137 East Franklin now named “The Central” with new management, improvements in the works

The Chapel Hill, North Carolina, landmark, 137 East Franklin, owned by ATCO and Zapolski Real Estate, is undergoing massive renovations and rebranding efforts and has officially been renamed The Central. Along with its new name and improvements, the property is also under new management with Trinity Partners.

“Given we have been active in the Chapel Hill market as owners of real estate for over thirty years we recognize that few properties in the area are as iconic as 137 East Franklin,” Todd C. Zapolski, managing member of Zapolski Real Estate, said. “Since its development in the late ‘70’s the two-tower property has been a dominant and key part of what is downtown Chapel Hill. Upon our purchase of the property including the parking garage on Rosemary Street in 2014, we have set out to create a dynamic new chapter for what is the central point of the connection between Town and Gown along with connection of Franklin and Rosemary Streets.”

The Franklin Street side of the building has been renovated to include a new, modern clean-lined exterior façade with an updated lobby. The top floor space, with panoramic views of Chapel Hill, has been gutted and common area upgrades are in process, as well as a tenant upfit, for half of that floor. The common area improvements on all other floors will follow suit with upgraded, high-end modern finishes. The Central will provide collaborative and innovative work spaces to cultivate creativity.

Trinity Partners’ Esther Austin and Alex Dunn are the leasing brokers for the property, and as of Feb. 1, 2018, Trinity Partners is now also responsible for property management.

The Central is the only building that extends between Franklin Street and Rosemary Street and has access to two of the most well-known and recognized streets in Chapel Hill. The property’s prominent location in the heart of downtown gives tenants easy access to popular local amenities from casual and hip new eateries to classic fine dining and retail that serve as a magnet for tenants and their employees. The building is also just steps away from the heart of UNC’s campus.

“We are thrilled to be marketing the newly rebranded The Central – the newest office destination for innovative, forward-thinking companies who want to take advantage of the many resources and experiences that downtown Chapel Hill has to offer,” Trinity Partners’ Esther Austin said.

The property consists of seven stories on Rosemary Street and three stories on Franklin Street. With more than 90,000 SF of office space available for lease, the building’s unique design offers a multitude of extraordinarily creative office space options for tenants. Its generous glassline provides an abundance of natural light and panoramic views of downtown Chapel Hill and surrounding areas. The Rosemary Street level space offers rare opportunity for office or retail tenants seeking street-level visibility, ease of access, and the exposure that storefront glass affords. The parking deck, just across Rosemary and connected to the building by an over-street walkway, offers an opportunity for convenient and economical employee parking.

ATCO
ATCO is a real estate investment and ownership platform deploying capital in select cities across the United States, with an emphasis on value-add opportunities in urban locations. We seek to improve people’s lives by creating places that they genuinely want to work, play, or live, and by doing our work with a long-term perspective.

Through eight decades and four generations, ATCO has owned, managed, and developed a diverse real estate portfolio, primarily in and around New York City and in select markets we target. ATCO presently owns and manages more than 20 buildings ranging from high-rise office and residential towers to retail properties, from one-story industrial structures to high tech flex buildings. The portfolio of New York City properties includes: 555 Fifth Avenue, 40 Central Park South, 41 West 58th Street, 630 Third Avenue, 381 and 373 Park Avenue South, 515 Madison Avenue and the Atlas Terminals. Nationally, the company owns properties in Austin, Texas; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; Darien, Stamford and Westport, Connecticut; Baltimore, Maryland; and Orlando, Florida. Internationally, ATCO has investments in seven European countries.

Zapolski Real Estate
Zapolski Real Estate (ZRE) is a Triangle based company with its principal investing in the Triangle’s commercial real estate market for nearly 40 years. ZRE has offices in North Carolina and California with $350mm+ assets in those two states. The NC portfolio contains nearly a half million SF of office and retail assets.

Trinity Partners
Trinity Partners is a full-service commercial real estate firm serving corporate users and institutional owners throughout the United States, with nine service lines ranging from landlord and tenant representation to property management and investment sales. Trinity currently leases and/or manages over 16 million square feet of space across the region through our three offices in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, and Greenville, South Carolina.