3 Charlotte office buildings sold to out-of-state investor for half of 2020 price
A Minnesota investor is expanding its Charlotte properties with a $51 million purchase near the airport, even as the site sold for a deep discount compared to the last time it was purchased.
Onward Investors bought three buildings in Coliseum Centre office park close to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in mid-June. The group now has six office properties in the city.
The Coliseum Centre 3, Coliseum Centre 5 and Coliseum Centre 6 buildings are at 2550 W. Tyvola Road, 2810 Coliseum Centre Drive and 2815 Coliseum Centre Drive, respectively.
“We’re believers that the work-from-home trend is certainly reversing, right?” said Jon Lanners, Onward managing partner and chief investment officer, in an interview. “And while office usage will look different than it did pre-COVID, we don’t think companies will not need office space.”
He said the Coliseum Centre buildings are 70% occupied, with tenants including a Circle K regional office and Amwins, an insurance distributor.
The buildings were bought for $102 million in early 2020 by South Street Partners, a private equity real estate investment firm. Six years later, the trio of buildings were sold to Onward Investors for half the cost.
Onward Investors’ other properties
Onward acquired another office park property, Coliseum Centre 4, in December 2024 for $20 million. The company bought the building at 60% occupancy, and now, more than 90% of the space is leased.
At the start of June, Onward bought LakePointe 3 and LakePointe 5 office buildings in Charlotte for $26 million. Also in the airport area, these properties are at 3730 Glen Lake Drive and 3735 Glen Lake Drive.
Similar to the Coliseum Centre buildings, LakePointe 3 and 5 sold for $46 million to Atlanta-based Bridge Investment Group in 2020.
“You see a good number of companies announcing that they are moving to the Charlotte area, are looking to grow their presence in Charlotte,” Lanners said. “We like these sort of macrodynamics in Charlotte, and certainly we’ll be looking for more opportunities in the Charlotte area.”
Onward also owns properties in Minneapolis, Chicago, Richmond, Virginia, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.