When Duke Energy formed Crescent Resources in 1969, few may have suspected the company would rise to the real estate force it has become today. Crescent Resources, LLC currently has land interests in eight states in the southeastern and southwestern United States, and is considered the premier development and land management company in the Southeast.

Throughout its more than 30-year history, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Crescent Resources has been "community-focused," committed to adding value through land management, commercial development, residential communities and, recently, retail offerings. According to Art Fields, president, "Crescent's primary objective is the creation of long-term value in the properties entrusted to it."

Since 1987, Crescent has developed more than 12 million square feet of commercial office and industrial space in cities including Nashville, Tennessee, Tampa and Orlando, Florida, Charlotte, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. From office parks and warehouse/distribution facilities to build-to-suit business buildings and retail centers, the company carefully attends to the amenities, architectural features, landscaping and property management to foster a good working environment for its clients. "Consequently, we renew leases with more than 95 percent of our tenants," says Fields.

Larry Wilson, regional vice president for commercial development in the Carolinas and Georgia, says the company is very service-oriented. "We try to develop relationships with both the tenants and the brokerage community in the markets in which we operate," says Wilson. "We recognize that the brokerage community is the lifeblood of what we do, so we don't put ourselves in the position to compete with them, but work to facilitate transactions for them."

Wilson says Crescent tries to achieve value within its projects by developing multiple phases and making a commitment to an area. His team recently closed on an additional 17 acres in Resource Square at University Research Park in Charlotte. The additional land increased the master plan to a total of approximately 1 million square feet with five mid-rise office buildings, and could ultimately reach 3 million square feet. The four-story, 120,000-square-foot Three Resource Square opened last year with premier tenants Uniteq Application Systems and Ryan Homes. Four Resource Square has signed on McKesson HBOC and Clinique, and the fifth building was just completed in January. Each building at Resource Square offers a fully equipped fitness facility with showers, lockers and changing rooms free to building tenants.

In Atlanta, Crescent has added Buildings I & II in The Terraces at Riverside Business Park, located along the Interstate 20 West corridor. Encompassing 69,000 square feet and 87,000 square feet, the buildings are adjacent to multiple fiber optic lines. "Sophisticated tenants are focused on the infrastructure of the area, in terms of sewer and water capacity, HVAC loads and the reliability of power," says Wilson. "So we're putting much greater emphasis on these things when we evaluate a site."

The Terraces joins The Crossings and The Bluffs in this 850-acre master-planned development with over 3 million square feet currently built and leased, including tenants Amoco, Subaru, AT&T and Hyundai Motor America. A 144,000-square-foot, build-to-suit space is also under construction at Riverside for Advo, the country's largest direct mail marketing company.

In the Washington, D.C., market, Crescent is developing the 101-acre Commonwealth Centre at Westfields in Fairfax County, Virginia. Plans call for an eight-building, 1.5 million-square-foot corporate campus. And in Alexandria/Arlington, Virginia, Crescent will be developing the 300-acre Potomac Yard, which served as the switching yard for the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad. Plans provide for creation of high-quality, mixed-use communities of townhouses, apartments, hotels, retail stores, offices, parks and a transit-oriented transportation system.

The Florida market is a hotbed of activity for Crescent, with industrial, multifamily and single-family, high-end golf course community developments. With Class A office space, "we focus on land control," says Whit Duncan, vice president and director of development for the Orlando area. "We deliver a unique Class A product at a competitive price."

One of those projects is The Crescent at Primera in Lake Mary -- five buildings totaling 800,000 square feet. The company has also bought the 150 acres contiguous and north of Primera, which will allow them to develop another 1.7 million square feet. Cigna, Re/Max and Liberty Mutual are some of the tenants at Primera, who were perhaps attracted by the traditional, timeless look and feel of the buildings. "We've brought in a warmer, richer feeling with our architecture and design that's different from the typical art-deco and pastel look you see in Florida," says Duncan. " That's been a big plus for us here."

Tampa is also a promising market for Crescent, with development potential for just under 4 million square feet of office space and about 2.5 million square feet of industrial property. "In just four years, we've already done 1 million square feet of office space in Orlando and 1.1 million square feet in Tampa," says Duncan.

Duncan also mentions that Crescent is having a good time pursuing mixed-use developments, since they now have a retail division on board. The Gateway Center, 80 acres with 1.5 million square feet of office and retail space, is one such project under contract in Altamonte Springs.

Crescent has found Nashville to be a very prosperous city -- particularly the Cool Springs area. The company's first foray into the submarket, Corporate Centre at Cool Springs, is nearing completion of 1 million square feet of construction with Seven Corporate Centre. The office development will also include a 250-suite Embassy Suites hotel, which is scheduled to be completed at the end of July. Crescent is in the final planning stages of Phase II of Corporate Centre, which will be built on 270 acres adjacent to the project's first phase.

Currently, Crescent has completed 1 million square feet of office space, and 420,000 square feet of industrial. CentrePointe Distribution Park is the company's industrial development, which is currently under construction. The park is strategically situated close to Interstates 24, 40 and 65, making it an attractive area for businesses.

"We're encouraged by the last four years of development in the Cool Springs area, and look forward to continuing with similar success over the next few years," says David McRae, leasing representative for Crescent in Nashville. "We've found a formula that works, not only for the developer, but for the tenant as well: quality buildings, excellent management of those facilities and flexible leasing times, which has given tenants the flexibility to grow and expand into other buildings."

Mike Wiggins was brought in a year and a half ago to start the retail division, which he says is focused on the food and drugstore community shopping centers. "Grocery-anchored centers give us stability, hopefully generating between 10,000 to 12,000 shopping trips per week," he says.

In choosing retail locations, Crescent generally looks at median household incomes and population densities that equal sales estimates that will support a food store. "We're not looking for any specific demographics in the way of higher median incomes," says Wiggins. "If the area has higher densities, then lower incomes don't bother us, as long as the retailer is comfortable."

Crescent's retail goal is to grow the division by at least 20 percent per year. The company has already blown through this year's goal of 300,000 square feet of neighborhood shopping centers, which Wiggins says is largely due to "being extremely hungry and having very good relationships with retailers." Duncan attributes Crescent's overall success and promising future to its entrepreneurial spirit. "It's very unusual to have a company with deep pockets that still has that entrepreneurial drive."

In addition to Crescent's commercial projects, its residential communities are known as some of the finest neighborhoods in the South, offering a unique mix of amenities ranging from championship golf courses to clubhouses, bicycle and jogging trails, swimming pools and pool cabanas. Some of Crescent's residential communities include Sugarloaf Country Club in the Atlanta area, Ballantyne Country Club and numerous other neighborhoods around Charlotte, and Oldfield in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The company is also involved in LandMar Group, LLC, a joint venture to develop residential communities in Jacksonville, Florida, and has partnered with Westroc in the development of Chaparral Pines, a country club community in Payson, Arizona.

"As we move forward, we will hold tight to the principles that brought the company to where it is today - dedicated people of uncompromising integrity, acute attention to detail, a strong commitment to the environment and communities we serve," says Fields. "By continuing to exceed the expectations of our clients, investors and shareholders, the future looks very promising for Crescent."

©2001 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.