Raleigh-Durham Commercial Real Estate Wrap-Up – March 2020

Keystone Centennial Portfolio. Image courtesy of JLL

In the first part of March, the Raleigh-Durham metro’s commercial real estate was active, particularly in the office sector as several portfolio deals closed. The market slowed down significantly in the second half of the month, however, as concerns over the novel coronavirus resulted in fewer completed transactions and minimal development work. Following a March 27 order from the North Carolina governor for residents to stay at home, activity is likely to fall even further going into April. Here is Commercial Property Executive’s list of March must-knows for Raleigh-Durham:

1. DEAL – Crown Realty sells Durham office and R&D portfolio.

Alidade Capital purchased Bradford Center and Berrington Center, two buildings totaling 224,779 square feet, for $40.9 million. JLL represented the seller and procured the buyer. Located at 5827 and 5927 S. Miami Blvd., the one-story structures are part of Durham’s Imperial Center, a 450-acre business park with office, retail, industrial and flex space.

2. LEASING – Envestnet to move to downtown Raleigh project.

Heritage Properties’ Tower Two at Bloc[83] is an office development underway at 621 Hillsborough St. in the Glenwood South district. Once completed, it will include a 126-key hotel, an urban courtyard, a fitness center and more than 1,400 parking spaces. Envestnet will occupy three floors within the 10-story building.

3. DEAL – Ventas acquires two mixed-use buildings for $80 million.

JLL represented Keystone Corp. in the disposition of The Center for Technology & Innovation and the Keystone Science Center, two properties totaling 175,400 square feet. The fully leased assets are located at 1010 Main Campus Drive and 1791 Varsity Drive within North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus in Raleigh.

4. DEAL – TriGate Capital enters Research Triangle in portfolio deal.

The real estate investment manager purchased the office buildings, totaling 273,554 square feet, from Continental Capital Partners. The transaction included Lake Plaza East at 900 Ridgefield Drive, Centerview III at 5565 Centerview Drive, Brook Forest at 1616 Millbrook Road and Trinity Corporate Park at 1500 Sunday Drive. TriGate plans to renovate the first two assets.

5. DEAL – Suburban retail center trades for $15 million.

Fairway Investments acquired Saltbox Village in Cary from an affiliate of Principal Financial Group. According to county records cited by Triangle Business Journal, the asset last traded in 2002 for $8.5 million. Located on 5 acres at 1241 Kildaire Farm Road, the shopping center is within a busy retail corridor 10 miles west of downtown Raleigh.

6. PEOPLE – Avison Young hires three principals.

Kathy Gigac, Baxter Walker and Thomas Kenna joined the brokerage firm’s Raleigh-Durham office with a combined 45 years of experience in tenant representation and enterprise solutions. All three previously worked with a diverse mix of office and industrial tenants on behalf of Colliers International.