Office, retail building planned on West Morehead Street

Two office buildings will start construction this year on Morehead Street about a mile apart, as developers race to build Class A office space near uptown.

One of the buildings will be on West Morehead Street and one will be located on East Morehead. The new developments are in addition to uptown office towers, including 300 South Tryon, that are being planned or built for the first time since the recession.

West Morehead

A pair of development companies plan to start construction soon on an office and retail building at West Morehead Street and Interstate 77.

The project, by CitiSculpt and the Knox Group, is currently in the design phase. Its planned to total 70,000 square feet, including street level retail space. The companies plan to start construction later this year, with demolition of existing structures on the site starting in about six months.

Lindsey McAlpine, managing partner of CitiSculpt, said his company recently moved its offices to West Morehead.

We kind of fell in love with the area, said McAlpine. But he said the area needs more office space to accommodate growth, as retail and residential space expand and attract more companies.

The market is 90-percent-plus leased up. People tell us they would like to be in the area, or expand if theyre already there. We get calls often about office space, McAlpine said. A lot of things certainly were put on pause during the recession...Space needs are growing.

Mecklenburg County property records show CitiSculpt bought the main 1.4-acre parcel, at 1213 W. Morehead St., in December for $1.5 million. The site was sold by Ark Ventures, the company headed by Rick and Noah Lazes that developed the N.C. Music Factory. Ark bought the property in 2013 for $750,000.

The new building will add to the supply of Class A office space near uptown, but McAlpine said rents will be lower than other areas seeing rapid growth.

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Office, retail building planned on West Morehead Street