What Moore & Van Allen's move means for Uptown and South End office markets
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The Queensbridge development's first residential tower will be completed by the end of 2025. Construction on the second high-rise, which will include MVA's office, will start right after. Photo: Alexandria Sands/Axios
Another large company is leaving Uptown for South End, but is that cause for alarm in the city's central business district?
- Local economic developers don't think so.
Why it matters: Companies keep trading Uptown for its younger, hotter neighbor. But insiders aren't worried. They see Moore & Van Allen's move as evidence of Charlotte's economy heating up and renewing demand for office space, which will trickle to Uptown's older buildings.
The big picture: Together, Uptown and South End offer complementary strengths for recruiting business. The two neighbors are blending into one large center city, especially because of projects like Queensbridge literally "bridging" the gap.
- "Uptown and South End enable Charlotte to compete better," says James LaBar, senior vice president of economic development for Charlotte Center City Partners. "It's not about competing against each other."
- Having both options "keep us on the list" for companies, LaBar says. Some other cities can't match the same variety.
The intrigue: Moore & Van Allen's signed lease at Queensbridge was the reason the developers were able to move forward with the project. The second tower — long planned to include office, next to a currently under-construction residential tower — is now confirmed to start work later this year.
- "The fact that the developer was able to secure financing to break ground on a new office building in this environment really tells you that the Charlotte economy is outperforming," says Chuck McShane, senior director of market analytics at CoStar Group.
Driving the news: The Charlotte law firm announced last month it will relocate hundreds of employees to nine floors at the top of the 43-story South End skyscraper by July 2028.
- MVA has called the Bank of America Corporate Center, Charlotte's tallest building, home since 1993. A Bank of America spokesperson says the bank hasn't determined how MVA's former space in the Corporate Center will be used come 2028.
By the numbers: MVA is increasing its office footprint with the move, shifting from its current 165,000 square feet at the Bank of America Corporate Center to 206,000 square feet on nine contiguous floors at Queensbridge.
- The largest law firm in the Carolinas, MVA has nearly 700 employees in the Charlotte market, per CBJ.
- "Our relocation ... provides us with the needed space to support our existing attorneys and employees at our historical rate of growth for years to come, and to increase our space more meaningfully as we pursue adding and expanding multiple practices," says Tom Mitchell, chair and managing partner at MVA.
Inside the room: Charlotte's newest office space is filling fast. For a tenant of MVA's size, options left in center city were limited, said Patrick Gildea, with commercial real estate agency CBRE.
- "Oftentimes you hear a dynamic around CBD versus South End," Gildea says. "I think the trend line has been more tenants going into what they see as best-in-class space. Generally speaking, the new construction has done really well in both markets."
- Once all the new buildings are full, Uptown's renovated towers will start getting more looks as the next best thing, Gildea expects.
Reality check: South End remains the most sought-after market in Charlotte, and Uptown has more drawbacks. Crime is tarnishing its reputation, which could be slowing progress toward lowering its vacancy rate, now at 24.8%, though stabilizing.
- Center City Partners and the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance held a press conference this month explaining how they're working to address safety concerns.
- CBRE's data shows the midtown submarket, which includes South End, has less space to fill than Uptown (7 million square feet versus 20 million) and a lower vacancy rate, 19.2%. Rents there are also rising faster.
- The vacancy rate is expected to tighten as new buildings, such as 110 East, fill up. That tower recently lured another Uptown law firm, Bradley.
Flashback: Alston & Bird may have started the law firm migration to South End in 2022, when it announced plans to move over 200 employees to Vantage from One South (101 S. Tryon).
- "It's a little bit counter-culture for a law firm to step out of city center," Jason Solomon, partner in charge of their Charlotte office, told Axios then. "But I will guess we will not be the last law firm to make that move."
It's noteworthy, though, that after millions in renovations, One South has rebounded. It's 76% occupied, with new major tenants like City National Bank, Dole Food Company's U.S. headquarters, Shumaker (a law firm) and Protiviti, among others.
- "That's a 57-year-old building, but it's had significant investment that has resonated with tenants," Gildea says.
What's next: It was just 15 years ago that Michael Smith, president and CEO of Charlotte Center City Partners, recalls trying to persuade banks to install an ATM in South End.
- Today, developers like Riverside are sitting on assemblages of land, waiting to capitalize on the next wave of office demand. It's only a matter of time until the line between Uptown and South End is unrecognizable.
- "These are early days in South End," Smith said. "It is and will be a distinctive asset of Charlotte."