Rockefeller JV Secures Debt for $251M Charlotte Conversion
Bank of America originated a construction loan.
A joint venture of Rockefeller Group, MRP Realty and Asana Partners has closed financing on Brooklyn & Church, a $251 million, 460-unit office-to-residential conversion of the former Duke Energy headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. Bank of America issued a $140 million construction note, according to Mecklenburg County public records.
The developer is decommissioning the 778,000-square-foot office building’s utilities, and exterior demolition work will start next month, Charlotte Business Journal reported. Completion is slated for late 2026 or early 2027, the same source shows.
SK+I Architecture designed the project. Plans call for an overhaul of the facade, including the installation of new windows and the construction of balconies. The building’s core and shell will be preserved. In total, the project will see the addition of 50,000 square feet of retail, of which 30,000 square feet will be in a separate, three-story building. A 60-foot walkway will connect the two structures, creating pedestrian access around the property.
READ ALSO: 4 Office-to-Multifamily Conversions Done Right
Built in the 1970s, the office tower rises 14 stories at 526 S. Church St. in downtown Charlotte. Several parks, transit stops and the Bank of America Stadium, home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, are within walking distance.
MRP and Asana acquired the building in 2022 for $35 million. Duke Power Co. sold the asset, Yardi Matrix data shows. Following the sale, Duke relocated to its newly debuted 1 million-square-foot office tower at 525 S. Tryon St.
Overcoming multifamily conversion obstacles
As office buildings are designed differently from multifamily communities, several physical constraints may appear during conversion. One such obstacle are office floorplates, which are usually up to 50 feet deeper than multifamily ones. This may result in complications with unit layouts and access to natural light and outside air.
CommercialEdge considers a plethora of variables, including floorplates, building characteristics and location, among other factors, to score the multifamily conversion potential of office buildings. The Conversion Feasibility Index of 526 S. Church Street is 81, making it a strong candidate for adaptive reuse.
Office-to-residential conversions on the rise
Nine office properties had a CFI score between 90 and 100 in Charlotte—the highest tier for conversion, making them ideal candidates—comprising more than 970,000 square feet of office space, according to CommercialEdge. In January, the metro’s pipeline held 1,787 multifamily units in various stages of conversion from office properties, a staggering 107 percent increase year-over-year.
Charlotte isn’t the only market with ongoing efforts to repurpose office properties. Some of the largest conversion projects are shaping up in Manhattan, where David Werner Real Estate Investments and Metro Loft Management secured $135 million for the adaptive reuse of Pfizer’s former headquarters.
