Thompson Child & Family Focus buys land on Wendover Avenue, prepares for move

Thompson Child & Family Focus has bought 3.65 acres of land on Wendover Road, where it plans to relocate its foster care, family education and outpatient mental health services and programs from its Seventh Street campus.

The sale, which closed in late May, includes two buildings totaling 13,456 square feet at 769 and 749 N. Wendover Ave. Thompson paid $1.15 million.

Founded in 1886 as an orphanage, the nonprofit offers child advocacy and support services for children from birth through age 18. Thompson has three campuses offering education, treatment and care for families with children who have been abused or neglected. One campus is on Saint Peter's Lane in Matthews, one is on Clanton Road in Charlotte and one is on East 7th Street in Charlotte.

The nonprofit plans to sell the Seventh Street campus, which includes a 14,732 square-foot building.
Joe Wilkinson with NAI Southern Real Estate is representing Thompson in both the purchase of its new property and the sale of its existing campus.

The agency asked the Charlotte City Council earlier this year to rezone the land on Wendover from residential to an office category to make way for the move. The property, in the Grier Heights neighborhood, has more room for future expansion, the agency has said. The property became available because of a foreclosure, according to the agency.

"Our relocation to Grier Heights is a strategic, proactive response to consumer needs, including accessibility," said Ginny Amendum, Thompson's president, in a statement. "Establishing a campus in Grier Heights brings to this community critical services that stabilize and improve lives."