RALEIGH, N.C. ― VinFast, a Vietnamese-based electric vehicle and battery company, has plans to open its first North American automotive assembly and battery manufacturing plant in metro Raleigh. The company plans to invest $4 billion and create 7,500 jobs in Chatham County. VinFast is the automotive branch of Vingroup, a company founded in Ukraine that covers trade and services, technology and industry and social enterprise. VinFast announced plans for its California headquarters earlier this year. The company plans to start producing vehicles in the United States in 2024. VinFast evaluated over 50 megasites in 10 states for its facility, before choosing Chatham County site. The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina and its business recruitment managers helped the company connect with state entities, like the North Carolina Department of Commerce, and local entities to secure the necessary information and details.
CHINA GROVE, N.C. — Macy’s Inc. has plans to open a 1.4 million-square-foot fulfillment center in China Grove. The New York City-based retail giant plans to invest approximately $584 million in the facility, which is expected to open in 2024. The fulfillment center will offer automated direct-to-consumer fulfillment capacity. When fully operational, the property will account for nearly 30 percent of Macy’s digital supply chain capacity and serve customers nationwide. The facility will be equipped with new automation technology, including an advanced goods-to-person and pocket sorter system that will help to distribute merchandise efficiently. The property will employ nearly 2,800 workers when fully operational.
STARKVILLE, MISS. — Miami-based Centurion Property Group has purchased Aspen Starkville, a 958-bed student housing community located near Mississippi State University. Built in 2014, Aspen Starkville offers two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom, cottage-style floorplans with bed-to-bath parity. Community amenities include a swimming pool, basketball court, sand volleyball court, fitness center, yoga room, game room and a movie theater. The property will be rebranded The Grand at Starkville and is set to undergo capital improvements, including the addition of a new pet park and hammock garden, updated flooring and the addition of smart TVs. Located at 2041 Blackjack Road, the property is situated 2.2 miles from Mississippi State University and three miles from downtown Starkville.
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLA. — Los Angeles-based Trion Properties has acquired Altamonte at Spring Valley, a 250-unit multifamily community in Altamonte Springs, for $49.1 million. Ryan Moody, Scott Ramey and Paul Grant of Newmark represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Built in 1974, Altamonte at Spring Valley includes 250 one- and two-bedroom apartments averaging 924 square feet. Community amenities include two pool decks with grills and cabanas, a sports and tennis court, fitness center and a dog park. The community was 99 percent occupied at the time of sale. Located at 693 Wymore Road, the property is situated 9.4 miles north of Orlando and 29.2 miles from Orlando International Airport.
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — Whataburger, a Corpus Christi-based fast food burger chain, is opening its first metro Atlanta restaurants this year. The two locations will be situated at 705 Town Park Lane NW in Kennesaw and 9766 GA-92 in Woodstock. At its Kennesaw location, Whataburger plans to hire 180 employees, and to employ more than 1,400 employees in the metro Atlanta area restaurants by the end of 2023. In 2023, other Whataburger locations will open around metro Atlanta including at 503 Lakeland Plaza in Cumming; SEQ Buford Drive and Exchange Drive in Buford; 3321 Lexington Road in Athens; 3201 Atlanta Highway in Athens; 100 Pottery Road in Commerce; and 15 Wallace Blvd. in Dawsonville. Whataburger currently has one Georgia restaurant in Thomasville. The burger chain has over 880 locations across 14 states.
Suburban household growth in metropolitan Nashville was already outpacing urban growth prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but has accelerated since the outbreak due to corporate America’s acceptance of work-from-home staffing. Multifamily investors have followed this suburban household growth as well. Two recent examples are in Lebanon and Murfreesboro, both high-growth, high-quality suburbs of Nashville that have recently experienced record-setting transactions. The Pointe at Five Oaks recently sold for $243,000 per unit, setting a record for Lebanon. Vantage at Murfreesboro recently went under contract north of $270,000 per unit, also setting a record for Murfreesboro. We don’t see this activity and record-setting slowing down any time soon due to the lack of supply, overwhelming out of state demand and skyrocketing replacement costs. New multifamily development continues to follow the suburban trend, often times with a mixed-use component. Case in point, Highwoods Properties has completed the assemblage of all 145 acres of Ovation Franklin and is beginning the journey to reimagine and re-introduce one of the greatest opportunities for mixed-use development in the nation. This project will consist of 1.4 million square feet of Class A offices, 950 residential units, 480,000 square feet of retail and restaurants and 450 hotel rooms. Single-family …
By Steve Firestone, Crown Bay Group Why would anyone choose investing in an aging workforce housing property over razing it to make room for Class A apartments? Are these challenging properties worth the risk? Making this choice may not be right for everyone, but the returns can be unbelievably rewarding. The secret recipe for transforming Class B and C properties to benefit the community, local residents and your bottom line isn’t complicated. The key is entering into each deal with a genuine interest and desire to do what is right and what matters to the residents who call this property home. The age-old saying — by doing good, you will do well — still holds true today. There is an overwhelming demand for Class B and C assets. While a large portion of new development over the past decade has been Class A luxury, the Class A market makes up only 20 percent of the total rental market. New construction of affordable, market-rate units is just not financially feasible today. Consequently, meaningful workforce supply has rarely been added this past decade. Despite the pervasive need for workforce housing, the supply has decreased with older units being demolished to make room …
STATESVILLE, N.C. — CBRE has brokered the sale-leaseback of a 416,300-square-foot manufacturing facility in Statesville. Nevada-based CAI Investments purchased the property for $30.3 million. Patrick Gildea, Trey Barry, Matt Smith, Grayson Hawkins and John Christenbury of CBRE represented the seller and tenant, Kewaunee Scientific Corp., in the sale-leaseback transaction. Kewaunee Scientific Corp. is a designer and manufacturer of laboratory, healthcare and technical furniture products. The Statesville building serves as Kewaunee Scientific’s primary manufacturing facility. Situated on 21.3 acres at 2700 W. Front St., the property is located within three miles of the Interstates 40 and 77 and about 41.6 miles north of Charlotte.
MCLEANSVILLE, N.C. — CN Investors LLC, an affiliate of Raleigh-based APG Capital, has purchased a 176,778-square-foot office building in McLeansville. The Class A property sold for $17 million. Patrick Gildea of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller. Daniel Walser and James Anthony III at APG were responsible for sourcing the deal and closing the acquisition. Originally built in 2004 to house Citibank, the three-story office building is situated on 21 acres. Today, the property’s tenant includes LabCorp, a Burlington, N.C.-based lab test provider. Located at 5450 Millstream Road, the property is situated 36.2 miles from Winston-Salem and 45 miles from Durham.
PIEDMONT, S.C. — Atlanta-based MDH Partners has acquired 301 Grove Reserve, a 158,886-square-foot industrial building in Piedmont, about 12.5 miles from Greenville. Joe DeHaven served as the acquisition lead for MDH Partners. Clay Williams and Grice Hunt of NAI Global represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The sales price was also not disclosed. Built in 2021, 301 Grove Reserve is fully leased to an undisclosed pharmaceutical company that uses the facility to distribute cosmetic and pharmaceutical goods across the country. Situated in the Upstate’s I-85 West submarket, 301 Grove Reserve is located off Grove Reserve Parkway and is located only 16 miles southwest of Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and 22 miles southwest of Inland Port Greer.