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FEATURE ARTICLE, DECEMBER 2004
2005 Outlook
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
For 2005, Charlotte needs to see demand continue to pick up
with limited new development. Job growth projections are still
off our highs in the mid-1990s, so we can’t count on
existing expansion or relocations to feed development pipelines.
Mixed-use is still a hot topic. Office users are looking for
proximity to amenities, residential neighborhoods, and major
highways or connectors. In the industrial market, we are starting
to see 30-foot clear buildings hitting the market and a potential
push to surrounding counties to access lower-cost labor.
On the office side this year, we’ve seen growth in the
Southeast (Ballantyne) and Interstate 77 Southwest, especially
around the new Interstate 485 interchanges. I expect this
will continue in 2005.
On the industrial side, the North submarket has held its own
during 2004, and for 2005, the area around Interstates 85
and 485 should see solid growth with I-485 now open. We still
see continued interest in the Southwest, the city’s largest
submarket, but new development opportunities are limited due
to decreasing inventory of available land.
The industrial sector has seen the most activity this year.
However, this year’s office activity has been better
than the previous 2 years.
This year there has been negative absorption in Class B office
space. Clearly with the market still recovering, users are
finding great opportunities in Class B space. In the industrial
market, year-to-date absorption is 287,326 square feet. This
is encouraging, considering the last 2 years saw negative
absorption of 448,142 square feet in 2003 and 78,736 square
feet in 2002. I would characterize the leasing activity as
improving in both sectors over the previous 2 years. Deals
still take some time to complete, but people are at least
looking.
— Ned Austin, marketing and leasing representative,
Crescent Resources LLC
Crescent’s office, industrial, mixed-use and retail
endeavors in the Charlotte area include Coliseum Centre, Lakemont
Business Park, Crescent Ridge, AirPark West, Resource Square
at University Research Park, Piedmont Town Center, The Crossings
at Nations Ford, Palisades Town Center and CrossPoint Center.
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Whitehall Corporate Center
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American Asset Corporation has signed 48,000 square feet
of new leases at the recently completed 3700 Arco Dr.
building in Charlotte’s Whitehall Corporate Center.
The new tenants include MCI, which is relocating from
Uptown Charlotte to the south Charlotte location, The
University of Phoenix, which is expanding its current
operation in the adjacent 3800 Arco Dr. building, and
GSA. The 127,000-square-foot building now has 79,000 square
feet available.
An additional 1.7 million square feet of office space
is planned to be built over the next 7 to 10 years at
Whitehall Corporate Center. When completed, the property
will provide 2 million square feet of Class A office space.
Whitehall Corporate Center is located directly off Interstate
485 between Interstates 77 and 85.
American Asset Corporation also developed the adjoining
Whitehall Technology Park, which was completed at the
end of last year and contains 12 buildings totaling nearly
1.8 million square feet. Whitehall Corporate Center and
Technology Park are part of the larger 700-plus-acre Whitehall
Community, which is one of the largest mixed-use projects
in the Charlotte area and also includes retail and residential
developments. |
| Blakeney is a 270-acre, multi-use community
being developed by Crosland in southeast Charlotte, about
2 miles south of Interstate 485. The project consists
of four parcels bound by the intersection of Rea and Ardrey-Kell
roads, key thoroughfares linking southern Mecklenburg
and Union counties. Crosland’s retail, office, land,
multifamily and contracting divisions are involved in
developing the community.
A village area in the retail community will feature
specialty shops and restaurants with outdoor seating
areas and pathways leading to a 2-acre community park.
Construction on this area will begin next year, with
some shops and restaurants in the village area opening
late 2005/early 2006.
Site work is underway on the 48,000-square-foot Harris
Teeter in the community’s northwest parcel. The pad
for Harris Teeter will be delivered in early 2005 with
plans to open late in the year or in early 2006. Crosland
anticipates service-oriented stores and some of the outparcels
will open in the fourth quarter of 2005.
Crosland recently broke ground on the neighborhood component
of the southwest parcel, which will consist of 216 townhomes
developed around preserved woodlands and wetlands with
convenient access to the nearby professional center.
The majority of the single-family homes and townhomes
planned for the northeast portion of the development have
been sold, with over 240 homeowners already residing in
the neighborhood. A swim club and nature preserve along
two heavily landscaped parks are already completed. |
©2004 France Publications, Inc. Duplication
or reproduction of this article not permitted without authorization
from France Publications, Inc. For information on reprints
of this article contact Barbara
Sherer at (630) 554-6054.
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