Abacus Capital, Big Cypress Capital, an SB360 Affiliate, and Stockbridge, Sign Birdseye Renewable Energy to Switch Yard in Charlotte; Start Construction on Final Building in Trophy Adaptive Reuse Project
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – February 17, 2022 – Abacus Capital (“Abacus”), along with its partners Big Cypress Capital (“Big Cypress”), an SB360 affiliate, and Stockbridge, has signed solar developer Birdseye Renewable Energy to an 11,000 square foot lease at Switch Yard, a 92,000+ square foot trophy creative office redevelopment project in the heart of FreeMoreWest’s Freight District in Charlotte, NC. The lease at 925 Tuckaseegee brings the first of the two innovative and highly design-oriented buildings to 75% leased. The building is anchored by one of Charlotte’s leading design firms, Redline Design Group.
The partnership also announced the start of construction on the second and final phase of Switch Yard, a complementary, adjacent 66,000-square-foot adaptive reuse trophy office building branded 1001 Tuck. Expected to deliver in early 2023, 1001 Tuck will complete the transformative redevelopment of Switch Yard, once a pair of legacy warehouse buildings and now fulfilling the partnership’s vision for an exciting and modern new commercial property. With the development of this final phase, the building’s rentable area will expand with the construction of a two-story glass “jewel-box” annex along the front of the 1001 Tuck building, creating a dramatic streetscape and an instantly iconic presence. Wellness-focused building features are being integrated to further separate Switch Yard from other legacy creative office assets in the market such as individual private tenant entrances and restrooms, contactless fixtures, enhanced outdoor air circulation and next-generation HVAC systems.
“Abacus and its partners are ecstatic to welcome Birdseye Renewable Energy, a leader in renewable energy development throughout the Southeast, to 925 Tuck at Switch Yard,” said Wes McAdams, managing partner of Abacus Capital. “The strong leasing interest we have received in Switch Yard reflects the quality of not only the location and the concept but the bold architectural style, design standards and focus on creating spaces that appeal to the highest quality creative class tenants such as Birdseye Renewable Energy.” In addition to the two buildings that comprise Switch Yard, the partnership also owns the 38,000 square-foot Wray Ward Headquarters building nearby bringing their total interests in the Freight District neighborhood to 130,000 square feet.
Located on 3.8 acres at the topographical apex of the Freight District, one of Charlotte’s fastest-growing infill commercial neighborhoods, the redeveloped Switch Yard project will offer its tenants unrivaled views of downtown Charlotte’s iconic skyline.
Switch Yard will be the Freight District’s first structure-parked office asset and will be competitively differentiated by its cutting-edge architectural design, a captive above-market parking ratio, the ability to accommodate tenants from 6,000-66,000 SF as well as its elevated outdoor tenant amenity spaces that have been designed to maximize tenants’ sight lines to the city’s skyline.
CBRE’s office leasing team led by Joe Franco and Kris Westmoreland represented the landlord in the transaction while CBRE’s tenant representation team of John Christenbury and Spencer Hawkins represented Birdseye in the transaction.
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About Abacus Capital – Abacus Capital is a multi-strategy tactical real estate opportunity investor focused on the acquisition and development of differentiated commercial real estate in growth markets across the southeastern United States. Abacus’ mission is to identify investment opportunities that we believe offer our investors the most compelling risk-adjusted returns in dynamic capital markets environments. The principals of Abacus Capital have over 25 years of real estate investing experience and have acquired or developed 17.0M square feet of commercial real estate with a total capitalization in excess of $3.1B.
About Big Cypress Capital – Based in Naples, FL, Big Cypress Capital, an SB360 affiliate, is an emerging investment management firm. Big Cypress Capital’s Headwaters Strategic Operator Platform focuses on cultivating capital partnerships with real estate operators and institutional JV partners that result in long-term value creation within their platforms. Please visit bigcypresscap.com for more information.
About Stockbridge – Stockbridge is a private equity real estate investment management firm led by veteran industry professionals. The firm’s portfolio comprises assets across the investment risk spectrum, including core, value-added and opportunistic strategies. Stockbridge and its affiliates have approximately $24.9 billion of assets under management (as of September 30, 2021) spanning all major real estate property types and certain specialty property types throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.stockbridge.com