All posts by Brooke

Company News

Bloomsbury Landscapes is Under New Management

We are excited to welcome Joseph Sweet as the new General Manager of our landscaping division – Bloomsbury Landscapes. Joe has been in the landscaping business for 15 years and lives in Clayton with his family. He has an associates degree from NC State University.
Bloomsbury Landscapes was founded in the early 1980’s as the in-house landscape maintenance company for York Properties. At Bloomsbury Landscapes, we are passionate about not only enhancing nature’s beauty and increasing the value of your real estate, but providing best-in-class customer experience.

 

Client Highlight

Bona Furtuna Coming to the Market

Keep an eye out for a fantastic new brand coming soon to Triangle grocers.

Luxury olive oil, pasta, sauce and seasonings maker, Bona Furtuna, has signed a lease for 5,100 square feet at 2205 Westinghouse Boulevard, Raleigh. The location will be a packaging and distribution facility for products from the company’s namesake – Bona Furtuna farm in Corleone, Sicily.

York broker, Brian Wallace, was privileged to provide tenant representation.

More about Bona Furtuna

Market Insights

How the Triangle Stacks Up

Tenant-rep broker, Robert Hoyt, attended a TRAOBA meeting yesterday called “How the Triangle Stacks Up to Other Metros”. Because TRAOBA is Office focused there was some discussion on the state of the office market (bullets below) by the panel.

Panel Members:  Heath Chapman-CBRE; Hooker Manning-Kane; Mat Winters-JLL

State of the Office Market 

  • Activity slowly coming back
  • They are seeing larger groups touring the market for requirements in late 2021
  • Office landlords are all doing well as there have been nominal defaults
  • Tenants are able to do business remotely and have been paying rent while only occupying 10% or less of their space
  • Any rent relief or deferral requests (few and far between and all at the outset of the lockdown) went away after tenants were asked to provide how the pandemic was impacting their business (nominal impact other than the overall economic slowdown)
  • There is a large amount of sublease space hitting the market
  • Tenants are trying to determine post pandemic space needs
    • Do they need less space as they have more remote workers?
    • Do they need more space to increase social distancing (and decrease density)?
  • Rental Rates have not been negatively impacted; however landlord concessions have increased (in the form of abatement and higher TI allowances)
  • Both Heath and Hooker expect a quick recovery once a vaccine has been widely distributed.

 

One panel member with the Raleigh Chamber shared the attached study done by the Raleigh Chamber and the Wake County Economic Development team.  Overarching message: “The Raleigh metro is the best performing metro in the U.S. and continues to remain one of the top places for business and careers…”

Here are a few of our favorite accolades from the report:

#3 BEST PLACE IN AMERICA TO START A BUSINESS
RALEIGH, NC | INC | 2018

#6 MOST INCLUSIVE METRO IN THE U.S.
RALEIGH, NC | BROOKINGS INSTITUTE | 2019

TOP 10 GLOBAL HUB FOR LIFE SCIENCE INNOVATION
HICKORY & ASSOCIATES | APRIL 2019

#1 STATE FOR WOMEN IN TECH
NORTH CAROLINA | NC TECH | 2019

#3 BEST QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE WORLD
RALEIGH, NC | NUMBEO.COM | 2019

Company News

Our Latest Brokerage Assignment

York Properties is pleased to announce that it has been selected to provide landlord representation services for North Carolina State University. York is the exclusive leasing agent for more than 460,000 SF of office space on Centennial Campus and retail space on Hillsborough Street.

Centennial Campus offers much more than just office space; it also provides unique opportunities to partner with some of the brightest minds from industry, government and the academy.  The broker team working with NC State’s Real Estate and Development office includes John Koonce, Skipper Day, Robert Hoyt, Malcom Lewis and Julie Paul.

 

Market Insights

Market Insights – Fuquay-Varina, NC

In 1963, the town of Fuquay Springs, site of a hot springs renowned in the region, joined the neighboring community of Varina, crossroads of two timber rail lines. Thus, Fuquay-Varina was born and has become one of Southern Wake County’s fastest growing towns.

According to the US Census, the town has grown 68.3% from April 2010 to July 2019, with no slowing in sight. The estimated current population is more than 33,000 residents, with some 2,000+ housing units actively under construction and many more planned. The construction of the southern loop of 540 will continue to accelerate Fuquay-Varina’s growth and developers have taken notice. Several new major mixed-use developments, including Bengal Town Center and Bellchase, have recently been announced and will add 1,000,000+ SF of office and retail along with hundreds of residential units.

Boasting two charming historic downtowns, Fuquay-Varina retains a small Southern town feeling. However, its adjacency to Research Triangle Park and Raleigh with access to high-paying jobs and Wake County’s excellent school system, Fuquay-Varina is well poised for major growth.

Tenant Highlight

Cape Fear Seafood Company Expands

Cape Fear Seafood Company out of Wilmington, NC was founded by Evans Trawick in 2008 and  built a loyal following serving fresh, local seafood in a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. This proved a winning combination resulting in two additional successful restaurants in the Wilmington area. Evans then set his sights on franchising the proven concept and expanding into Raleigh.

Two long-time Cape Fear employees, Eddie Elliott and Matt Wivell, partnered to bring the restaurant concept to Raleigh.  York Broker, John Koonce, helped them find the perfect location on Spring Forest Road in North Raleigh.  Opening the doors in June 2019, the duo enjoyed nine strong months of breaking records and exceeding expectations.

Then the pandemic hit.

Governor Cooper ordered restaurant dining rooms closed on Tuesday, March 17.  Pivoting is 2020’s over-used word, but that is exactly what Eddie and Matt did – and quickly.  By Thursday, Cape Fear was down to 2 staff members: Matt was doing the cooking and Eddie was handling all orders and curbside delivery.  They furloughed their staff but continued to pay them …(Once they received PPP funding)

Loyal customers from their first nine months of operation patronized the restaurant and word spread about their providing takeout service before many other restaurants in the area.  By the third week of April their employees came back and they’ve continued to make it work through these unprecedented times (another 2020 overused phrase).

Hope really must spring eternal because Eddie and Matt just signed a deal to open a second location in Cameron Village.

When you visit any of their locations, you can expect a wide variety of seafood options from comfort-food Calabash-style platters to upscale chef-driven dishes.  The vibe of the restaurant is casual, come as you are.  Cape Fear wants to transport you to the beach and have a little something for everyone, offering $10 sandwiches and ½ price bottles of wine alongside seared Chilean sea bass and lobster risotto.

As for Eddie and Matt, they’re taking life one step at a time, working on building their brand in Raleigh, designing their Cameron Village restaurant and hopefully adding a third location before 2023.   Who knows, maybe one day Cape Fear Seafood Company will be the Carolinas’ answer to Legal Sea Foods that dominates much of the Northeast.

Company News

Events at Raleigh Union Station Persevere

The venue space at Raleigh Union Station (RUS) may not be able to hold large events due to Governor Cooper’s capacity restrictions to slow the spread of COVID, but that has not stopped our events team. RUS has been able to reschedule most of the 2020 events for 2021 and continues to book new events.  The events scheduled for 2021 are mostly social (i.e. weddings) and we anticipate that  social events will outnumber corporate events next year.  Too many weddings have been postponed!

While they wait for a return of events, Karen Clymer, York Event Coordinator, in partnership with Richard Costello, City of Raleigh, have focused on strategic marketing efforts.  The duo approached local production companies to pitch RUS as a cool backdrop for commercials.  IBM was the first locally-produced spot and several others are scheduling.  In addition, RUS produced their own venue photo shoot with photographer Richard Barlow and 20 local vendors. The images from the photoshoot will be seen in a full-page ad in Heart of NC Weddings Magazine, Walter Magazine and WRAL online.  Karen and Richard  also filmed a venue tour with Thomas Blake Films, who filmed York’s Christmas Car Karaoke video last year.

So don’t wait if you’re thinking about booking Union Station for an event next year!

Client Highlight

Welcoming The Wade – Raleigh’s Newest Condominium

Beacon Street Hits the Mark

From the Triangle to NC’s inner coastal communities, Beacon Street Development has made a name for itself by designing and developing traditional, high-end condominiums like Fairview Row and waterfront neighborhoods like Moss Landing. Its design approach is inspired by great places and architecture, contextualized to create livability and enduring value for its neighbors.

Beacon Street’s newest project is The Wade, a twenty-nine unit condominium situated on the edge of Hayes Barton neighborhood within walking distance of Cameron Village and Fletcher Park in Raleigh. York is pleased to manage The Wade’s Condominium Association. The Wade began welcoming residents in November 2019 and currently has only 4 residences remaining.

Condos during COVID – A Tough Sell?

Condominium development in Raleigh, generally, has historically been a hurdle. The last condo boom was right before the great recession when several projects had to convert to apartments or sell in foreclosure. Today, a world-wide pandemic offers new challenges to condominium ownership, even in a hot housing market.

However, according to Justin Hime, Assistant Project Manager for the Wade, sales have been steady at The Wade, even enjoying an uptick during the summer. Residents have formed bubble communities with each other – taking advantage of the owners’ retreat, rooftop terrace garden and private balconies for socially-distanced small gatherings.  In many ways the condominium’s residents feel safer and less isolated than if they were living in single family homes. The pandemic has also brought a few college-aged kids and young adults back under their parents’ roofs, filling up those second and third bedrooms.

When asked about the mix of residents, Hime reported that about 50% of the residents are from the area or have family here and the other 50% were swayed by Raleigh’s accolades to relocate. Hime also mentioned there is a healthy mix of young professionals, empty nesters and retirees that makes for great, supportive inter-generational living and friendships.

It’s a Dog’s Life

The building’s two much-beloved dogs are local celebrities with the residents and enjoy not one, but two, dog runs along with a dog wash (which is probably less enjoyed). Other building amenities include a fitness center– where residents take turns to keep everyone safe and the rooftop terrace peaking over trees to Raleigh’s downtown skyline. And of course, the location, is a big draw.

We are pleased to welcome The Wade to York and we thank Justin Hime for sharing insights.

 

Tenant Highlight

Union Special; One Year Old and Going Strong

Andrew Ullom, baker and owner of Union Special Bread set out to make edible nostalgia while still giving back to the community, and he is doing just that.

How did this all start? After attending culinary school where Andrew discovered a love of breads, he opted for a baking apprenticeship. His first bakery internship was at a bakery for a large hotel and his path was set. Eventually he became the executive pastry chef for Ashely Christensen. After seven years at AC Restaurants, Andrew decided it was time to realize his vision of a community-driven bakery and restaurant.

One of the biggest hurdles was getting it open. Hundreds of idea pitches followed by two years of planning and building finally made Union Special a reality in 2018.   Andrew’s original goal remains the same: to make an accessible gathering place with delicious familiar food that will lead to conversation and community building.

Flash forward, Union Special recently celebrated its one-year anniversary with a Birthday Dinner to benefit SAFEchild. With a huge turnout and the busiest day ever, Andrew says that it was a great testament of where the business will go.