Ardent Secures Major Tenant at Winston-Salem Tower

July 11, 2025

A security solutions provider plans to occupy the space by the end of the year.

The Ardent Cos. has signed a 40,336-square-foot lease with The Cook & Boardman Group at One West Fourth, a Class A office building in downtown Winston-Salem, N.C.

Ardent purchased the 439,000-square-foot, 14-story tower in 2023 from Nightingale Properties for $22.5 million or $48.75 per square foot, Yardi Research Data shows.

A LEED Gold-certified office building, One West Fourth features newly built-out suites, a lobby restaurant, an on-site fitness center, 24-hour security and an on-site parking garage totaling 900 parking spaces. The Cook & Boardman Group will be joining other tenants at the property, including Inmar Intelligence, SmartLots and the U.S. General Services Administration.

Commercial Realty Advisors’ Managing Partner John Reece and Analyst Houston Hough represented Ardent in the deal. The Cook & Boardman Group was represented by Cushman & Wakefield’s Vice Chairman William Woltz and Managing Director John Schultz.

A provider of fully integrated access and security solutions for commercial construction, The Cook & Boardman Group is looking to occupy this new space by the end of 2025, with 100 of its employees working out of the office.

One West Fourth’s location provides easy access to Interstate 40 and 74. The traffic count around the building totals approximately 2,000 cars per day. The office building is 28.6 miles outside of Greensboro and approximately 80 miles west of Durham, N.C. Both Winston-Salem University and Hanes Park are 1.7 miles east and west of the property, respectively.

Recent North Carolina office deals

Earlier this month, Kimley-Horn signed a 40,000-square-foot lease at Accesso Partners’ Weston I in Cary, N.C. The property is within a mixed-use business park that Accesso Partners acquired in 2018 and recently renovated.

Back in March, Highwoods Properties agreed to purchase a Class A+ office tower in Raleigh, N.C., known as the Advance Auto Parts tower, that came online in 2020. The company also owns the neighboring CAPTRUST Tower, another Class A+ office asset.