Charlotte Business Journal – 8:02 AM EDT Thursday
by J. Lee Howard
Senior Staff Writer

Merrifield Partners is drawing plans for a $15 million, 75,000-square-foot office-condominium building in South End.

The three-story project, dubbed 1927 South Tryon, will feature more than 100 parking spaces in a two-level deck. The 2-acre site is a former Hughes Supply Inc. plumbing warehouse.

Charlotte-based Merrifield plans to buy the Tryon Street site by Aug. 1 from a limited liability company headed by Ralph Falls of Pace Commercial. The prospective sales price was not disclosed. The property is valued for tax purposes at almost $1.1 million.

The project is an investment of Crosland Inc., with Merrifield, an affiliate company, acting as developer.

Merrifield plans to sell space in the building for $195 per square foot. The project is being designed to accommodate businesses measuring 2,500 square feet or larger.

Mark Newell, a Merrifield partner, says his target market includes architects, engineers and designers. For several years, South End has attracted a range of office operations and design firms.

Plus, the local market for businesses wanting to buy space appears to have grown deeper than for companies seeking to lease, Newell says. The opportunities to buy Class-A space are rare, he says.

The project also stands to benefit from being surrounded by South End’s shops, dining options and general commercial activity, Newell adds.

The project will be within walking distance of the light-rail line the Charlotte Area Transit System is building from uptown to Pineville.

Falls’ company acquired the property about a year ago from Hughes. His idea was to convert the 30,000-square-foot Hughes building into office condos. But he was later approached by Merrifield representatives, who were interested in pursuing a much larger project. So he and his partners agreed to sell.

The project is the latest in a series of office developments in the burgeoning South End district. Recent announcements include Abbott Professional Town Homes, a live-work project of MECA Properties. That 16-unit, $6.5 million development, which is under construction, will offer space starting at about $380,000 for 1,800 square feet.

And later this month, the city is expected to receive proposals from as many as five development teams for a mixed-use project in the Scaleybark Station area. Crosland is among those showing interest.

The 8.5-acre, city-owned site is on South Boulevard at Clanton Road, adjacent to 10 acres owned by CATS.

That project will likely set the tone for future South End developments along the transit corridor, says real estate consultant Frank Warren, president of Warren & Associates.

The 1927 South Tryon development will be unusual for South End, he says, given that it will be new space, rather than a rehab like those that are common in the area.

But it could be typical of what’s to come, he adds, citing the Scaleybark Station project.

Mass transit is going to have a major impact on that corridor, significantly boosting its worth as an office location, Warren says.

A general contractor has not been selected for 1927 South Tryon. The building is being designed by Robert Johnson Architects Inc.