Charlotte firm acquires ThExchange office park, plans food and beverage building conversion
A Charlotte-based private real estate investment and asset management firm has acquired the 14-building ThExchange office park off Interstate 77 for $64 million.
Investicore Holdings USA LLC purchased the 568,811-square-foot complex on Sept. 18. The 42-acre park at 5510 77 Center Drive in Charlotte is 60% occupied. One building is entirely vacant. The park’s occupancy excluding that building is 85%.
“I think office space has bottomed out,” said Dawie Swart, Investicore founder. “It’s filling up again. People are returning, and new businesses are starting. Office went through a very bad five years. The last five years were terrible. We see it starting to come back now. I think the timing is good.”
The acquisition expands Investicore’s Charlotte portfolio by 60%, Swart said.
Investicore plans to convert part of one of the buildings into a food and beverage area. Swart believes that will help attract tenants because people increasingly want food and beverage options near their workplace. Beyond those additions, Investicore plans to evaluate opportunities at the park around outdoor activation, programming and flexible workplace solutions.
Los Angeles-based Ares was the seller. The company could not be reached for comment on this story.
John Vickers of KW Commercial brokered the acquisition for Investicore. Matt Smith and Patrick Gildea of CBRE brokered it for Ares. The park was listed for sale in April.
Investicore purchased the campus based on its confidence in the Charlotte market, the property’s location and expected demand for mid-priced office space, Swart said.
The park’s current tenants include Conterra Networks, The Redbud Group, Adecco Staffing, Achroma U.S., M/I Homes Charlotte and Ragona Architecture & Design.
A KW Commercial team led by John Vickers will handle leasing efforts at ThExchange. Vickers believes the park’s location and proximity to the airport, SouthPark, uptown and South End will appeal to future tenants.
The owner prior to Ares, The Dilweg Cos., spent about $34 million and two years overhauling the property.
Its renovations included a new 30,000-square-foot tenant amenity building called TheHub. The building, formerly a racquetball club, has a 5,000-square-foot fitness center, indoor track, game room, conference training center and coffee lounge.
Those renovations were completed in 2020. All buildings also received new interiors, restrooms, lobbies and corridors, as well as exterior refreshes and new paint.
The Dilweg Cos. turned the property over to Ares in 2024 after its $68.6 million loan matured and became nonperforming, previous CBJ reporting shows.
Swart declined to disclose details about how Investicore would finance this acquisition.