Cousins Buys Charlotte Asset for $329M

This deal involves a 639,000-square-foot office campus.

Exterior shot of Vantage South End in Charlotte, N.C.
Vantage South End consists of two 11-story buildings that feature about 45,000 square feet of retail space. Image courtesy of CommercialEdge

Cousins Properties is under contract to purchase Vantage South End, a 639,000-square-foot office complex in Charlotte, N.C., for $328.5 million. The deal is expected to close next month and is subject to customary closing conditions.

A joint venture between Invesco Real Estate and The Spectrum Cos. currently owns the two-building property, according to CommercialEdge information.

The duo completed the campus in 2021 and 2022 with help from general contractor Rodgers Buildings and design firm LS3P Associates. Initial plans for the property also included an 11-story, 200-key boutique hotel.

Vantage South End comprises two 11-story, LEED-certified buildings with floorplates ranging from 21,400 to 31,400 square feet, according to CommercialEdge information.


READ ALSO: Office Vacancy on the Rise in Charlotte


The campus features 45,000 square feet of retail space, a 1-acre park, 18 outdoor terraces, several fitness and conference centers, as well as multiple on-site dining options. In addition, the property has a parking ratio of 3 spaces per 1,000 square feet.

The office complex is 97.4 percent leased with a weighted average lease term of more than nine years. Tenants include CBRE, LendingTree, Alston & Bird and Hartford Insurance.

Located at 1415 Vantage Park Drive and 1120 S. Tryon St., the property is in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood, 1 mile from the city’s downtown. The Charlotte Douglas International Airport is 6 miles northwest.

Charlotte’s office sector faces headwinds

Charlotte’s office investment volume year-to-date as of September amounted to $193 million, according to the latest CommercialEdge office report. Assets in the metro changed hands for $150 per square foot on average, below the $171 national figure. The market’s vacancy rate at the end of the same month was 18.3 percent, 220 basis points higher year-over-year.

In one of the metro’s largest sales through September, Vanguard acquired Centene’s former office complex in Charlotte for $117 million. The financial services company will use the 700,000-square-foot space as the new site for its regional/satellite office. The 91-acre campus is scheduled to open next year.

Other notable deals included KHP Capital Partners’ purchase of The Johnston Building. Spaulding & Slyle Investments sold the 172,382-square-foot asset for $19.3 million in May.