ATCO Properties & Management, along with its joint venture partner, Shorenstein Properties LLC, announced today that national utility-scale solar developer Pine Gate Renewables (PGR) is moving its Charlotte offices to Camp North End.
The firm, which originates, develops, finances and operates utility-scale solar farms, has signed a 5,532 square-foot office lease at 301 Camp Road in Camp North End’s Mount district. PGR, which is currently located at 529 West Summit Avenue in Charlotte’s South End, expects to take occupancy at the building on March 2nd.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Asheville, NC, PGR operates 400+ megawatts of solar sites across the United States. The company currently has over 5 gigawatts of solar projects in the pipeline nationwide, with close to 600 MWs becoming operational across the country within the next 18 months. The firm’s groundbreaking methods have been recognized by Inc. Magazine, which honored the firm as one of “America’s Fastest Growing Companies” as part of its annual Inc. 500 List in 2018. It was also named as one of the best companies to work for in the mid-size business category by Florida Trend Magazine.
According to James Luster, Founder and COO of PGR, the new lease will allow the company to further expand its footprint in Charlotte. The firm expects to double its staff in the city over the next 2 to 3 years.
“Our new space at Camp North End will give us the much-needed room to grow as we increase our headcount in Charlotte,” Luster said. “As a firm focused on renewable energy generation in the U.S., we were looking for office space that was nontraditional and dynamic with its own kind of energy and culture to it. We loved the fact that we could walk to restaurants, shops and local breweries just steps away from our desks. It represents our company culture perfectly, and we’re beyond excited to be a part of this incredible redevelopment.”
Tommy Mann, Development Director at Camp North End, added: “Bringing a renewable energy company like PGR to Camp North End strongly aligns with our mission to cultivate a community of forward-thinking businesses. PGR will be a fantastic addition to our growing family of tenants and we are thrilled to support their company’s growth.”
PGR’s arrival at Camp North End continues the strong leasing momentum at the site in recent weeks. Over the last three months, ATCO has signed multiple new tenants at the site, including decision analytics firm CloudGenera, independent paper goods company Good Postage, used bookstore That’s Novel Books and boutique fitness concept bloc.
Camp North End will also welcome five new food and beverage tenants this month, including James Beard-nominated chef Greg Collier’s new restaurant, Leah & Louise; taproom Free Range Brewing; gourmet bakery Wentworth & Fenn; Nagahama-style noodle shop Bow Ramen; and farm-to-table purveyor Bleu Barn Bistro.
Earlier this year, Camp North End also received Fitwel Community Certificationfrom the Center for Active Design (CfAD), a national building standardthat focuses on optimizing holistic health benefits in neighborhood-scale projects.
Other major tenants at Camp North End include Ally Bank innovation team TM Studio; nonprofit Junior Achievement of Central Carolinas; arts organization Goodyear Arts; coffee company Hex Coffee Roasters; loose leaf tea bar Birch Fine Tea; design thinking consulting firm Wily; interactive gallery and creative studio space Blk Mrkt; boutique hair salon eXplicit Salon; creative studio and art gallery DUPP&SWAT; contemporary art + home décor designer Windy O’Connor; PR firm Rachel Sutherland Communications; coworking space Hygge Coworking; and custom motorcycle parts company Prism Supply. The campus also houses a set of industrial users.
Jessica Brown, David Dorsch and Grant Keyes of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord in the transaction, while John Christenbury of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant.
For more information about PGR, visit the company website at https://pgrenewables.com/
About Camp North End
Camp North End is a state-of-the art creative development that is being designed and curated to cater to today’s most innovative and cutting-edge companies in Charlotte’s up-and-coming North End Smart District.
As one of the largest adaptive reuse projects currently underway in the U.S., the project is transforming a historic 75-acre site where people once manufactured Model T cars and assembled Hercules missiles into a catalytic hub of creativity and ideas.
With over one million square feet of space for work, artistic expression, dining and hospitality, entertainment, recreation and community building, together with new construction in coming years, Camp North End's curated development will welcome residents from all parts of the Queen City and Mecklenburg County to make their future. Currently, developer ATCO Properties & Management is undertaking the redevelopment of the Gama Goat Building at 1701 N. Graham Street, and has already renovated and leased 70,000 square feet in buildings facing The Boileryard and The Mount, two of the project’s districts.
For more information about Camp North End, visit the official Camp North End website at https://camp.nc/ or follow along onFacebook,Instagram andTwitter at @campnorthend.
About ATCO
ATCO is a real estate investment and ownership platform deploying capital in select cities across the United States, with a particular emphasis on creating value through placemaking and other strategies in urban locations. We seek to improve people’s lives by creating places that they genuinely want to work, play, or live, and by doing our work with a long-term perspective.
Through eight decades and four generations, ATCO has owned, managed, and developed a diverse real estate portfolio, primarily in and around New York City and also in select markets we target. ATCO presently owns and manages more than 25 buildings ranging from high-rise office and residential towers to retail properties, from one-story industrial structures to a mixed-use, former military base. The portfolio of New York City properties includes: 555 Fifth Avenue, 40 Central Park South, 41 West 58th Street, 630 Third Avenue, 381 and 373 Park Avenue South, 515 Madison Avenue and the Atlas Terminals. Nationally, the company owns properties in Charlotte and Chapel Hill, NC; Austin, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Darien, Stamford and Westport, Connecticut. Internationally, ATCO has investments in seven European countries.
About Shorenstein Properties LLC
Founded in 1924, Shorenstein Properties LLC is a privately-owned, real estate firm that owns and operates high-quality office, residential and mixed-use properties across the U.S., with offices in San Francisco and New York. Since 1992, Shorenstein has sponsored twelve closed-end investment funds with total equity commitments of $8.8 billion, of which Shorenstein committed $723.5 million. The firm uses its integrated investment and operating capabilities to take advantage of opportunities that, at the particular time in the investment cycle, offer the most attractive returns. Investments have included ground-up developments, asset repositioning and stabilized assets; investment structures have included asset acquisitions, mezzanine loans, preferred equity investments and structured joint ventures. These funds have invested in properties totaling 67 million square feet in transactions with a gross investment value in excess of $16 billion.
