New England Investment Properties purchased the 342,162-square-foot 121 W. Trade Street building for $32 million. The Charlotte Business Journal reports that’s less than half what it previously sold for in 2015. Lincoln Property Co. acquired the tower for $71.6 million in late 2015 on behalf of a pension fund client.

CBRE’s Patric Gildea, Matt Smith and Robert Hardaway represented Lincoln.

The tower, built in 1990, sits on a .42-acre parcel at the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets. Its 121,950 square feet, 66% of which is leased.

121 W. Trade underwent renovations in 2017, updating the lobby, common corridors and restrooms. A new tenant hub was added with conference rooms, informal and formal meeting space and a 50-person training room. Improvements also included a tenant lounge.

The building is the longtime home of the Charlotte City Club, which has been located on the 31st and 32nd floors since 1990.

When the word “medical services ” is mentioned, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient clinics and medical office buildings might come to mind.

The increased need for healthcare has led to greater space demands in this sector in recent years. According to a Cushman & Wakefield article, “an aging baby boomer cohort and the impact of a global pandemic is driving the rising demand for a wide range of medical services.”

Enter the concept of “medtail.”

Explaining Medtail

The article defined medtail as, “Healthcare services located in a retail setting.” These retail settings include strip malls, shopping centers and what Cushman & Wakefield called “shop-in-shop concepts” (such as clinics taking space in retail pharmacy centers). Tenants have included vision and dental offices, but specialty wellness services are now also growing in popularity,” the article said. Additional medtail users include:

• Occupational/physical therapy

• Holistic/alternative centers

• Veterinary and pet services

• Wellness/recovery services

Growing medtail sectors include alternative medicine, including acupuncture, homeopathy and naturopathy. The article indicated that these services include chiropractic, massage and herbal medicine.

What Landlords Should Know

On the plus side, a healthcare services tenant can help “provide creative ways for landlords to fill vacancies and generate foot traffic,” the article said. Medtail tenants are less impacted by economic cycles and can be recession-proof. Additionally, such tenants can boost foot traffic and create a new source of demand.

But retail owners need to do more than post “space available for medtail tenants.” These healthcare providers have different needs from the usual retail tenants. The article indicated that landlords should be aware of the following when considering moving into medtail leases:

• Load factors and weight constraints

The owners and landlords willing to consider medtail tenants could experience multiple advantages, including fewer vacancies and unique tenant mixes.

Colliers arranged the $13,450,000 REO sale of a 43,700-square-foot mixed-use retail/office property, 1001 Towne Ave., located in the Fashion District of Downtown Los Angeles. EVP Mark Schuessler, vice chair Sean Fulp and EVP Ryan Plummer represented the Seller.

The property offered an attractive value-added opportunity for an investor to acquire the asset with substantial in-place cash flow and additional upside by leasing up the existing vacancy, according to Colliers.

“We were thrilled to deliver a successful exit and significant recovery for the special servicer,” said Schuessler. “The auction process was a huge success with over 100 signed confidentiality agreements and a deep pool of bidder interest. This was a great example of how the auction process can work for the right assets.”

At the time of sale, 1001 Towne was 82% leased to a diverse mix of retail and wholesale apparel businesses. The property was acquired by a local private individual, represented by Mark Hong of KORUS Real Estate.