Flushed with Liquidity Crown Realty & Development Acquires New Project in Charlotte, North Carolina and Forges Ahead with Several Other New Developments, Including Phoenix's Landmark City North

PHOENIX, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Costa Mesa based Crown Realty & Development is pleased to announce its newest acquisition, the Corning Optical Communications headquarters building in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The property is improved with more than 182,000-square-feet and was completed in 2019. The build-to-suit project is a five-story Class A office building and situated on 11.71 acres. It features modern creative office finishes, an expansive two-story lobby, a green roof on the third floor, and View Dynamic Glass glazing on the exterior glass, which allows users to control window tint and eliminate shades.

The project is currently 100% leased to Corning Optical Communications, on a triple net lease, as its newly relocated, mission critical, corporate headquarters and is guaranteed by its investment-grade parent, Corning, Inc. Corning Optical Communications is the largest operating segment of Corning, Inc., and the group develops and manufactures fiber optic communication systems solutions for voice, data, and video networks.

The deal was previously under contract and fell out of escrow as the buyer lost its nerve due to the upheaval in the capital markets related to COVID-19. Crown was able to quickly capitalize on the situation and provide the seller assurance of close with an all-cash offer and going $3 million non-refundable on the signing of the PSA followed by a short, fifteen-day closing. The acquisition complements Crown's existing portfolio of mission critical long-term, net leased investments to investment-grade companies (no retail).

Coming into the COVID-19 crisis, Crown's principals had built up a store house of cash and lines of credit, positioning the company to forge ahead with its development projects and new acquisitions of commercial real estate.

Crown's very strong and stable financial position allows the real estate company to continue moving ahead with its development projects — including the City North mixed-use project in north Phoenix —execute new deals. Widely considered to be one of the finest pieces of real estate in Arizona the nearly 100-acre City North, with over 5 million square feet of entitlement, sits at the confluence of the highly-trafficked Loop 101 and 51 Freeways in the rapidly growing Desert Ridge region in North Phoenix.  

This comes as other companies and industries are stressed by the economic fallout from the Coronavirus. While many buyers have been sidelined due to COVID-19, Crown remains open and is actively looking to transact. Its liquidity and reliance only on its own capital enables Crown to acquire assets all-cash, providing sellers with certainty of close and quick closing timeframes. 

"As is the case with the Corning acquisition, our financial strength and stability have our company positioned for more acquisitions as we continue to forge ahead with City North and other projects," said Robert Flaxman, Founder and CEO of Crown Realty & Development.

Flaxman pointed to Crown's financial position at the City North development in Phoenix. The real estate company funded its acquisitions of the land and infrastructure development without debt.

"Contractors will be paid on time because we have no debt at City North and have funded every penny from cash," Flaxman said.

Construction is underway at the Crown's ambitious City North development fronting the Loop 101 in north Phoenix. The 100-acre property is adjacent to the existing Desert Ridge Marketplace and High Street retail, office and residential communities near Tatum Boulevard and the Loop 101.

Coined the 'City of the Future', City North will include 2 million square feet of Class A Office space, 2,600 residential units, 500 hotel rooms and 100,000 square feet for restaurants and retail.

Crown also developed the Omni Montelucia Resort and spearheaded the redevelopment of Mountain Shadows in Paradise Valley.

Crown is currently looking for other transactions that fit this criteria:

For more information or to view Crown's current portfolio visit https://crowndev.com/.  For media inquiries please contact Jennifer Parks-Sturgeon at [email protected] or by phone at (480) 495-3806.

SOURCE Crown Realty & Development

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