Barings Lends $81M for Charlotte Office Building Acquisition 

A joint venture between Town Lane and Trinity Capital Advisors has landed $81 million of acquisition financing for the purchase and repositioning of an office asset in Charlotte, N.C., Commercial Observer has learned.

Barings supplied the bridge loan for the co-developers’ purchase of a 15-story office tower at 440 South Church in the Uptown Charlotte neighborhood. Town Lane and Trinity Capital Advisors acquired the 388,657-square-foot Class A building last month for $75.8 million from Epic Investment Partners, Charlotte Business Journal previously reported.

“This investment reflects our conviction in Charlotte’s rebounding office market and the long-term value-creation potential of well-located, high-quality assets,” Ryan Naumes, managing director with Barings, said in a statement. “The property’s proximity to major employers, vibrant amenities and strong transportation connectivity positions it for success as the market continues to recover.”

CBRE negotiated the financing with a team featuring J.P. Cordeiro, Brian Linnihan and Mike Ryan.

The 2009-built property, which Trinity Capital developed, had an occupancy rate in the mid-40 percent range at the time of the sale, according to the buyers. It is located in Charlotte’s Third Ward area within walking distance of Bank of America Stadium, home of the National Football League’s Carolina Panthers.

Town Lane and Trinity Capital said they plan to invest more than $20 million to make improvements and renovations to 440 South Church that will begin immediately. The project will include an overhaul of the lobby, adding hospitality lounges and enhancing the building’s ground-floor retail.

The 440 South Church deal marks the second office investment in Town Lane’s $1.25 billion closed-end fund launched last year.

“We believe 440 South Church represents a rare opportunity to acquire a high-quality office building in one of Uptown Charlotte’s most dynamic and evolving submarkets at a basis that is over 70 percent below the cost of new construction today,” Garret Overlock, managing director at Town Lane, said in a statement at the time of the acquisition.

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com.