bentley and Jordan Skellie of Lee & Associates secured the lease on behalf of the developer. Vannoy Construction is the general contractor for the asset, which is expected to deliver in summer 2021.
Palomar Group Arranges $12.3M Sale of Grocery-Anchored Center in Walkertown, North Carolina
by Alex Tostado
WALKERTOWN, N.C. — Palomar Group has arranged the $12.3 million sale of Walkertown Commons, an 81,432-sqaure-foot shopping center in Walkertown. Lowes Foods anchors the fully leased property, which was originally built in 2004. Walkertown Commons is located at 5180 Reidsville Road, eight miles northeast of downtown Winston-Salem. Ryan McArdle, Steve Collins, David Rivers, Jefferson Knox and Lee Malchow of Palomar Group represented the seller, an undisclosed regional investor, in the transaction. An undisclosed buyer based in South Carolina acquired the asset in a 1031 tax exchange.
Capstone Negotiates Sales of Two Apartment Communities in the Carolinas Totaling $44.5M
by John Nelson
BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. AND GASTONIA, N.C. — Capstone has negotiated the sales of Village at Mills Gap in Boiling Springs and Destination at Union in Gastonia. Alex McDermott, Austin Green and Caleb Troop of Capstone represented the seller, Read Property Group, in both transactions. In the first transaction, Read sold Village at Mills Gap, a 208-unit apartment community in Upstate South Carolina, to Southwood Realty for $25 million. The property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans that were 90 percent occupied at the time of sale. Communal amenities include a pool, fitness center, game room, dog park, grilling area, playground and a car care center. The asset is situated at 97 Mills Gap Road, six miles northwest of downtown Spartanburg. The buyer acquired the community as part of a 1031 tax exchange. In the second deal, URS Capital Partners purchased Destination at Union from Read for $19.5 million. Built in 1998, the property offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans that were 93 percent occupied at the time of sale. The buyer plans to upgrade the communal amenities, which include a pool, fitness center and a dog park. The asset is situated at 1272 Union Road, 21 miles west …
Tri Properties | NAI Carolantic Arranges $25M Sale of Life Sciences Portfolio in Raleigh-Durham
by Alex Tostado
CARY, N.C. — Tri Properties | NAI Carolantic has arranged the $25 million sale of 13000 Weston and 14001 Weston Parkway, a two-building, 137,759-square-foot life sciences portfolio in Cary. Michigan-based Alidade Capital acquired the assets from JPB Raleigh Holdings. The Park City, Utah-based company acquired the properties in 2015 and 2016 and made capital improvements during its ownership. The buildings were 96 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including healthcare company McKesson Corp., World Courier Management Inc. and biorepository company Kryosphere. Jimmy Barnes of Tri Properties | NAI Carolantic represented the seller in the transaction.
PINEVILLE, N.C. — Nance Cos. and MPV Properties will develop Berkshire Business Centers No. 26, a 30,250-square-foot industrial facility within Pineville Distribution Park in Pineville. The developers are building the asset to accommodate a single tenant. The property will feature 24-foot clear heights, multiple drive-in and dock-high doors and office space. The building will be situated at 10121 Pineville Distribution St., 13 miles south of downtown Charlotte and 15 miles southeast of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Timmons Group is the engineer and Merriman Schmitt designed the building, which is being developed on a speculative basis. Bailey Patrick Jr. and Billy Thomas of MPV are handling the leasing efforts. The developers expect to deliver the asset in fall 2021. This will mark the third building to be delivered within the distribution park, following Beacon Development’s 525,000-square-foot facility for Campbell Snacks in 2019, and Nance and MPV’s 67,000-square-foot center earlier this summer.
Dwight Capital Provides $35M Construction HUD Loan for Multifamily Community in Wilmington, North Carolina
by Alex Tostado
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Dwight Capital LLC has provided a $35 million HUD 221 (d)(4) loan for the construction of Renaissance Apartments, a 198-unit multifamily community in Wilmington’s Wayfaire neighborhood. The property will comprise two four-story buildings offering 2,530 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Communal amenities will include a courtyard, clubhouse, fitness center and a pool. The lender says the community will be built in compliance with the National Green Building Standard’s Bronze Level, which resulted in a 25 basis-point reduction in the loan interest rate through the Green Mortgage Insurance Premium. Brandon Baksh of Dwight Capital originated the 40-year term loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
Joint Venture Breaks Ground on 325-Unit Multifamily Community in Charlotte’s University District
by Alex Tostado
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A joint venture between The Spectrum Cos., Batson-Cook Development Co. (BCDC) and Heitman has broken ground on a 325-unit multifamily community in Charlotte’s University submarket. The property will comprise four mid-rise buildings with communal amenities such as a saltwater pool, dog park, grilling areas and a courtyard. Unit interiors will feature 10-foot ceilings, stainless steel appliances and tile backsplashes. The yet-to-be-named community will be situated at the intersection of University City Boulevard and North Tryon Street, near Lynx Blue Line’s University Station. It will also be near Centene’s $1 billion office headquarters underway. BB+M Architecture is the designer, Samet Corp. is the general contractor and LandDesign provided landscaping architecture and civil engineering services. The developers expect to deliver the first units in the second quarter of 2022 with full buildout planned for third-quarter 2022.