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Charlotte Business Journal
New CEO tapped for packaging giant
Sealed Air Corp. (NYSE: SEE) has appointed a new CEO, roughly six months after the abrupt exit of its previous chief executive. <\p> The company announced yesterday that its board of directors has elected Patrick Kivits to the role. He will take the reins July 1, according to a press release; Kivits will serve on the board as well. <\p>
CEO exits telecom after two years at helm
A Charlotte technology and telecommunications company has named a new leader. <\p> Segra said yesterday it has appointed Kevin Anderson as its next CEO, effective immediately. He succeeds Kevin Hart, who the company says is retiring after serving as chief executive since 2022. Hart had previously spent 14 years as executive vice president, chief product officer and chief technology officer at Cox Communications, a telecom giant that bought Segra in October 2021. <\p>
Airline keeps growing at CLT
Frontier Airlines (NASDAQ: ULCC) is adding its 10th new route at Charlotte Douglas International Airport so far this year.<\p> The Denver-based airline has added Boston Logan International Airport to its lineup of nonstop flights from Charlotte Douglas, it said yesterday in a news release. Service on that daily route will begin Aug. 13. It will fly year round, Frontier confirmed. <\p>
How $1.5B campus could shift economic fortunes
Charlotte’s first four-year medical school and innovation district, The Pearl, was designed as a world-class destination for education, health care, entrepreneurial activity, and research and development. But those involved with the project say it is poised to be much more.<\p> The $1.5 billion development will span 700,000 square feet across 20 acres at Baxter and South McDowell streets, near the city’s historic former Brooklyn neighborhood. It is expected to deliver next spring.<\p>
Most Americans still struggle to get away from work while on vacation
Most Americans struggle to get away from work while on vacation, even as some progress is being seen in restoring work-life balance.<\p> About 59% of the 2,000 Americans surveyed by communications firm Movchan Agency said they struggled to switch off during their downtime and 63% said they felt anxious if they didn’t check work emails while away. Overall, 54% said they worked while on vacation, although that's a lower share than previous years. <\p>
Where office leasing is on rise
Commercial real estate brokerage CBRE's Charlotte office has signed more than 440,000 square feet in office lease deals so far this year. <\p> Joe Franco, CBRE senior vice president, said that's more than double the amount signed during the same period in 2023. Since the start of 2024, Franco said the firm has inked 441,757 square feet in new leases, renewals and expansions in Charlotte, with at least 10 more deals set to close before the end of the second quarter. Through the second week in June 2023, CBRE closed about 246,000 square feet in lease deals.<\p>
Telecom firm gets $5.6M expansion boost
A rapidly growing broadband and telecom services provider in Charlotte recently secured about $5.6 million in grant funding to expand its fiber network in nine new markets across Indiana. <\p> Brightspeed was awarded the money by Indiana's Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program — an initiative created to improve broadband access and adoption in the state. The telecom company announced the funding today. <\p>
Pins Mechanical adding second venue here
Pins Mechanical Co. has snapped up space for a second location in Charlotte.<\p> Parent company Rise Brands will add a more than 20,000-square-foot venue in Optimist Park. It will take over the ground floor of the historic Chadbourn Mill as well as the boiler room building. Pins Mechanical is targeting a late 2025 opening there.<\p>
Coworking operator bets on Charlotte
A Greenville, South Carolina-based operator of flexible office space has added another location in the Charlotte area. Tyler Evans' new Venture X location at 885 Gold Hill Road in Fort Mill added 18,000 square feet of flex coworking space to his portfolio. And Evans is not done growing his footprint here.<\p> Evans' Gold Hill Road location recently opened at the Wilson Farms development and includes 85 offices. That location features private and virtual offices, desk space as well as training and conference rooms. Evans also owns Venture X at The Refinery on West Morehead Street in Charlotte. He owns the Office Evolution coworking space on David Taylor Drive near UNC Charlotte as well.<\p>
PHOTOS: NFL player selling Charlotte home
A former Carolina Panthers linebacker is looking to sell his home in Plaza Midwood for more than $4 million.<\p> A.J. Klein, most recently with the Buffalo Bills, put the property on Cramer Pond Drive up for sale at $4.19 million in late May. The 6,200-square-foot home, near Charlotte Country Club, has six bedrooms and six-and-a-half bathrooms.<\p>
Bankruptcy shakes up South End project
A New York coliving operator recently filed for bankruptcy just weeks before its South End apartment community is set to open. Its local developer, Morningstar Properties, has stepped in to take over management.<\p> Common Living — often described as a coliving pioneer — was behind the leasing and management of Foster Flats at 201 Foster Ave., set to open this summer. But the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on May 31 with plans to liquidate all of its assets.<\p>
PHOTOS: Telecom doubles size of data center here
Charlotte-based Segra, a telecommunications firm, unveiled this week its newly expanded $10 million data center. The 14,000-square-foot space at 3101 International Airport Drive in Charlotte is double the size of its previous facility.<\p> It's a key growth move for Segra, creating opportunities for colocation and private cloud services, and multi-cloud exchange access with maximum reliability and availability for data processing and computing demands. The firm's business clients will also have access to backup, cloud and security services that can be facilitated within the larger data center, Kevin Hart, CEO at Segra said at a ribbon-cutting event on June 12.<\p>
Builder plots community of $1M homes
Fortune 500 homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) is adding a new project to its Charlotte-area portfolio.<\p> Construction and sales will begin this fall on Toll Brothers' Luna Estates community in Weddington. Union County real estate records show Toll Brothers acquired the 29-acre Luna Estates project site in late March for nearly $3 million. The community is at 5932 Weddington Matthews Road. The large-lot project will include 18 homes with prices starting in the $1.1 million range. <\p>
Public hearing added on stadium vote
City Council’s economic development committee voted Wednesday to send a proposal to pay for NFL stadium renovations to the full council for a decision. That decision is scheduled for council’s meeting on June 24.<\p> The committee also reversed course and disclosed plans for a separate public hearing on the possible commitment of $650 million from taxpayers for the stadium. The hearing will be June 17 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Government Center. Previously, city administrators and council planned to limit public response to a stadium-survey website started June 3 as well as comments at the June 24 meeting prior to council’s vote.<\p>
The Playbook: The common pay threads for high-performing companies
Editor's Note: Welcome to The Playbook Edition, a look at stories, trends and changes that could affect your business and career. Want more stories like this in your inbox? Sign up for The Playbook newsletter. <\p> During a time when more workers expect transparency around pay, most top-performing companies are proving to be forthcoming — but that's not the only common thread. <\p>
NAR settlement threw a wrench into VA loans but a fix is coming
The class-action lawsuits that rocked the residential real estate industry over the past year have resulted in nearly $1 billion in settlements so far — and also put in place changes that could have hurt veterans’ ability to shop for homes.<\p> The National Association of Realtors and big brokers such as RE/MAX Holdings Inc., Anywhere Real Estate Inc. and Keller Williams Realty Inc. agreed to prohibit mandatory so-called “cooperation agreements,” in which sellers pay both the selling agent and the buyers agent commission for a sale, in exchange for being allowed to list a home on a multiple listing service.<\p>
Company that failed to deliver here is bankrupt
Arrival, the electric vehicle startup that made significant commitments in the Charlotte region, is bankrupt after years of financial struggles.<\p> The company announced this week that it filed for bankruptcy on May 16 in Luxembourg, where Arrival is based. Arrival was declared bankrupt by a Luxembourg court on May 22. The disclosure came after Arrival sold its manufacturing assets in the U.K. and U.S. to Torrance, California-based Canoo Inc.<\p>
Charlotte man guilty in investment scheme
A Charlotte man pleaded guilty today to wire fraud related to a fraudulent investment scheme that saw more than 100 victims lose almost $700,000. Frank Lynold Mercado, 26, of Charlotte, pleaded guilty to the charge in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.<\p> Plea documents, as well as the day's court proceedings, showed Mercado's scheme ran from July 2019 to December 2022. During that time, he made fraudulent investments, causing friends, former co-workers and other acquaintances to lose a combined $700,000. <\p>
Charlotte golf major seeks diverse vendors
The PGA of America is looking for locally owned, diverse small businesses to work on the PGA Championship. Quail Hollow Club is hosting the tournament, one of the four major championships in men’s golf, next May.<\p> Charlotte first hosted the PGA Championship in 2017. Estimated economic impact was $100 million, or $128 million adjusted for inflation.<\p>
Dallas developer adds to Charlotte office
Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. is positioning its Charlotte office for growth in multifamily development. The global commercial real estate development company earlier this month hired Tom Burr as senior vice president. Burr will be responsible for multifamily development opportunities here for the company's subsidiary, High Street Residential.<\p> Burr previously worked for Flournoy Development Group where he was the lead developer on more than 2,700 multifamily units throughout the Carolinas and Virginia that totaled more than $800 million.<\p>
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