| AXA Equitable Life Insurance thought about leaving the Charlotte area and even the state. In the end, the company decided to move into 140k SF at Innovation Park in University City, the former campus built by IBM and now owned by BECO. (Once you get a taste of the in-state college basketball rivalries and the Mt. Olive Pickles, it's hard to leave.) | ||
| JLL regional director Chase Monroe, who repped AXA Equitable and Innovation Park, tells Bisnow Charlotte still has strengths. It has its near-Atlantic seaboard location (even the recession couldn't take that away), and the area offers businesses modest taxes and some of the lowest energy costs in the nation. Besides, Charlotte's a pretty sweet place to live, provided quality-of-life surveys are accurate. (To misquote W.C. Fields, on the whole, people would rather be in Charlotte.) Investors have noticed, too, Chase says. "The market has caught the attention of top REITs, banks and financial institutions, energy companies, real estate funds and life companies, resulting in a comfortable investing atmosphere for new-to-the market investors." | ||
| It helps that AXA Equitable's new digs are sweet, too. Maryland-based BECO bought the former IBM site out of foreclosure in 2010 for $42M, and then spent $30M to renovate it. (Presumably to make it less IBM-like.) The property now includes fitness centers, conference centers, a day-care center, a farmer?s market, a community bicycle program, electric vehicle charging stations, and outdoor "nature lounges," where AXA Equitable employees can enjoy Charlotte's mild climate when they're not actually doing insurance-company work. (All they need is a movie theater and it could double as a great place to take a date.) | ||
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