AvidXchange ramps up growth plans at Music Factory

Workers installed the highest steel beam Monday for a new corporate headquarters building at the AvidXchange Music Factory, and the company’s CEO said more growth and a second building could soon follow.

The “topping-out” ceremony by general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie marked the completion of vertical construction for the building on Hamilton Street. AvidXChange is building a 200,000 square-foot, six-story office building at the Music Factory. The company broke ground in September and plans to finish construction early next year.

“We’re growing faster than we anticipated,” said Michael Praeger, AvidXchange CEO. The payment automation company also bought the naming rights to the Music Factory entertainment and nightlife complex earlier this year.

AvidXchange currently employs almost 700, Praeger said, and has added 250 employees this year. Praeger said the new building will house up to 1,000 employees, and the company plans to evaluate its space needs and assess a second, planned building on the site within a year or so.

“We’ll need that building sooner rather than later” because of the company’s growth, Praeger predicted.

Lexington Realty Trust bought the AvidXchange headquarters site, a 3.8-acre parcel, last year for $4.6 million. Red Rock Developments is developing the site, and LS3P is the architect.

Nearby, at the entrance to the Music Factory off Graham Street, Woodfield Investments is developing a 205-unit apartment building that’s expected to open in the first quarter next year. Noah Lazes, one of the Music Factory’s initial developers along with his father Rick Lazes, said the complex is coming together as a true mixed-use district.

“We had the ‘play,’” he said. “Now, it’s great to see the ‘work’ and the ‘live.’”

This story was originally published May 23, 2016 at 5:25 PM with the headline "AvidXchange ramps up growth plans at Music Factory."