Author: Manager

August 2017 Luncheon – A Tour of 615 South College

At our August Luncheon we toured 615 South College – an 18-story, 371,000 square-foot Class-A office building in downtown Charlotte. The building is a tribute to the world-renowned John Portman & Associates and developed by Portman Holdings. The two-story corner balconies and floor-to-ceiling windows provide amazing views of Charlotte’s uptown skyline as well as nearby South End. Amenities include an outdoor green space that connects the building to Stonewall Station – downtown’s first light rail stop and also home to uptown’s first Whole Foods opening later this year.

John Ball, the leasing agent with Trinity Partners, spoke to the group about the building’s first tenants including Regions Bank, co-working giant WeWork, Eric Mower and Associates, Sitehands, and global accounting firm BDO. 615 South College is just steps away from the city’s professional sports arenas, parks, and the Charlotte Convention Center, and built atop the parking deck of the Portman-developed and owned Westin Charlotte.

June 2017 Luncheon РCross Charlotte Trail ─ Creating Economic and Community Value

Submitted by Amy Massey, Kimley-Horn

On June 13, CREW Charlotte hosted a panel of experts who provided an overview of the Cross Charlotte Trail (XCLT) in Mecklenburg County, and an understanding of its importance to our local commercial real estate industry. Moderated by Beth Poovey of LandDesign, panelists Vivian Coleman of the Charlotte Department of Transportation, Elizabeth McMillan of Crescent Communities, and Kyle Vangel of HR&A Advisors discussed how greenways benefit our communities and attract business by creating recreational opportunities, transportation alternatives, and return on investment─ both public and private.

The story begins back in 2006 when Little Sugar Creek was buried by a series of surface parking lots in the Midtown area.

Coleman provided an overview of how the Cross Charlotte Trail came about. She said the County took the initial lead in trail development, and then the City got involved to help speed up the XCLT’s development. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has also been involved. The plan is to complete 30 miles of trail from Pineville, through Uptown to UNC Charlotte, and ending near the Cabarrus County line√¢‚Äù‚Ǩ within the next decade or so. Coleman reviewed the various types, widths, and uses of greenways; along with some of the challenges and constraints, including separation from motorized vehicles for safety and seamless connectivity. The priorities placed on certain sections is based on balancing factors such as filling existing gaps and leveraging hot development areas, while more difficult/expensive sections√¢‚Äù‚Ǩ like the segment spanning the I-277/Independence Boulevard weaver area√¢‚Äù‚Ǩ will come later.

Vangel explored the impact of greenways on economic development. Beyond joy, health, and public safety, the value of greenways can be quantified in terms of increased property value and in property tax value. In fact, value was a key criterion in deciding the ultimate alignment of the Trail. Its alignment traverses neighborhoods ranging from affluent areas near Uptown to more challenged areas like Lockwood and Sugar Creek. Mr. Vangel suggested that with increasing values, the potential for gentrification can be minimized by putting proactive policies in place with a goal to preserve and create affordable housing along the way. Overall, the fiscal impact of the trail could be as high as $12.9 million annually between 6,000 new residential units, 4 million square feet of new commercial development space, and a 5% increase in property value.

McMillian explained how Crescent Communities views view greenways, in that they actually seek out properties along/near the Trail alignment when locating their sites. She used the Crescent Dilworth as a prime example of their capitalizing on the greenway as the ‘front door,’ including an image of a bicycle and mention of its accessibility to the greenway in its marketing brochure. Not only is the greenway a major asset for attracting their tenants, but the development has realized a 15% rent premium due to its proximity to the greenway. McMillan and Coleman discussed the importance of the City, County, NCDOT, property owners, and developers working together√¢‚Äù‚Ǩ sharing and working through design and construction scheduling, property needs, and costs.

The panel established that the Cross Charlotte Trail has a powerful impact on our communities and businesses on many levels. In the end, it will be important in not only providing recreational opportunities, but also in spurring development, increasing property and tax values, and connecting people and places across Mecklenburg County√¢‚Äù‚Ǩ all in a socially equitable manner. It’s also helping Charlotte compete with other growing cities on a national scale.

Learn more at: http://charlottenc.gov/charlottefuture/CIP/Pages/CrossCharlotteTrail.aspx

May 2017 Luncheon – Leading a New Era of Development at Lincoln Harris: A Conversation With Johno Harris

Johno Harris, President of Lincoln Harris, joined CREW Charlotte on Tuesday, May 9th to discuss a wide range of topics including growing up around two of the city’s most iconic developers – his dad, Johnny Harris and his uncle, Smoky Bissell. He described the two with his dad being a visionary and front man to many prominent Charlotte developments and Smoky Bissell being the talent in structuring real estate deals and making the vision work financially.  Johno moved back to Charlotte after working for Fortress Investment Group for eight years in both New York and London and is now making his own mark on the City of Charlotte.

Johno described the company’s several mixed-use projects in and around the city as being very strategically located – Capitol Towers recently completed in SouthPark, Rea Farms south of I-485 and Providence Road, the River District near the airport, Southbridge just across the South Carolina border in Fort Mill, 24 acres in the University area, and the uptown project recently announced at the former Charlotte Observer building site. All are walkable, mixed-use developments that can often be very complicated with lengthy timeframes.

Johno mentioned that the company had been in talks with Bank of America, who is taking at least 500,000 square feet in the 33-story tower across from the stadium, from nearly the beginning. Hospitality, residential, and retail will come into play on the site but no specific details were confirmed.

Crescent Communities is partnering with Lincoln Harris on the River District project, a significant mixed-use community, with 8 million square feet of office, thousands of residences, and hundreds of acres preserved throughout. Crescent is also planning a development across from the Observer site uptown. When asked about managing that dynamic, Johno says that he hopes they build the project because, first and foremost, it is good for the City of Charlotte.

Johno was optimistic of the next two to three years as long as there is no geopolitical macro event that occurs. Since the repeal of HB2, companies are slowly coming back to Charlotte.