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.

New office, retail complex planned along South Boulevard

When you think about the development boom in the South End these days, the first thing you typically think of are the apartment complexes sprouting like mushrooms along the South Boulevard corridor. But commercial real estate firm CBRE and development firm Pappas Properties are hoping to add a substantial new office park to the mix. CBRE has just begun marketing a new mixed-use development planned for South Boulevard, near the Scaleybark light rail stop, according to Anne Vulcano, a senior vice president at the firm.

Billed in marketing materials as "Charlotte's next great TOD (transit-oriented development)," it would bring more than 487,000 square feet of office space spread across three six-story buildings located at South Boulevard, near Scaleybark Road. It would also include an unspecified amount of retail. CBRE is marketing the office space, while Pappas is handling the retail. "This is a fantastic location for the new 'urban' office tenant," Vulcano told me in an email. "Hop the light rail to amenities and the CBD (central business district). Drive to SouthPark if that is your flavor. The best of both worlds."

Charlotte's Tranquil Court sold to NY investor

Tranquil Court in Charlotte has been bought by a New York investor, illustrating how national companies are becoming more active in the Queen City, say brokers involved in the deal.

A multi-tenant office and retail building, Tranquil Court was bought March 21 by a group associated with LRC Opportunity Fund, a real estate firm based in the New York metro area that has offices in Winston-Salem and Charlotte.

"We are seeing a tremendous amount of capital chasing core, stabilized assets in strong secondary and tertiary markets as investors seek stronger yields than those offered in the priamry markets," said Patrick Gildea with CBRE. "The Tranquil Court sale is one example of a number of recent transactions that prove Charlotte has returned to the radar of investors on a national scale."

The property, located along Selwyn Avenue in Myers Park, was completed in 2010, has 61,918 square feet and is fully leased.

Gildea and Ryan Clutter, both with CBRE's Carolinas Investment Properties Group, represented the seller, Gulfstream Capital Partners, LLC. The sales price was not disclosed.

LRC Opportunity Fund concentrates in acquiring properties and purchasing loans secured against real estate in solid or improving markets on the East Coast.