Ascent Real Estate Capital makes $5M investment in Charlotte's North End

Ascent Real Estate Capital has snapped up two retail centers in Charlotte’s North End.

The Charlotte-based firm invested $5 million into 2417 and 2729 North Tryon St. Those sites combined account for roughly 1.9 acres. They sit about one-quarter mile apart, near the intersection with Matheson Avenue. 

Each is home to an 11,000-square-foot retail center, says Jack Spencer, partner at Ascent.

Ascent saw an opportunity to provide neighborhood services while enhancing retail availability.

“We think there’s great value here. We think it’s very leasable. It’s kind of the last pocket of infill neighborhoods to experience redevelopment near uptown,” Spencer says. “We think it’s a unique opportunity.”

Those properties will remain neighborhood-service-oriented centers. That’s key as residential growth continues to surge.

“It’s an amenity for the neighborhood,” Spencer says. “When you have this many residences coming into a neighborhood, they need retail to service them.”

The properties have surface parking — something that’s becoming scarce.

Spencer says that everything from fast-casual restaurants and salons to light medical and services, such as tax or insurance, will be housed there. One center is 100% occupied; the second has one minor vacancy.

“There’ll be opportunities to bring in new tenants, extend current tenants,” he says.

Ascent plans upgrades including fresh paint to modernize the exterior. There will be improved signage, landscaping and parking lot access.

No estimate was available for what those improvements will cost. Work should start by the end of the year, Spencer says.

Mark Newell and Josh Suggs with MPV Partners represented the landlord in the transaction. Chapman Chaistain and Maxine Messina, both with Ascent, represented the buyer.

Ascent Retail has completed more than $750 million in transactions over the past eight years. It currently has $550 million in assets under management.

It targets commercial and multifamily properties that are adjacent to major public and private investment in Charlotte’s infill submarkets. Ascent's other mixed-use projects in Charlotte include The Shop, a more than 42,000-square-foot, adaptive-reuse creative office and retail project on North Graham Street; the 240-unit apartment complex Centro Montford; and Hub 933 at 933 Louise Ave., formerly home to Catawba Brewing.