This company’s name is part of the uptown skyline. But it’s moving to South End
%20(1).jpg "A rendering of the office towers underway from The Spectrum Companies in South End. Grant Thornton, which is moving from its offices uptown, is the latest tenant to be announced for the project.")
A company whose name dons the top of an uptown tower is moving its offices to South End, the latest in a corporate shift from the traditional business district toward the fast-growing neighborhood.
Grant Thornton, a tax, audit and advisory firm, plans to move from its offices in a 27-story tower on South College Street to an office development underway, according to a release from developer The Spectrum Companies.
The Spectrum Companies is building a pair of 11-story towers on the site, one of which will be anchored by Charlotte-based online loan market place LendingTree. Grant Thornton will lease one floor of the LendingTree building, near the intersection of South Tryon Street and Carson Boulevard.
The move is part of a changing dynamic in Charlotte’s office market, where uptown was long the go-to destination for most major companies.
South End first emerged as a neighborhood of apartments, bars and restaurants, but is evolving to include more office space. That’s leading corporations that might have looked for space uptown a few years ago to flock to South End in the hopes of attracting workers to a popular neighborhood.
Lowe’s is building a 23-story global technology hub in South End that will house 2,000 employees, and Allstate and EY (formerly Ernst & Young) opened offices recently in a South Tryon Street tower.
Mike Desmond, managing partner of Grant Thornton’s Charlotte office, said the collaborative workspace in the South End tower makes it an ideal place for returning to the office after the pandemic. And he said South End’s vibrancy and proximity to uptown drew the company there.
“It’s the proximity to where many of our professionals have chosen to call home,” Desmond said. “Within this community, you actually have an opportunity to create a work life blending.”
Desmond said the firm plans to relocate over the summer, depending on COVID-19 regulations and safety. The firm will downsize its physical office footprint with the move, he said, and rely more on remote work than prior to the pandemic.
The two towers total 635,000 square feet, and the second building is under construction and planned for the spring of next year. The project, known as Vantage South End, also includes a 1-acre park, restaurants, shops and a 200-room hotel.
This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 9:30 AM.
