Why Charlotte's west side is suddenly surging

In 2011, Insite Properties purchased and moved its offices to the Grinnell Water Works building, a historic warehouse off West Morehead Street that was redeveloped into office space.

The Charlotte-based firm saw it as an opportunity to gain a foothold in an emerging submarket.

[ALSO READ: A closer look at how Charlotte's development boom has increased office real estate costs]

“There were always people calling, wanting space,” said Bart Murr, principal at Insite. “We would always say, ‘If this building was twice as big, it’d be full.’”

Three years after selling the Grinnell Water Works building to a Washington, D.C.-based asset manager, Insite has delivered on an even bigger investment in the neighborhood — a 107,000-square-foot office building, The Refinery, at 1213 W. Morehead St.

The building, developed with Northridge Capital, is already 65% leased just weeks after opening.

It’s the first new office building started without an anchor tenant on the west side in years. The Refinery is part of a surge in development in the area around West Morehead Street and Freedom Drive.

The bulk of the commercial space in the corridor had long been dominated by warehouses, many of them abandoned or occupied by small industrial groups. Those warehouses are being acquired and redeveloped into unique office spaces that appeal to companies targeting younger workers who want an urban environment. Shops and restaurants are also filling the renovated spaces, quickly remaking an area that for years has grappled with blight.

CBJ’s cover story this week goes inside what’s driving the transformation and what’s likely to come next. Read it here.

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