Is Ballantyne getting a new 11-story office building?

Could Ballantyne Corporate Park be on the cusp of another expansion?

Ray Eschert, founder of the Ballantyne Breakfast Club, sent out an email Thursday afternoon saying that at the club's Jan. 11 meeting, Bissell Cos. vice president Barry Fabyan will "discuss the latest growth coming to Ballantyne including the announcement of a new 11-story office building."

Eschert, whose deep community ties earned him the nickname "mayor of Ballantyne," told me in a phone conversation that Bissell made a "tentative announcement" of its plans  more than a month ago during a meeting of the Charlotte Chamber's Ballantyne chapter. Eschert said his understanding is that the new building will go near where the Aloft Hotel sits on Ballantyne Corporate Place.

When asked about Eschert's email, Bissell spokeswoman Christina Thigpen responded with an email of her own. "We are always thinking about where the next building will go," she wrote. "Barry will discuss Ballantyne's growth and potential building locations; however, we will not be making an official announcement."

Given Bissell's recent success building office towers without an anchor tenant lined up, it would hardly be surprising if they were doing so once again. The company went right on building speculative towers during the downturn, when other developers retrenched. Ballantyne Corporate Park last year won the U.S. retail headquarters of insurance giant MetLife in part because it had two 10-story buildings available to accommodate the company's 1,300-plus employees.