This sunset shot of the Charlotte skyline took one local photographer to Victory Lane in the Charlotte Chamber's annual skyline photo contest.

Shot by Larry Harwell, owner and president of Carolina Digital Photo Group, the panoramic photo was taken in July from the 11th-floor balcony of a Dilworth penthouse - which was later bought by NASCAR driver Mark Martin.

The chamber started the photo contest in 1993 as uptown development was on the upswing. It updates its publications annually with the winning image, which will serve as the chamber's official skyline photograph for one year.

As uptown development has slowed, this year's photo features fewer cranes than in prior years. The new NASCAR Hall of Fame is clearly visible in the center of the photo, and the nearly complete Duke Energy Center is prominent on the left. Also visible toward the right, however, is The Park condo tower, which has been stalled since last year.

A professional photographer with more than 30 years of experience, Harwell was hired by the developers of Royal Court to shoot photographs for their marketing materials. Harwell shot the winning photo with a Canon 50D camera and digitally combined three separate images to capture the sunset in the sky and its reflection on the buildings.

The balcony where Harwell stood is part of a corner unit at Royal Court that was bought by Martin for $1.675 million in August, according to public records. Royal Court, with 107 units, recently hit more than $15 million in sales, said developer Douglas Hollidge, partner with Pinnacle Properties.

Sale at MetTerraces

Another recent penthouse sale: Developers at the Metropolitan have sold their million-dollar penthouse model in MetTerraces. The buyer is a Charlottean who owns multiple homes and wanted something close to uptown and near restaurants, said J. Brian Roth, vice president of marketing for Pappas Properties, a partner in the project.

Roth said the Metropolitan has seen an uptick in interest from potential buyers since restaurants Zoe's Kitchen and Vivace have opened and the Little Sugar Creek Greenway is nearing completion. The 2,450- square-foot penthouse sold for $1 million.

The $225 million project at Kings Drive and Charlottetown Avenue south of uptown is on a site formerly occupied by Midtown Square shopping mall.

Crosspoint Center sold

Crosspoint Center, a more than 1-million-square- foot distribution and warehouse complex, has been sold, making it the largest industrial investment sale in the Charlotte region for 2009, according to CB Richard Ellis, which represented the sellers.

The collection of seven buildings, located at the intersection of interstates 85 and 77, was bought by TA Associates Realty of Boston for $34.2 million, according to public records. The sale closed Oct. 23.

The property is 90 percent occupied. Tenants include SYGMA, Mecklenburg EMS Agency, Pitney Bowes and Accu-Tech.

Ryan Clutter, Anne Johnson, Adam Basch and Patrick Gildea of CB Richard Ellis represented the sellers, which were institutional investors advised by JPMorgan Investment Management.

AREVA renews lease

French nuclear services company AREVA has renewed its lease for another nine years in the Meridian Corporate Center on IBM Drive in Charlotte's University area. The company, which employs more than 650 people in Charlotte, occupies 180,000 square feet.

The company selected the location in part because it offers the flexibility the company might need for future growth, said spokeswoman Denise Woernle. Most of AREVA's Charlotte-based employees service existing nuclear plants and support the company's new Evolutionary Power Reactor design.

AREVA said it worked with NAI Huff Partners and Jones Lang LaSalle.