The companies paid $10.25 million for a pair of parcels at 401 Hillsborough St. and 17 S. West St.,according to a deed filed Dec. 17 in Wake County.Northpond Partners Managing Principal Sam Ankin said they have no plans for any major near term changes to the property, which is currently 100 percent occupied.
The property currently features the Exploris Middle School and five other tenants. It’s zoned for mixed-use development up to 20 stories tall. Ankin said they will likely seek some kind of rezoning.
“Reuse of the building is under consideration. Obviously with everything going on right now, it’s a site that makes sense for more dense development,” Ankin said.
The property is situated on 0.7 acres next to The Fallon Company’sRaleigh Crossing development and south of the 400H building on Hillsborough Street. It’s also near the Holiday Inn Downtown Raleigh –which recently sold to a New York developer. The sale makes up two of six parcels on the block, though the bulk of the size.
The two firms bought the properties from Raleigh-based 401 Hillsborough LLC,managed by Frank Gailor of Hedgehog Holdings. Gailor’s ownership of the land appears to go back decades, according to county records.
Northpond Partners of Chicago and and Loden Properties, based in Raleigh, have been buying properties in the Triangle together for years, with recent purchases includingSouth Hills Mall and Plazain Cary and505 W. Franklin St.among others.
Additionally, the companies have bought and sold several sites now slated for major downtown developments. Years ago, the companies bought the 400 Hillsborough assemblage before later selling it to an LLC managed byGregg Sandreuterfor what would become the 400H mixed-use development.That project is currently underway.
Elsewhere in Raleigh, the companiesbought and soldthe site of the Creamery Building in Glenwood South. The buyer, Turnbridge Equities of New York, hassince filed plansto bring two mixed-use towers to the site and hopes to start work on the development next summer.
