Inside the planned renovations, amenities for former NASCAR office tower in uptown
A golf simulator is coming to uptown in an unlikely place — an office building.
Major renovations and additional amenities are in the works for 550 South, the former NASCAR Plaza building. Real estate firm and building owners Cousins Properties announced the renovation plans last month.
The move is part of the trend that seeks to entice tenants by turning office spaces into gathering places.
“We have taken a more hospitality approach to these kinds of projects with that in mind, really making the new kind of modern office a morning, noon and night destination,” said Grant Harrell, Cousins’ director and vice president of the Charlotte regional team. “This is a project we’ve had in the works for quite some time.”
Harrell declined to say how much the renovations will cost but said it is significant.
Flight to quality
550 South opened in 2009 and was acquired by Cousins in 2016. Since then, the 20-story, 395,000 square foot space has been well leased.
NASCAR, the building’s largest tenant, moved most of its operations to Concord last December, taking up far less space at the site. 550 South is now about 75% leased, as reported by the Charlotte Business Journal.
Office vacancies in the city have stabilized, sitting at 22.5% in the third quarter compared to a high of 24.7% earlier this year, according to a recent report from commercial real estate firm JLL.
In a post-pandemic world, one of the keys to leasing office space is amenities. Newer buildings are being constructed with this in mind but the older spaces need to be renovated in order to compete.
And they have been. Some older buildings are being converted for new uses, including the 100-year-old Johnston Building on Tryon Street that’s set to become a hotel.
But others are intending to remain office spaces with some extra pizzazz, such as the Wells Fargo’s skyscraper at 550 S. Tryon St. and One Independence Center at 101 N. Tryon St., which both host a food hall.
Construction on new offices is slowing down with about 545,000 square feet of office space currently being developed in Charlotte. Harrell said now is a good time to get renovations going for 500 South.
“This building was built in 2009 and essentially, it was built for NASCAR,” Harrell said. “Now that we’re coming out of our natural lease cycle… having vacancy in the building for the first time really in our ownership period… we need to make the necessary adjustments to cater to the modern customer.”
Bigger conference spaces and golf
Most of the renovations will occur on the first and second floors, Harrell said.
The first-floor will become more of a lounge lobby space with the addition of more seating areas, Harrell said. Crane Coffee, the local shop in the lobby, will be relocated and expanded.
The first floor fitness center will be moved to the second floor. A conference/training facility will take its place, accommodating about 40 to 60 people, Harrell said.
A staircase will be added to the lobby connecting it to the second floor where the major amenities will be located.
The fitness center will be expanded on the second floor, and there will be more conference rooms and seating areas. Plus, there will be a golf simulator.
Construction will begin next year and will likely wrap in 2026.
“The modern customer wants amenities,” Harrell said. “They want an engaging place to come to work and I think that it benefits them and the employers on getting them back in the office… Buildings that have done these sort of upgrades really reap the benefits on the leasing front.”
