KARNES Blog

Charlotte Business Journal
December 2, 2011

Trinity Capital Advisors and Rubenstein Partners are the big winners in the Chiquita Brands International relocation. But the banana company’s decision to move its corporate headquarters here is a positive sign even for those landlords who didn’t land the new tenant.

At a press conference this week announcing its relocation from Cincinnati, Chiquita confirmed it is negotiating to relocate its headquarters to NASCAR Plaza, the 19-story, 390,000-square-foot office tower at the corner of South Caldwell and East Stonewall streets. Trinity and Rubenstein purchased the building early in 2011, after it had fallen into foreclosure in late 2010. Chiquita is expected to lease 150,000 square feet at NASCAR Plaza, which lists 255,800 square feet as available.

Andrew Jenkins, managing director at Karnes Research Co., says Chiquita’s move will likely lower the uptown office vacancy rate by almost a full percentage point to 12%.

And Chiquita is a nice fit for NASCAR Plaza, he says. “You don’t really see a law firm opening up at NASCAR Plaza, whereas Chiquita is used to that type of marketing. And there’s no telling if there’s some kind of supplier-vendor network that they might bring down with them that also serves their business.”

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July 31, 2009
Charlotte Business Journal
The Meridian Corporate Center is officially out of receivership and under new ownership. The owner of the 1.9 million-square-foot University Research Park office complex handed the property over to its lender, The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., earlier this month in lieu of foreclosure. The transaction was valued at $110 million…Although the litigation between Hartford and Cerberus continues, the Meridian Corporate Center likely becomes more marketable now that it’s out of receivership and has clear ownership, says Andrew Jenkins of Karnes Research Co. And given the current economy, it’s unlikely that Hartford would be able to find a buyer for the office park in the short term anyway, he says.
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June 25, 2009
Charlotte Observer
The Charlotte branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is looking to become a landlord. The Fed has chosen Percival McGuire Commercial Real Estate to lease 34,000 square feet within its uptown office….Real estate analyst Andrew Jenkins with Karnes Research said the Fed may have trouble finding a taker in this market. The vacancy rate for office space of all types is rising and average lease rates have been falling in an economy where tenants are skittish about signing long-term commitments. The building’s age could also hurt, particularly as about 3 million square feet of new office space is due to come on the market soon…Still, Jenkins said, some companies, such as those that work with both of Charlotte’s major banks, may prefer to be in what he called a “bank-neutral” building…
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