Top 10 Office Projects Under Construction in North Carolina

North Carolina’s solid economy continues to rely on the service and financial sectors as well as engineering and energy production. The state is also home to the Research Triangle Park area and has started to diversify its economy and tenant base. Large players such as Honeywell and Advance Auto Parts are relocating their corporate headquarters to the state and further bolstering demand and office development.

Construction activity is concentrated in North Carolina’s two largest cities: Charlotte and Raleigh. According to Yardi Matrix, more than 9.5 million square feet of office space was under construction in the state as of February, with the majority of the underway properties already preleased. The bulk of the upcoming assets are expected to come online in 2021 and will serve as corporate headquarters for major companies including LendingTree, Ally Financial and Duke Energy, to name a few.

10. Raleigh Crossing

The Fallon Co. broke ground on the 292,500-square-foot project in September 2019. Situated at 301 Hillsborough St. in the heart of downtown Raleigh, N.C., the 20-story building represents the first phase of Raleigh Crossing, a mixed-use development named for its location at the junction of four city districts. The office building is expected to be completed in December 2021.

At full build-out, the Duda|Paine Architects-designed development will encompass retail space, a 165-room hotel as well as 135 apartments. Software firm Pendo has already signed a four-story lease at 301 Hillsborough St., planning to move its corporate headquarters from the nearby Wells Fargo Capitol Center.

9. Vantage South End – West Tower

In July 2019, a joint venture between Invesco Real Estate and Spectrum Group broke ground on Vantage South End – West Tower, a 295,600-square-foot office development in Charlotte’s Midtown–South End. Bank of America provided a $178.4 million construction loan.

Scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2021, the building will serve as LendingTree’s new headquarters. The upcoming West Tower is located at 1100 S. Tryon St. and is part of a 635,000-square-foot, $300 million mixed-use development, which will also include another office tower, a boutique hotel and an urban park.

8. Honeywell Tower

Another office building taking shape in Charlotte is Lincoln Harris’ Honeywell Tower. Construction of the 304,250-square-foot, 23-story tower started in October 2019, with completion anticipated in March 2021. The asset is located at 700 S. Mint St. and is part of the 10-acre, mixed-use Legacy Union development. Additionally, the tower will serve as Honeywell’s newest corporate headquarters, expected to house 750 employees over the next five years.

7. 2151 Hawkins

Portman Holdings is currently working on 2151 Hawkins, a 323,000-square-foot office building in Charlotte’s emerging Midtown–South End submarket. Developed on a former brownfield site, the 16-story property is expected to come online in March 2021, with Gensler leading the project design. The property will include a food hall and will house the award-winning Sycamore Brewery. The site provides frontage on the Lynx Blue Line and Charlotte Rail Trail.

6. Ballantyne Corporate Park – 13146 Ballantyne Corporate Place

The largest office project under construction outside of Charlotte’s urban core is 13146 Ballantyne Corporate Place, a 328,000-square-foot asset developed by Northwood Investors. Construction on the 11-story property started in May 2019, with completion scheduled for March 2021. Wells Fargo provided $121 million in construction funding.

The building is part of Ballantyne Corporate Park, a 2,000-acre community,  which includes more than 4 million square feet of office space and 1,000 residential units as well as a hotel, located in the Highway 51 submarket. The campus is also home to 35 Fortune 500 companies, including Brighthouse Financial, Wells Fargo, Premier, Synchrony, TIAA, Lincoln Financial Group, Spectrum and Siemens.

5. Advance Auto Parts Tower

Slated for delivery by September 2020, the second Raleigh, N.C., property on the list is Advance Auto Parts Tower, located in the city’s North Hills area. Kane Realty Corp.’s 336,834-square-foot asset will spread across 20 stories, with Bank OZK facilitating construction with an $84.7 million loan. Advance Auto Parts will anchor the building, taking up 85 percent of the total space. The other tenant in place is IAT Insurance Group.

4. Legacy Union – 650 South Tryon

The 370,240-square-foot building represents the second phase of the Legacy Union project in downtown Charlotte, on the former site of The Charlotte Observer. Lincoln Harris broke ground on the 18-story project in December 2018, with completion scheduled for December 2020. U.S. Bank financed the construction with an $88.2 million loan. Deloitte will be the anchor tenant, leasing 90,000 square feet.

3. Design Center Tower

The fourth building on our list, expected to come online in March 2021, is Ram Realty Advisors’ and Childress Klein’s Design Center Tower in Charlotte’s Midtown–South End submarket. The joint venture began work on the $153-million project in October 2019. Upon completion, the asset will add 378,502 square feet of premier space to the market’s total inventory.

The 23-story property is rising at 100 W. Worthington Ave. and it will serve as Lowe’s global tech hub. The home improvement giant will move more than 2,000 technology professionals in the building by late 2021.

2. Ally Charlotte Center

Also in Charlotte’s CBD, Crescent Communities is currently developing Ally Charlotte Center, a 743,600-square-foot premier office asset at 601 S. Tryon St. The developer broke ground on the 26-story building in March 2018, with completion scheduled for March 2021. Regions Bank provided $167.8 million in construction financing.

Ally Financial leased 400,000 square feet in the building and will consolidate its Charlotte employees there upon completion. The site will also feature the first JW Marriott in North Carolina.

1. Charlotte Metro Tower

North Carolina’s largest office property underway is Childress Klein’s Charlotte Metro Tower in Queen City. Construction of the 1,025,000-square-foot building started in July 2019. Upon completion in March 2022, the project will include seven stories of retail space and seven levels of parking. It will also be the third-tallest office building in Charlotte.

The 40-story development will house Duke Energy’s future corporate offices. Located at 509 S. Tryon St., Charlotte Metro Tower is across from the company’s current headquarters in Uptown Charlotte. The new location comes on the heels of Duke’s plan to reduce its office space in the area by 25 percent.

Yardi Matrix covers office properties of 50,000+ square feet in markets across the United States. This ranking reflects developments underway within that sample group.