CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Parkway Properties (NYSE: PKY) has signed a purchase agreement to acquire NASCAR Plaza, a 20-story office tower in Charlotte's central business district for $100 million. The building serves as the headquarters for NASCAR.
Parkway, a publicly traded real estate investment trust in Orlando, bought the building from a joint venture between Trinity Capital Advisors and Rubenstein Partners.
The 390,000-square-foot building was constructed in 2009 and is 88 percent occupied. The average in-place rent per square foot is $25.61.
The building is adjacent to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The racing association has leased 139,000 square feet as its headquarters through May 2021.
“The purchase of NASCAR Plaza represents another off-market transaction that enables us to expand in one of our key target submarkets with a high-quality asset,” says James Heistand, CEO and president of Parkway Plaza. He adds that Parkway Properties plans to grow leasing and rents in a submarket that it believes will outperform during a recovery.
According to CBRE Group, the Charlotte central business district continues to show signs of improving fundaments. Approximately 234,000 square feet was absorbed in the third quarter and the vacancy rate declined by 150 basis points from the prior quarter.
NASCAR Plaza is expected to generate an estimated cash net operating income yield of approximately 7 percent in 2013. Parkway Properties expects to close on the purchase by the end of the year.
— Liz Burlingame