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-foot 34-story granite and glass skyscraper 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 "he top is rounded, a bold arch rising above the setback sections that enliven the principal facade ... this one looks like an old radio". The first office tower was to start construction in December 1985 and be complete in 1987.
By mid-1986, Two First Union Center had been changed to a 42-story building, to be Charlotte's tallest, and by December, when NCNB and Charter Properties announced an even taller building, First Union's new headquarters was called One First Union Center. 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. 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.
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. 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". 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.
After the 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.
In 2007, Wachovia announced that it would be moving its headquarters to the new Wachovia Corporate Center, scheduled for completion in 2010. In February 2009, Duke Energy announced it would occupy the Duke Energy Center, formerly the Wachovia Corporate Center, as its corporate headquarters.
In December 2010, the building was renamed to One Wells Fargo Center. 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.
Although Wells Fargo is the largest tenant, with 686,834 square feet, 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. Wells Fargo Center also includes Two Wells Fargo Center, Three Wells Fargo Center, the Hilton hotel, and a 58 unit condominium complex.
Starwood Capital Group of Greenwich, Connecticut and Vision Equities of Mountain Lakes, New Jersey announced plans to buy the building in February 2013. The $245 million deal closed in April.
Read more about this topic: One Wells Fargo Center
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