A new headquarters for Nucor?
Plus: How significant is tonight's vote on the 2040 Plan?; a splash of south Charlotte pool news; aerial shots show Centene campus springing up in UCity; Felix Sabates unloads his Mercedes dealership
Good morning! Today is Monday, June 21, 2021. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
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Today’s Charlotte Ledger is sponsored by T.R. Lawing Realty:
Charlotte’s Fortune 500 steel giant buys 4-story office building in SouthPark for $21M; previously owned by LendingTree
Nucor bought an office building from Childress Klein that has been undergoing renovations. It’s on Rexford Road in SouthPark and across the street from Nucor’s current headquarters. (Rendering from Childress Klein’s website.)
by Tony Mecia
Charlotte-based steel giant Nucor has bought a recently renovated four-story office building in SouthPark … for a cool $21M.
Property records show the Fortune 500 company closed on the purchase of 2100 Rexford, more or less across the street from its current headquarters at 1915 Rexford Road.
So unless the nation’s largest steel company is getting into the real estate speculation business or is planning a smelting operation behind Specialty Shops, it would seem to make sense that the new acquisition would be a headquarters building.
Nucor didn’t respond to requests for comment over the weekend. Childress Klein had owned the building since 2019 along with Gottesman Real Estate Partners. A Childress Klein spokeswoman over the weekend referred inquiries to Nucor.
Childress Klein and Gottesman bought the site from LendingTree, which had envisioned it as part of a new SouthPark headquarters before determining that its growth demanded more space. LendingTree employees started moving into its new headquarters at Vantage South End on Tryon Street last week.
Information about the property on Childress Klein’s website said it had been undergoing “heavy renovations.”
It continued:
Designed to be a single-tenant building, 2100 Rexford features a modernized façade that incorporates a new glazing system, as well as a new overall building color that highlights the asymmetric and angular planes that frame the entry and anchor the building. The refreshed interiors echo the same visual language that shapes the exterior with bold, geometric paneling and modernized finishes.
The office building is on 2.9 acres.
Nucor is probably not sweating a $21M purchase. It’s No. 149 on the Fortune 500 list, with $20.1B in revenue. And its stock is up about 75% on the year, as steelmakers are doing well with strong demand coming out of the pandemic. It had record profits in the first quarter.
Nucor has a reputation of running a famously lean operation. As of a couple years ago, at least, it had just 100 headquarters employees.
Today’s supporting sponsor is Landon A. Dunn, attorney-at-law in Matthews:
2040 plan vote tonight: High hopes, lots of questions, details TBD
It’s an odd thing, this 2040 plan.
The city’s plan for Charlotte’s future has been the subject of countless community meetings and repeated City Council arguments. It has scrambled traditional political alliances, been the focus of criticism by some neighborhood leaders and developers, mobilized interest groups and launched fierce lobbying campaigns.
It has become a vessel for the hopes and dreams of those who want more affordable housing, a robust network of sidewalks and bike lanes, grocery stores in poor neighborhoods and the preservation of trees. But it has also stirred the anxieties of those who fear it will drive up housing costs, empower government decision-makers, reduce residents’ input into nearby development and destroy the character of neighborhoods.
So what will it actually do?
Surprisingly, not very much — at least not by itself. It changes no ordinances and is best described as a collection of ideas and possibilities. Even the people who disagree about the 2040 plan agree with many of the ideas, and everyone says they favor having a plan. The arguments are over a few of the ideas.
The conventional wisdom says the City Council will narrowly vote to approve a plan tonight that is largely similar to the one first proposed in October 2020. There might be a few cosmetic changes.
Tonight’s vote, though, doesn’t actually guarantee that any of the big ideas will happen. About the most you can say is that it will help guide a process that will determine new rules on what can be built where and under what circumstances. The City Council votes on those will be months or years later. Those are the ones that actually change ordinances, the ones that matter.
The next steps are determining what areas of town will fit into which new development districts — a process called “place type mapping” — and also figuring out what the rules are for those development districts, in what’s called a Unified Development Ordinance. If that sounds like dry and arcane stuff, it is.
Assuming the plan passes tonight, there are likely to be big statements that it’s a historic day for Charlotte, with the first comprehensive plan to guide growth in decades — and that it will place us on a path to a brighter future, and so on.
But the big work still remains to be done. —TM
South Charlotte pool-pourri — Barclay Downs pool reopens; Cameron Wood is low on some snacks
Our sources at Barclay Downs Swim & Racquet Club tell us that the club’s pool reopened on Saturday after being closed for three weeks due to an electrical problem that was causing small shocks and “tingling sensations” when swimmers used the pool ladders.
Club president Bernie Gesing told The Ledger last week that the area had undergone extensive testing to determine the cause of the electrical mystery, and that the fix and safety inspections were getting wrapped up.
Five miles away from Barclay Downs, Cameron Wood Swim & Racquet Club is having a different, less-serious kind of challenge.
The club emailed its members and published this announcement on its Facebook page about supply chains messing up its offering of pool snacks:
We would like our members to know that we are doing the best we can to keep our concession stand stocked with everyone’s favorite items, but we are learning that it is easier said than done. Who would have thought that supply issues would trickle all the way down to our little concession stand?! Please bear with us as you may see different items and different prices throughout the season.
From the looks of the responses on the club’s Facebook page, members seem to be taking any snack disruptions in stride.
Certainly, the situation is a better one than most pools were facing last June, when The Ledger reported that many pools — including Cameron Wood — were requiring advance reservations because of Covid gathering restrictions.
“It’s like getting concert tickets,” one resident of Providence Plantation told The Ledger in June 2020. — CB
Reader response 📭
Let’s reach into the Ledger e-mailbag and see what readers had to say:
In response to “Behind the decline of the ASC,” (April 16 🔒 )
“Great story on the ASC and the new city plan. I continue to worry having local government calling the shots on arts funding as many of us remember Angels in America.”
“It hit a nerve. I met with my company president for breakfast maybe 8-10 years ago after ASC had done some study. … I told him that ASC had lost touch with the community and that was a big part of their revenue shortfall in addition to the other reasons you cited in your piece. ... The people giving were in the burbs and they needed to be out there in the burbs as well. Finally, about 3 or 4 years ago after meeting with ASC leadership, … they finally got it. They decided to do … out-in-the-community events. It was too late. Even our company started giving us a choice of organizations to donate to as part of our company-led efforts to give back.”
“I've been waiting for someone to provide this sort of overview. Thank you!”
In response to “South Charlotte ‘wedge’ and North Mecklenburg have highest vaccination rates” (May 3):
“This is unfortunately typical inflammatory research that falls in the category of lazy or social agenda or both. The higher income areas (aka the “Wedge”) have two things: A, higher level of essential workers and B, a higher age demographic than the other areas of Charlotte. Given that inoculations were pretty much essential workers and age allocated first until the end of March, it is not at all a surprise that areas with [higher] percentages of older people would get the vaccine first. The older areas of town were basically legally entitled to get the vaccine first, without regard to income or race.”
In response to “She’ll be the first in her family to attend college” (May 8)
“I’ve been reading your newsletter for the past year and have been touched by the stories that you cover. Anisha’s story particularly stands out as it reminds me of my academic journey as the first generation college student, and struggles immigrant families face with a language barrier. Please let Anisha know that I’m rooting for her. Her story is part of the American Dream, and it provides hope to thousands of immigrant families.”
“Such a truly wonderful story. I’m so glad that you all did a follow up on this young woman. I trust that the Ledger will keep us informed of her progress in Greensboro!!”
“I was so thrilled when I initially read of a philanthropist sponsoring Anisha's years in college. I have often wondered about her progress in this crazy time. Now I know she will make it. Thank you so much for the update, and I love seeing a picture of this courageous, wise young woman.”
In response to “A computer wrote this entire newsletter. How did it do?” (June 7)
“Interesting to see the computer suggestions on what to do. No Whitewater Center, Carowinds or Discovery Place? I thought Concord Mills was the largest tourism draw in the state? As for malls, Northlake over SouthPark?”
“I loved the idea that AI could write the newsletter, but have to point out a few things. One of the first articles detailed how difficult and expensive it is to buy a house right now in Charlotte due to demand. Then, in the top 11 things to do in Charlotte, it advocates buying a house! … Great writing, even if it was done by computers!”
“The writers at The Ledger are much much better than Jarvis. Please don’t hire him back.”
“Engaging and snappy writing makes absorbing the local news entertaining.”
“Eating at Carrabba's (is there one even still open in CLT?) and shopping at Northlake Mall are definitely 2 of the top 11 things to do in CLT.”
“I feel that Jarvis would be helpful in gathering information for its human counterparts, but I still like the human touch to articles or information that I read.”
“Today's issue is super freaky — in a very interesting way! Love how you took on and positioned this, and it’s very enlightening to be sure. I think we human scribes are safe — for the moment however — as it’s one thing to string facts and info together — it's another to capture style, tone, analysis and insight with the written word.”
“I'm absolutely fascinated by what AI was able to do with The Ledger. Would definitely prefer you and Cristina, but it’s pretty amazing what technology can do. With the exception of that ‘things to do’ list. Next time I’m bored and looking for something to do, I'll just go buy a house and eat at Carrabba’s.”
“Jarvis must love crushing bread and pasta at Carrabba’s!”
In response to: “A sweet son stolen by addiction” (Ways of Life, June 15🔒)
“Well that made me weep. Beautiful but tragic piece.”
“At first I was a little skeptical about getting the obit listings, but I kind of enjoy reading them. They seem a little bit more humanizing than standard obituaries, and ones like the guy who dealt with opiate addiction are very compelling.”
“Thank you for the beautiful story. Your incredible writing offered a glimpse of a young man taken way too soon. I will never forget the telephone call from an Asheville police officer who called us in 2017, who asked if I knew [son’s name]. When I said, ‘Yes he is our son,’ he responded “He dead.” (sic). We later learned that [our son] died of an accidental drug overdose involving that terrible Fentanyl from China or Mexico. The number of similarities in Cody’s story and our son’s was tragic. My husband and I are still grieving, like most parents who have lost a child. However, because it was so senseless, we will forever ask ‘What could we have done?’”
In response to “What lies ahead for North Carolina's biggest newspapers?” (June 18)
“Who pays close to $1,300/year for a subscription to the Charlotte Observer? Who would pay that much? I’ve been paying between $120-$124 for each of the past 3 years for 6-days-a-week delivery.”
“Great article on the fate of journalism in NC and the N&O and Observer. The one area that was not addressed in the article was the political angle. I kept reading this piece hoping this was addressed/admitted, but sadly it wasn’t. The Observer has lost thousands of subscribers because the paper is so liberal and one-sided in their reporting. …
It’s not about price, it’s not about going digital, it is about being balanced in reporting the news. Sadly, this point is ignored to the detriment of the journalists and executives that run these papers. They wonder why their subscriptions are down 65% in recent years — have them look in the mirror.”
“In a city of approximately 900,000, it’s something that the only daily legacy newspaper has only 54,012 print plus 19,602 digital-only subscribers. What is telling in the article is that the author never brings up the overt political bias that overtook McClatchy’s products, and commensurate abandonment of balanced journalism. It’s why many of us abandoned The Observer despite enjoying reading a print newspaper in the morning. People are not as stupid as the woke brigade likes to think we are.”
Centene’s UCity campus is growing up fast
The East Coast headquarters of health-insurance giant Centene is progressing quickly. Aerial shots from September 2020 (upper left), January (upper right), April (lower left) and this month (lower right). The company says it eventually plans to employ 6,000 workers on its 80-acre campus. Centene is holding a dedication ceremony at the site in University City today. (Photos courtesy of Kevin Young/The 5 and 2 Project)
You’re invited: Online marketing panel this morning at 11
The Ledger is holding a series of four free online panels about marketing in Charlotte, in conjunction with our friends at Jumbo, a Charlotte-based builder of live-streaming platforms.
The second one is this morning at 11 a.m. The topic: “Cutting Through the Static: Building a Successful Brand.” It features panelists Blair Primis of OrthoCarolina, Jessica Graham of Fionix Consulting and Ryan Burkett of Strategon.
The panels are designed to give local small business owners and marketing professionals ideas they can use to break through the noise to find strategies and tactics that reach potential customers in a time when the industry and consumer habits are shifting.
To watch, or view later online, you’ll need to register here (it’s free):
In brief:
Auto dealership sale: Felix Sabates has sold his Mercedes-Benz of South Charlotte dealership in Pineville, according to property records. Public documents show that Sabates’ SB Real Estate Investors sold the dealership at 950 N. Polk St. in Pineville to a company affiliated with Penske Automotive Group of Michigan for $21.8M. The deal closed June 4. That’s just for the purchase of the land — the purchase of the business would have been a separate transaction. Penske said that the acquisition is expected to add $150M in annual revenue.
American cancels flights: American Airlines is having to cancel flights because of a labor shortage. The airline had 120 cancellations on Saturday and projects 50-80 a day going forward. An airline spokesperson said American is having to “make adjustments” to 1% of its flights. (WBTV/AP)
Legal help moving: The Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy says it plans to sell its building at 1431 Elizabeth Ave. and move to a more spacious facility at 5535 Albemarle Road this fall. It will allow the organization to have more space. The organization provides legal services to those who cannot afford them.
Covid deaths in SC: Hundreds of Covid deaths in South Carolina may have gone unreported in 2020, according to a new study. Researchers from Boston University and the University of Pennsylvania estimated that 6,800 unexpected deaths occurred in the state last year. The majority were labeled as Covid fatalities, but about 1,559 of them were attributed to other causes. Covid deaths that were unattributed and other deaths caused by the pandemic’s economic and social effects probably accounted for many of the extra deaths, the study said. (News & Observer)
Unknown Brewing scales down: The owner of Unknowing Brewing Co. on Mint Street announced that the brewery will stop making beer and will pare down its brewery, distillery and taproom to focus on its ginger ale production. Brad Shell said he’s doing it for the sake of his mental health and his family. The ginger ale arm of the company is Unknown’s fastest growing, selling the product from Maine to Miami. Rocky Mount’s HopFly Brewing will be taking the beer reins in the taproom. (Charlotte Five)
Price’s last day — in photos: Price’s Chicken Coop served its last boxes of chicken, gizzards and fries Saturday after 59 years in business on Camden Road in South End. Photographer Logan Cyrus captured the poignant scene in a gallery of photos for Charlotte magazine. (Charlotte magazine)
Carowinds passholders frustrated: Some Carowinds season passholders say they’re upset that the park’s new reservation-only system has them shut out of the park on days they want to go. Park officials say they’re trying to adhere to attendance limits due to social distancing and the availability of seasonal labor. (WSOC)
A correction, and a ‘whoops’
Saturday’s article on the excursion on the Irwin Creek Greenway gave the wrong hours for Community Matters Cafe. Its website now says it is not open on Saturdays. (When we looked a week earlier, it had said it was.) Our bad.
As astute reader pointed out we incorrectly referred to a “pneumonic device” on Saturday when referring to a trick to remember which uptown ward is which. The correct term is “mnemonic device.” (“Mnemonic” means “assisting or intending to assist memory”; “pneumonic” means “of, relating to, or affecting the lungs.”) Yeah, we blew it on that one.
Taking stock
Unless you are a day trader, checking your stocks daily is unhealthy. So how about weekly? How local stocks of note fared last week (through Friday’s close), and year to date:
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: Lindsey Banks