Cousins Properties is set to expand its Charlotte footprint with the $328.5 million acquisition of a prominent mixed-use complex in South End.
The Atlanta-based firm is expected to close on the deal for Vantage South End, at 1220 South Tryon Street, next month, the Charlotte Business Journal reported, citing a Cousins investor report. The property’s developer, local firm Spectrum Companies, is the seller. The price comes to $517 per square foot. The developer reportedly spent $300 million to develop the property.
The complex, completed in 2022, spans 635,000 square feet of office and retail across a 5-acre block. It includes two 11-story office buildings, seven restaurants and a central courtyard. There have also been plans for a 200-room hotel over its parking deck.
“We are purchasing the property in an off-market transaction at a meaningful discount to replacement cost and at a price that will be immediately accretive to earnings,” Cousins Properties’ President and CEO Colin Connolly said.
This acquisition further strengthens Cousins’ presence in South End, where it already owns The RailYard at 1414 South Tryon Street and South End Station at 201 South Bland Street, just two blocks from Vantage.
The complex’s office space is fully leased, though overall occupancy recently dipped to about 97 percent after The Good Wurst Company closed last month. Notable tenants in the West Tower, at 1415 Vantage Park Drive, include DP World, LendingTree, Northmarq Capital and Grant Thornton. The East Tower, at 1120 South Tryon Street houses CBRE, The Hartford, Alston & Bird and Brightspeed.
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The sale could be the biggest commercial real estate transaction in Charlotte this year. Other big sales include investment giant Vanguard Group’s $117 million acquisition of a 700,000-square-foot office campus at 2405 Governor Hunt Road in University Research Park from healthcare company Centene. LM Real Estate spent $97 million to buy the 1.4 million-square-foot Premier Distribution Center, at 1900 Continental Boulevard.
—Rachel Stone