Carmel Commons Undergoing Renovation

Carmel Commons shopping center, built in the late 1970's and in need of updates, is getting a $3.5-million face-lift. To make it more attractive from the roadside and more pedestrian friendly: new pedestrian lighting, sidewalks, landscaping, entrance signs, and parking lot repairs. In addition, the facade of the buildings are getting an overhaul: fresh paint, new roofing, new sconces, and new awnings. More than 30 tenants fill the 133,000-sqft shopping center owned by Regency Centers, such as The Jewelry Stop, Fresh Market, Party City, Chuck-e-Cheese, and various boutique shops. The goal is for all renovations to be finished by 2012-March.

GPS:35.08694,-80.84894 Carmel Commons Shopping Center is less than a mile from I-485, located along NC Hwy 51 / Pineville-Matthews Road, between Johnston and Carmel Roads. More than 33,000 drive along the portion of N.C. 51 near Carmel Commons, and more than 25,000 vehicles per day drive on Carmel Road, south of Quail Hollow Road. Read More at Carmel Commons getting $3.5 million facelift - South Charlotte News

EPRI Adds Former Verbatim Building

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has purchased part of the former Verbatim floppy-disk manufacturing plant from Paragon Media LLC for $5-million. The 108,000-sqft of office and lab space on 24-acres located at 1200 West W T Harris Boulevard, Charlotte, NC GPS:35.31628,-80.76322 is adjacent to its existing research facility at University Research Park. Current Address:1300 West W.T. Harris Boulevard Charlotte, NC 28262 GPS:35.31637,-80.76714. They're so close together that the institute plans to carve a path through the woods to connect the two sites, bringing the total to 258,000-sqft of facilities on 45-acres. EPRI is an independent research institute funded primarily by utilities to conduct and manage R&D programs in electric transmission and nuclear and fossil power generation.

Duke Endowment Buys Land In Dilworth

The Duke Endowment will construct a new 30,000-sqft headquarters building on 1.8 acres in the Dilworth community. The site where Frankie's Italian Grille was formerly located was purchased from an affiliate of Crosland company for $4.2 million.

GPS:35.21470,-80.84548
Address:800 East Morehead Street Charlotte, NC 28202

Duke Endowment Plans Move

CATS Buys Eastland Transit Center Land

The Charlotte City Council last week unanimously voted in favor of the Charlotte Area Transit System buying the 1.4 acres for $771,150. That property is currently home to a small community bus station, and CATS wants to stop paying annual land rent. In 2006, CATS spent $2 million building the Eastland Community Transit Center on the mall parking lot. The transit center is a nicely landscaped bus station, with eight shelters and a ticket booth. The center serves two main bus lines, the Albemarle Road Express and Route 9, which runs along Central Avenue and is one of the busiest in the city. It also serves three neighborhood shuttles. CATS has leased the property for $55,000 a year, and the city said the deal will pay for itself in 14 years because it will no longer have to pay rent. Despite the mall's closure in 2010, CATS said more people are getting on buses at the Eastland stop compared with 2007. The city hopes to eventually build a streetcar to the site, though that's unlikely to happen for at least 20 years.

BECO Management Markets Innovation Park

BECO Management of Rockville, MD paid $42-million for 184-acre campus formerly known as Meridian Corporate Center near University City. As part of the re-branding, plans call for spending $30-million on upgrades to the corporate campus.

IBM made a big splash into the Charlotte North Carolina market back in 1979 with the creation of a 1,200-acre campus. In 1994, First Union, now Wells Fargo, bought 155 acres for its own employee campus and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bought nearly 200 acres for a four-school complex. In 2002, Charlotte Corporate Center Acquisition, a limited liability company that included Blackacre Capital Management and other New York investors, bought the 12-building complex for $114 million.