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Charlotte Plays in Site-Selection Majors

Charlotte
Charlotte Plays in Site-Selection Majors

Vision Equities and CarVal Investors, which acquired Coliseum Centre last year in what the WSJ calleda risky play, sold another piece of it. Four Coliseum Centre went for $39M. Buyer Griffin Capital Corp of California liked the fact that United Technologies occupies the whole thing.

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Vision Equities COO Fred Arena (right, with managing partner Sam Morreale) tells us that although the sale to Griffin Capital shows investors have a strong appetite for core assets with credit tenants,he believes the underlying importance of the deal is that major corporate tenants are now seeing Charlotte as a viable market for relocation. (No longer is Charlotte just a place you go to see the birthplace of astronaut Charlie Duke.) United Tech came to the market when it purchased building tenant Goodrich Corp, then decided to move its aerospace-systems HQ to the building.

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Its more important than ever for site selection to be based not only on economics, but also by selecting markets with a diverse and educated work force, and which offer employees a good quality of life, Fred says. Finding both in the same place is a bit of a tall order. Charlotte checks those boxes, he adds, but he also warns that the area has to maintain lower taxes and utility rates to keep its site-selection competitiveness.