Shopping in uptown Charlotte? New retail recruiter aims to draw stores

Charlotte Center City Partners, hoping to attract more retailers to uptown Charlotte, has created a new retail recruiter position and filled it with one of its existing staffers. Chris Hemans, the uptown development organization's director of business recruitment, will fill the new role effective immediately. Center City Partners CEO Michael Smith called Hemans "an exciting choice for this new vital role."

Hemans, who once handled retail duties as an assistant commissioner with the city of Chicago, will lead Center City Partners' effort to execute strategies laid out in its 2013 retail studies of uptown and the South End. The uptown study said that uptown Charlotte, with its growing workforce and residential population, can support a thriving retail presence of specialty retailers and clothing stores, as well as electronic, grocers and other shops.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/01/27/4644543/can-an-asheville-style-shopping.html#storylink=cpy

Insurance firm signs new lease for Piedmont Town Center office space

Lincoln Harris has brokered a new lease for the Kansas City, Mo.-based insurance firm Lockton Cos. at Piedmont Town Center. Lockton will occupy 10,207 square feet at the mixed-use development adjacent to SouthPark Mall. Lockton, which advises companies on property and casualty insurance as well as employee benefits, opened its Charlotte office in 2011 and now has 35 workers, said spokesman Dean Davison. It had been subleasing 6,400 square feet.

Campbell Walker, senior vice president of leasing in Lincoln Harris' Charlotte office, represented the landlord, Piedmont Row Drive LLC. Brent Royall and Brad Grow of Colliers International represented Lockton.

New leasing management for Fifth Third Center building uptown

Cousins Properties, the new owner of uptown Charlotte's Fifth Third Center, has tapped CBRE's Charlotte office to handle leasing of the 30-story tower. Cousins, which recently bought the building from Parmenter Realty Partners for $215 million, called it an "iconic office tower in the best submarket in Charlotte." The 697,000-square-foot building boasts renovations and updates to its lobby, courtyard, elevators and mechanical system. CBRE's Anne Vulcano and Jessica Brown will lead the leasing effort.

In other developments at CBRE, the firm's Patrick Gildea led in finalizing the sale of the Oakhill Business Park near Arrowood Road in southwest Charlotte. Four buildings, totaling more than 248,000 square feet, sold to Adler Acquisition Associates out of Miami, Fl., for $16.6 million on July 31.

Sedgefield among nation's hottest neighborhoods

Online real estate company Redfin has listed Sedgefield in south Charlotte among its ten hottest up-and-coming neighborhoods nationally. Redfin used its proprietary data to figure out which neighborhoods nationally were seeing the biggest jumps in pageviews on its site. The firm also took into account how many homes were marked as favorites.

Sedgefield, located adjacent to South Boulevard and the booming South End corridor, saw a 122 percent year-over-year increase in pageviews on the site, and a 133 percent jump in favorites per home. Charlotte real estate agent Marcy Prentiss explained why: "Affordability is a big reason Sedgefield is becoming such a hot area right now. The homes on the market don't cost as much as homes in other neighborhoods such as Dilworth and Myers Park, making it an appealing location for homeowners."

Median list price for homes in Sedgefield: $288,950, according to Redfin.

Ballantyne developer Smoky Bissell's firm marks 50 years in business

The firm that brought you Ballantyne took a pause Monday to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Employees of the Bissell Cos. marked the milestone by giving founder H.C. "Smoky" Bissell a sequoia sapling. Bissell spokeswoman Christina Thigpen explained: "We chose the world's largest tree as a gift, as it reflects Smoky Bissell's inspirational leadership while representing that we are only just beginning." She added that it also gives a nod to the firm's efforts toward sustainable development.

Left to right: Ned Curran, president & CEO; Clifton Coble, president, Bissell Development; Smoky Bissell, chairman; and Margaret Gragg Bissell

The Bissell organization cranked up as H.C. Bissell & Associates on Aug. 3, 1964. It's been a busy 50 years for the firm, which has developed Ballantyne Corporate Park. With office towers and other development still going up in the 535-acre park, and with Ballantyne enjoying explosive residential growth, it looks like the next 50 could be just as busy.