Press Releases

Construction of the 800,000 square-foot building at the corner of Second and Tryon streets will begin tomorrow and is expected to be complete by the fourth quarter of 1999. First Union will occupy 400,000 square feet of the facility, which will include a 900-car parking garage, as well as restaurant and retail space. It will be the third-largest building in Uptown Charlotte.

One of the most striking design features of the building will be a pedestrian arcade of retail shops at street level that runs along Second Street between College and South Tryon. The sidewalks along Second Street will be widened to at least 12 feet to accommodate trees on both sides.

These features were designed to complement the open-air plazas at One and Two First Union centers, creating a people friendly link between College and South Tryon streets that has been envisioned by urban planners for a decade.

"We're pleased that the growth of First Union has given us this opportunity to boost further development on South Tryon Street," said Mac Everett, president of First Union National Bank in North Carolina. "It's been rewarding to see how the public has embraced the First Union Plaza and Atrium since we opened it in 1990. And now we're excited to enter the new century with another major project that enhances the convention center and other investments in the South End."

Mayor Patrick McCrory said, "We're extremely proud of First Union's continued investment in our city. This beautiful new building is a great addition to our skyline and is a symbol of the thousands of First Union employees who are helping our city prosper."

Rob Walsh, president of Charlotte Center City Partners, said the project would spark a renewal on South Tryon, bringing new business and enlivening the city.

The high-rise office building is the fifth major development in Uptown Charlotte by Childress Klein Properties' managing partners, J. Donald Childress and Fred W. Klein. Childress and Klein also developed Charlotte Plaza, One First Union Center, the Westin Hotel and BellSouth Plaza.

"We are delighted to be expanding our business relationship with First Union and think this project will be one in which the entire community can take pride," Klein said. "We also are excited about being able to offer an additional 400,000 square feet of multi-tenant office space on the best available site in Uptown," added Childress Klein partner Tom Coyle.

As part of the transaction, Childress Klein will purchase the land from First Union Corporation. First Union's role in the project is being managed by Joe Tronco, senior vice president of the company's Corporate Real Estate Division.

The architect of the project is Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates, Inc., of Atlanta. Since its organization in 1968, the firm has designed more than 100 million square feet of a variety of project types with more than $3.0 billion in construction cost, including the new Charlotte Convention Center, the Carillon building and NationsBank Plaza. The building is being constructed through a joint venture between Batson Cook Company of Atlanta, and Shelco, Inc. of Charlotte.

The exterior of the building will be a combination of warm gray limestone and architectural concrete. Inside, the lobby will feature granite flooring and cherry wall paneling. The building's base and first nine stories will have large 43,000 square-foot floor plates to accommodate First Union's needs, while the mid-rise and high-rise floors will have 23,000 square-foot floor plates.

Possible First Union groups to use the building may include the Capital Management Group, the area of the company that includes trust, brokerage, mutual funds, annuities and other financial planning products, or First Union Capital Markets Corporation, the investment banking group that serves primarily middle market companies. The building will also likely include a First Union bank branch.

When the move into the new building is complete, First Union's total square footage occupied Uptown will be more than 2 million square feet. Combined with First Union's 2 million square feet at University Research Park, the company will occupy a total of 4 million square feet in Mecklenburg County. Currently, First Union has almost 14,000 employees in the county.

Charlotte-based First Union Corporation is the nation's sixth-largest bank, with assets of $143 billion at June 30, 1997. First Union serves 12 million retail and commercial customers and has offices throughout the East Coast from Florida to Connecticut.

Childress Klein Properties is one of the largest real estate development companies in the Southeast. The company is active in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia through offices in Charlotte, Atlanta and Richmond. With assets approaching $1 billion, the partners of Childress Klein Properties have nearly 100 years of collective experience and have developed more than 20 million square feet of buildings in the Southeastern United States. Properties include office buildings, warehouses, manufacturing facilities, distribution facilities, hotels, shopping center and business parks.

Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates, Inc. is the nation's fifth largest architectural firm, based on billings. The firm has received more than 130 national and local design awards for planning, architecture and interior design excellence, including a national First Place Award for Corporate Office Design in 1993 from the American Society of Interior Designers for interior design of the TVS & Associates home office in Atlanta.

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