One Wells Fargo Center
Map
General information
TypeOffice
Architectural stylePostmodern
Location301 South College Street
Charlotte, North Carolina, United States
Coordinates35°13′26″N 80°50′41″W / 35.223805°N 80.844616°W / 35.223805; -80.844616
Construction started1985
Completed1988
OpeningSeptember 14, 1988
Owner301 College Street Center LLC[3]
ManagementChildress Klein Properties
Height
Roof588 feet (179 m)[1]
Technical details
Floor count42
Floor area994,033 square feet (92,348.7 m2)[2]
Design and construction
Architect(s)HLM Design, JPJ Architects
DeveloperChildress Klein Properties
Other information
ParkingOn site parking garage
Public transit accessLight rail interchange 3rd Street/CC
References
Emporis,[4] Childress Klein[5]

One Wells Fargo Center is a 588-foot (179 m) skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina[1] and is the headquarters for Wells Fargo's east coast division[4][6] but will leave the building by the end of 2023.[7] Opening on September 14, 1988, it was the tallest building in North Carolina, until 1992 when it was surpassed by the Bank of America Corporate Center.[4] The building consists of 42 floors, a connected 22-story Hilton Hotel, YMCA, parking garage, plaza, and is connected to Two Wells Fargo Center via skybridge, as part of the Overstreet Mall.

History

In July 1985, Trammell Crow Co. and Norfolk Southern Corp. announced plans for the block between College and Brevard Streets and between 2nd and 3rd Streets. First Union Center, named for its main occupant, would include an 850,000 square feet (79,000 m2) 34-story granite and glass skyscraper[8] called Two First Union Center, which was to be Art Deco and the city's first postmodernist office tower. The project would also include a hotel, two office buildings and a park. Unlike nearby buildings with flat roofs, the JPJ Architects design used a roof where "[t]he top is rounded, a bold arch rising above the setback sections that enliven the principal facade ... this one looks like an old radio".[9] The first office tower was to start construction in December 1985 and be complete in 1987.[8]

By mid-1986, Two First Union Center had been changed to a 42-story building, to be Charlotte's tallest,[10] and by December, when NCNB and Charter Properties announced an even taller building, First Union's new headquarters was called One First Union Center.[11] The $100 million One First Union Center became the city's tallest building on August 21, 1987, with the pouring of concrete for the 41st floor–ending NCNB Plaza's 13-year reign as the tallest building in both Charlotte and the Carolinas.[12] When First Union employees began moving into the new building in February 1988, the name Two First Union Center referred to the bank's previous headquarters on Tryon Street.[13]

As of May 13, 1988, a foundation was in place for the planned hotel, expected to be 19 stories and 250 rooms, but Trammell Crow had not yet submitted plans to the county's building standards department. Omni Hotels was said to be interested in the site.[14] On October 18, 1990, the 22-story, 410-room Omni Charlotte held a ribbon cutting, though only eight floors of rooms were ready and fourteen stories had been completed. Omni president Bill Sheehan called it "probably our finest facility".[15] In 1996, The Yarmouth Group bought the Omni for $33 million and changed it to a Westin. In 1998, Hilton Hotels bought the hotel for about twice that much.[16] The hotel is now Hilton Charlotte Center City.

After First Union's purchase of Wachovia in 2001, and subsequent adoption of Wachovia's name in 2002, One First Union's name changed to One Wachovia Center.[17]

Three Wells Fargo Center (left) and One Wells Fargo Center (back) as seen from the Mint Museum courtyard steps.

In 2007, Wachovia announced that it would be moving its headquarters to the new Wachovia Corporate Center, scheduled for completion in 2010.[18] After Wells Fargo announced its purchase of Wachovia in 2008, Duke Energy announced plans to take more space in the new building. In February 2009, Duke announced it would occupy the Duke Energy Center, formerly the Wachovia Corporate Center, as its corporate headquarters.[19]

In December 2010, the building was renamed to One Wells Fargo Center.[20] It houses the Wells Fargo East Coast Division. On June 14, 2012, Azrieli Group Ltd. of Israel announced it was buying the building for $245 million.[21]

Although Wells Fargo is the largest tenant, with 686,834 square feet (63,809.0 m2), or 70 percent of the space, and the namesake of the building, it is occupied by several large North Carolina businesses and national law firms.[22][23][24] Wells Fargo Center also includes Two Wells Fargo Center, Three Wells Fargo Center, the Hilton hotel, and a 58 unit condominium complex.[5]

In November 2012 it was announced that 1,500 Wells Fargo Securities employees would be relocated from the building to 550 South Tryon into a new 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) space. This space in 550 South Tryon was originally intended to be a trading floor when 550 South Tryon was planned to be the new headquarters of Wachovia Corp. before the company was purchased by Wells Fargo.[25]

Starwood Capital Group of Greenwich, Connecticut and Vision Properties of Mountain Lakes, New Jersey announced plans to buy the building in February 2013. The $245 million deal closed in April.[22] The building was sold again in March 2016 for $284 million.[3]

Wells Fargo announced it would exit its lease of the building at the end of 2021. Currently it is the largest tenant with 500,000 square feet (46,000 m2). The company has been consolidating its Charlotte footprint with leasing the entire 300 South Brevard building,[26] expanding their employee space at the Duke Energy Center following Duke's departure,[27] and relocating additional employees in Three Wells Fargo Center. Wells Fargo's departure will leave several large blocks of continuous space available which will include 224,776 square feet (20,882.4 m2) on floors 7 to 14, 148,469 square feet (13,793.2 m2) on 15 to 21, 59,132 square feet (5,493.5 m2) on 30 to 32 and 47,403 square feet (4,403.9 m2) on the top floors, 40 to 42.[28]

In February 2022 it was announced that Cushman & Wakefield will be handling leasing for the building. The building's landlord, Vision Properties, is almost finished with their $10 million renovations of the building. The renovations include improving the building's lobby, improvements to the outdoor plaza, and converting the top two floors into an amenity center. At the time of the announcement the building had a vacancy of 400,000 square feet (37,000 m2).[29]

In January 2023 Wells Fargo announced it would leave One Wells Fargo Center and Two Wells Fargo Center.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "One Wells Fargo Center". Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  2. ^ Sharipo, Amy (22 October 2022). "Charlotte's largest office buildings". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b Fahey, Ashley (March 29, 2016). "One Wells Fargo Center sold for $284 million". Charlotte Business Journal.
  4. ^ a b c "One Wachovia Center". Emporis. Emporis Corporation. Archived from the original on February 19, 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  5. ^ a b "Property Profile: One Wachovia Center". Childress Klein Properties. Archived from the original on 2007-11-09. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  6. ^ "Company Information". Wachovia Corporation. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  7. ^ a b Graham, Symone (31 January 2023). "Wells Fargo to fill former Duke Energy building and invest in University-area campus". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  8. ^ a b Katherine White, "N.C.-Held Firm Could Erect Obstacle for Downtown Project," The Charlotte Observer, October 3, 1985.
  9. ^ Richard Maschal, "New High-Rise to Reach into History", The Charlotte Observer, July 11, 1985.
  10. ^ Wendy McBane, "College Street Reemerges", The Charlotte Observer, June 14, 1986.
  11. ^ M.S. Van Hecke, "$300 Million Complex Will Rise 50 Stories", The Charlotte Observer, December 11, 1986.
  12. ^ David Perlmutt, "Hitting New Heights: First Union Gets Tall Bragging Rights", The Charlotte Observer, August 21, 1987.
  13. ^ M.S. Van Hecke, "First Union Moving into New Tower,"The Charlotte Observer, February 6, 1988.
  14. ^ Ron Stodghill II, "3rd St. Likely Omni Hotel Site," The Charlotte Observer, May 14, 1988.
  15. ^ Rob Urban, "Another Set Fire Mars Hotel Opening," The Charlotte Observer, October 19, 1990.
  16. ^ Doug Smith, "Back Uptown: Omni to Buy Radisson," The Charlotte Observer, December 9, 1998.
  17. ^ Tannenbaum, Fred (2002-01-18). "Wachovia Renames Charlotte's First Union Buildings". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  18. ^ "Wachovia to move top execs to new building". Charlotte Business Journal. American City Business Journals, Inc. 2007-08-21. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  19. ^ Downey, John (2009-02-26). "Duke moves HQs to Wachovia tower". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
  20. ^ Rothacker, Rick (2010-12-14). "Wells Fargo changing names of uptown towers". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 2010-12-21.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ Andrew Dunn, "Israeli group to buy One Wells Fargo in $245 million deal," The Charlotte Observer, June 15, 2012.
  22. ^ a b Boye, Will (2013-04-16). "Starwood, Vision Equities buy One Wells Fargo for $245 million". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  23. ^ "One First Union Center". Civil Engineering Trails. American Society of Civil Engineers. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  24. ^ "Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice Charlotte Office Detail". Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice. Archived from the original on 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  25. ^ O'Daniel, Adam (29 November 2012). "Wells Fargo Securities moving into new, larger Charlotte home". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  26. ^ Fahey, Ashley (15 July 2020). "RENDERINGS: Uptown tower to undergo overhaul as Wells Fargo set to leave big vacancy". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  27. ^ Fahey, Ashley (2021-05-17). "Duke Energy to exit current HQ building in uptown after company's new tower delivers". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 2021-05-17.
  28. ^ Fahey, Ashley (15 July 2020). "RENDERINGS: Uptown tower to undergo overhaul as Wells Fargo set to leave big vacancy". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  29. ^ Huguley, Collin (14 February 2022). "Cushman & Wakefield takes over leasing at One Wells Fargo Center as renovations near end". Charlotte Business Journal. Retrieved 3 October 2022.

External links

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Preceded byBank of America Plaza Tallest Building in Charlotte 1988—1992179 m Succeeded byBank of America Corporate Center
Skyscrapers in Charlotte
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