Corning Optical headquarters in growing part of Charlotte sold for $58.5 million

Corning Optical’s new corporate headquarters in Charlotte was sold to a real estate investment company for $58.5 million, the latest evolution for the fast-growing Riverbend development.

An affiliate of Crown Realty & Development, based in Costa Mesa, Calif., acquired the 182,169-square-foot property, according to a press release from Cushman & Wakefield, which brokered the sale. Corning Optical will lease the office building for 14 years.

Corning Optical announced in 2016 that it would move its headquarters from Hickory to Charlotte, and would move up to 650 employees into the 11.7-acre site in Riverbend Village at Brookshire Boulevard and Mount Holly-Huntersville Road.

“Corning Optical Communications moved in August into its new Charlotte headquarters ... This change of ownership will not affect our operations in any way,” the company said in a statement.

Corning Optical is a division of New York-based Corning Inc., which builds glass components for fiber-optic cable and communications equipment.

The company’s manufacturing plant will remain in Hickory, the Observer previously reported.

Building amenities include employee lounges, patio seating areas, a café, walking trails and a “green roof” with seating.

The mixed-use Riverbend site also includes a 78,000-square-foot Harris Teeter and more than 500 homes.

Corning’s project included an incentives package of up to $2.35 million from state and local governments, the Observer previously reported.

The company’s offices were supposed to open in 2018 but permitting issues and road improvements caused construction delays, the Observer has reported.

Observer reporter Danielle Chemtob contributed to this report.

This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 12:46 PM.