Ten Outstanding Headquarter Facilities that are Available Now

One year ago SB&D published an editorial with a headline that read, "Watch for a Slew of Major Headquarter Relocations to the South over the next 18 months." Since that prediction was made the South has indeed seen a "slew" of major headquarter relocations, headed up by NCR's decision to relocate from Dayton, Ohio to Atlanta. That huge deal was followed by several more including J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services, First Data, Electrolux, Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), Northrop Grumman, ABB, and LegalZoom and that is just a sampling of the larger ones.

Since large headquarter relocations to the South continue to roll in, we thought it would be valuable to profile 10 of some of the South's best and/or most economically-friendly facilities for headquarter operations.

Former Circuit City Headquarters Building
Richmond, Va.

Circuit City's demise during this recession was a big blow to the Richmond, Va. area. Yet, at some point it might be a great opportunity for at least one company looking to relocate their corporate headquarters to the South. Deep Run I, a beautiful five story, 306,284-square-foot Class A office building that previously served as Circuit City's headquarters is available to a prospective tenant free and clear of existing debt. The property, including 18.5 acres, is being offered for sale at $11 million. It should be noted that Richmond has had great success over the years landing large corporate headquarter relocations.

Park Centre at Tampa Telecom
Tampa, Fla.

Located in the Telecom Park in the I-75 Corridor, this three-story, 88,000-square-foot available Class A office building is located less than three miles from the University of South Florida, one of Florida's largest academic centers. The property features conservation views, executive covered parking, backup power, secure card-key access, a beautiful granite and wood accented lobby with a grand stair case and men's and women's locker rooms for the fitness enthusiasts. The building also uses certified "green" power and has a state-of-the-art energy system. The building is brand new and waiting on its first occupant.

Terminus 200
Atlanta, Ga.

A development of Atlanta-based Cousins Properties, Terminus 200 is an ideal headquarters building in the prestigious Buckhead district of Atlanta. With 25 floors and 565,000 total square feet, this 2009 delivered signature property has the right location, the stature, the access to top hotels and restaurants, the convenience of a short hop on the city’s MARTA rapid rail to the world’s busiest airport – and, most importantly, it is in the heart of Atlanta’s management and young generation talent sweet spot.

Dell Site
Winston-Salem, N.C.

The former Dell regional corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility in Winston-Salem, N.C. is now available for a large corporate headquarter and manufacturing and/or distribution relocation. This premier site and facility, built in 2005 on 199 acres, features 792,510 square feet of office and warehouse/manufacturing space. In addition to outstanding office space, the building has 185 cross-docked dock doors, 38' clear ceiling heights, 1,197 parking spaces and 710 trailer spaces. This facility is one of the best available buildings the South has to offer if your corporate HQ move doubles as a large manufacturing or distribution operation.

Former South Financial Group and Carolina First Bank Campus
Greenville, S.C.

This new, 225,000-square-foot, $85 million, multi-phase public/private development was originally built as a bank campus. The recession nixed that, making the campus one of the most attractive headquarter sites available in the South. The Silver LEED Certified Campus is located on the I-85 corridor next to the International Center for Automotive Research. The facility has never been occupied.

Meridian Cool Springs
Franklin, Tenn.

Meridian Cool Springs is located just south of Nashville on Interstate 65 in Williamson County, the 11th most affluent county in the country. There is an outstanding 200,000-square-foot office facility that is located in the park that has a walkable design with retail and restaurants adjacent. The location is in one of the fastest growing areas of corporate headquarters in the entire South. Nissan opened its North American headquarters in Cool Springs/Franklin two years ago. Meridian is also the home of the headquarters of Community Health Systems. 

Philips Building
Knoxville, Tenn.

This former corporate headquarters complex in East Knoxville is located on Interstate 40. The entire three-story, 221,194-square-foot facility is available and is priced right for a relocating headquarters. The complex, which isn't too far from the University of Tennessee and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was renovated in 2002 and houses a data center, cafeteria, storage and a large auditorium. The facility is priced at $8.5 million.

The Crossings at Lakeline
Austin, Tex.

Like Atlanta, Austin, Tex. has lured several large headquarter relocations of late. One 219,000-square-foot building that's available for large headquarter relocation is The Crossings at Lakeline. It is a high performance building and part of the Austin Energy Green Builder Program. The building, which was built in 2008, is transit oriented and immediately adjacent to the Northwest Commuter Rail Park & Ride facility.

Hayes Building - Ballantyne Corporate Park
Charlotte, N.C.

The Hayes Building is a free standing, 150,000-square-foot, six-story, Class A, LEED registered "Green" facility that is located on the 12th hole of the Golf Club at Ballantyne, and within the master planned mixed use community of Ballantyne in South Charlotte. The building is brand new. Ballantyne Corporate Park’s growth since ground breaking in 1996 has been the fastest growing office park in the region’s history. Ballantyne Corporate Park is zoned for up to 5,000,000 square feet of class A office space and currently has 3.3 million square in place. While the Hayes Building is complete and available today, Bissell Development recently topped out the Everett Building, a complimentary building located immediately adjacent to Hayes that when complete in December 2010, will allow a corporate user an expanded campus opportunity to occupy up to 300,000 square feet in two LEED registered buildings. In the last 12 months alone, Ballantyne has landed six corporate relocations, three of which were new to Charlotte, and represent in excess of 450,000 square feet of new leased office space.  

City Place
Fort Worth, Texas

Downtown Fort Worth continues to flourish, with several global headquarters and a vibrant live/work/play environment. City Place is the premier mixed-use development in Fort Worth, which is consistently rated by Moody’s as one of the top downtown business communities in the country.  Initially built by RadioShack in 1978, City Place features two 20-story towers, each with more than 300,000 square feet of Class A office space, including highly sought after plaza-level space for restaurants and retail.  Fully renovated, City Place commands views of the Fort Worth skyline and the Trinity River, faces the renowned Sundance Square, and features state-of-the-art systems and finishes on spaces ranging from 800 to 300,000 square feet.