The Nexus Topping Out
July 17, 2018 – Ashley Fahey, Charlotte Business Journal
The second — and final — office building at the Waverly mixed-use development in Charlotte has reached its midway point of construction.
Waverly joint-venture partners Childress Klein, Crosland Southeast and the B. Frank Matthews II family, along with other partners in the project, celebrated the topping out of The Nexus, a six-story, 154,000-square-foot office building within the 90-acre development in south Charlotte. Childress Klein, which is heading up the office portion of Waverly, delivered a similar building, The Hub, last year.
Paul DeVine, partner at Childress Klein, said work began at Waverly four years ago. In total, Waverly includes the two office buildings, 250,000 square feet of retail, a Hilton Garden Inn hotel that opened earlier this year, two medical office buildings, 375 apartments by Terwilliger Pappas and 150 single-family homes and townhouses by David Weekley Homes.
The Remi Group, a business management consultant, signed on as the first tenant at The Nexus, taking 33,000 square feet at the building for its headquarters. The Nexus is expected to deliver in April.
“Our journey has been a long one,” said Brent Howison, president of The Remi Group. He said the company long ago outgrew its space in Ballantyne, where it currently operates, and even considered moving to South Carolina at one point.
Howison said he liked that employees, if needed, could run errands at retailers like CVS or Whole Foods Market during their lunchtime break because of Waverly’s layout and mixture of uses.
“Time is money and I love the idea that … they don’t have to do that after work or on the weekends,” he added.
Mayor Vi Lyles — fresh off a headline-grabbing City Council meeting Monday afternoon that authorized, in a 6-5 vote, the city to move forward with its bid to host the 2020 Republican National Convention and was followed by the council’s monthly zoning meeting — was in attendance at the topping-out ceremony.
Lyles spoke briefly, saying she had been working “10 days straight” but wanted to come out for the topping out because she had seen the groundbreaking for Waverly a few years back.
“It’s the people in these buildings that are participating in the economy and civic life” of Charlotte, she said.
She then thanked the group, which consisted of many who work in commercial real estate, as well as those who “stepped up to show support” for the RNC bid. Lyles, a Democrat, said in February that Charlotte was bidding to land the 2020 RNC — a process that has grown highly contentious, particularly over the past month as some members of council came out against hosting the convention. Charlotte is one of only two cities competing for the RNC and is anticipated to be the selected as the host.
Lyles added the NBA All-Star Game — which is coming to the Queen City next year after the league decided not to host the game here in 2017 as originally planned because of House Bill 2 — would also be a significant economic driver for Charlotte.
“From the NBA to the RNC, we’re going to do a great job over the next two years,” she said.
Lyles also touched on the Carolina Panthers, which hedge-fund manager David Tepper purchased for $2.275 billion on July 9. Tepper held a news conference at Bank of America Stadium the next day in which he discussed a range of topics, including his desire to see new practice fields for the team, the Jerry Richardsonstatue in front of the stadium and changes to company culture.
“I have met David Tepper … I’ve never been in a room with $12 billion before,” Lyles said Tuesday, to laughter.
She continued, adding that Tepper is “a business guy” and that he has vision for the team, which is likely to include new facilities. Several other major sports teams have recently built new team venues within major mixed-use developments, oftentimes with other commercial and entertainment uses, such as the Dallas Cowboys’ Star complex in Frisco, Texas.
Carolina Panthers founder Richardson put the team up for sale in December following allegations of sexual and racial harassment of former employees. The NFL fined Richardson $2.75 million last month after an outside investigation found allegations against him were “substantiated.”
Wells Fargo & Co. is providing financing for The Nexus. Shelco is the general contractor. Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio is the architect. McAdams is handling the survey, civil engineering, landscape architecture and hardscape design. Travis Hart and Jenny Fowler at Childress Klein are marketing The Nexus.
This article was originally posted in the Charlotte Business Journal.
