REV, NEIP Join Forces to Support Uptown Charlotte

At its debut, 121 W. Trade was a 462-foot-tall emblem of Charlotte’s banking boom. In its heyday, the tower stood among America’s tallest financial landmarks. But momentum weakened under successive shocks. The 2008 financial crisis drove mergers and a rush to cheaper suburban campuses, and the COVID-19 pandemic lifted fully remote work from 17 percent to 44 percent, sending vacancy rates skyward and valuations into free fall. For years, the gleaming 33-story tower sat underutilized as lenders shelved any deal that felt too distressed.

Connecticut-based New England Investment Partners (NEIP) didn’t acquire 121 W. Trade merely as another line item on its balance sheet. For co-principal Jon Marcus, the tower is the city’s living room. He imagines morning meetups at Reid’s Fine Foods, where baristas know your name; team tee-offs on the in-house golf simulator; and dealmakers unwinding at the private City Club atop the tower. “I didn’t invest in square feet,” Marcus said. “I invested in a corner where community happens.”

Armed with healthy rent rolls, conservative cap-rate stress tests and three years of rising occupancy, Marcus pitched the project to several national banks. Each institution conducted deep-dive underwriting, covenant analysis and endless presentations — only to balk when its board closed ranks. Lenders warned that underwriting any big downtown office deal was a surefire way to get burned. “Everybody was painting with a very broad brush,” Marcus said.

One lender underwrote the deal, invested untold team hours and ticked every box, then vetoed financing without ever reviewing the asset’s merits. Marcus estimates they lost six weeks chasing phantom approvals. In an era of hybrid schedules and uncertainty about returning to the office, any loan for a major downtown asset was viewed as a reputational risk and deemed a bridge too far. By contrast, where others saw only danger, REV saw opportunity in those same hesitations and cut through paralysis.

Credit unions aren’t exactly known for big commercial loans, let alone a multi-million-dollar tower in downtown Charlotte. And REV does not hide behind opaque approval layers. “Scott went right to the top, bringing in every decision-maker from day one,” Marcus said. “They didn’t hide behind black boxes or layered boards. Once they understood our upside and protections, it was a no-brainer.”

Marcus is referring to Scott Vasquez, REV’s commercial relationship manager, and the Business Solutions team led by Vice President of Commercial Services Russell Rose. With Rose’s support, Vasquez escalated the pitch directly to the executive leadership team, including President and CEO Jason Lee, COO Tara Smith and CFO Russell E. Gahagan. He laid out 121 W. Trade’s risks and opportunities, walked through net operating income forecasts, loan-to-value ratios and third-party appraisal valuations, and detailed the building’s collateral strength and the guardrails protecting both parties. He then asked if anyone had reservations about a loan of this size. The executive team was on board to proceed.

“From the outset, our focus was two-fold: protect REV’s capital and structure financing, terms and covenants that give NEIP the capacity to pursue its growth objectives,” Rose said. “We conducted a thorough mutual review, stress-testing cash flows, fine-tuning covenant triggers and aligning on collateral parameters until both sides were fully comfortable. NEIP secured the flexible, growth-oriented terms it needed, and REV locked in strong collateral behind an experienced borrower.”

“They spoke the truth about potential hurdles and flagged them early so we could solve them together,” Marcus said. “That level of transparency took the stress out of the process. And because they didn’t have endless layers of signoffs, we were able to move quickly and avoid what could have been months of red tape in favor of a smooth, sub-two-month close.”

With executive approval in hand, the entire Business Solutions team took over to power the transaction across the finish line. Commercial Loan Operations Manager Greg Anderson led underwriting, cutting through bottlenecks and heading off emerging risks. Commercial Processing Supervisor Anna Gebhardt marshaled her staff to clear documentation hurdles and guide the loan through closing and funding. Backed by roughly 250 years of combined experience, the compact 13 person team met the loan’s scale and complexity with steady confidence and remained nimble at every juncture.

Analysts, credit officers and operations staff worked in lockstep, mapping appraisal requirements, reconciling last-minute paperwork and fielding questions as they arose. Titles and egos fell away in service of NEIP’s vision: each team member stepped up, tackled obstacles head-on and delivered the deal from concept to close.

Such boldness could not have come at a better time. Just across the street, Charlotte Center City Partners is converting underused pavements into pop-up markets and pocket parks under its Public Realm and Center City Vibrancy initiatives, and First Ward Park has doubled its green footprint. Midmorning queues form outside Reid’s Fine Foods, and sidewalks hum with business breakfasts. By afternoon, the tower’s gym hums with energy, and showers and locker rooms invite workers to break a sweat before returning to meetings. On the 32nd floor, the private City Club hosts investor roundtables and nonprofit fundraisers. Even the golf simulator, once a novelty, is now a favored spot for cross-department brainstorms.

“We structure transactions not just for balance-sheet strength but for community impact,” Rose said. “When we underwrite a project like 121 W. Trade, it’s more than a loan. It’s our way of supporting the entrepreneur pursuing a new idea and the families who call this neighborhood home. We see it as investing in Charlotte’s next chapter, where businesses and communities become stronger and more resilient together.”

REV’s backing has rekindled confidence among brokers and local officials. With McColl Park set to open steps away and the LYNX light-rail line linking Uptown to South End, 121 W. Trade now stitches together Charlotte’s cultural, transit and green-space ambitions. A building once deemed too risky has become a hub of street-level commerce and civic programming, proof that finance, when guided by community values, can rewrite a neighborhood’s narrative.

On the corner of Trade and Tryon, the tower’s next chapter is already in motion. Rather than leaving tenant mix to chance, NEIP is assembling an ecosystem designed to hum from dawn through dusk. Specialized law firms and regional accounting practices will anchor the upper floors with between 2,000 and 12,000 square feet each. On mid-levels, elevator engineers, nuclear-waste decommissioners and data-analytics teams are drawn by plug-and-play suites and a lender willing to green-light interior build-outs on a phone call.

To speed move-ins and keep construction crews out of lobby traffic, NEIP has standardized floor plates and prebuilt layouts at the ready. Prospective occupants know they can sign a lease and be operational in days, not months. Brokers, whose commissions depend on swift closings, have begun steering their top clients to 121 W. Trade, confident that landlord and lender are aligned to facilitate fast, decisive and successful outcomes.

Charlotte’s resurgence is often measured in shiny façades or acres of green. Yet the real transformation unfolds when visionaries and financial stewards unite around the belief that a building can be more than an asset. By backing 121 W. Trade when others saw peril, REV and NEIP have shown what is possible when local commitment meets bold underwriting. The proof will unfold in the next wave of tenants, breakfasts at Reid’s, roundtables in the City Club and tee-offs on that top-floor simulator.

Headquartered in Summerville, South Carolina, nearly 250 miles from Charlotte and three and a half hours from its nearest branch in Wilmington, REV’s commitment to community resilience transcended geographic distance. Cutting through bureaucracy and tapping local expertise from its Charlotte partners, REV proved that relationship-driven lenders can lead marquee transactions despite market skepticism.

For leasing inquiries at 121 W. Trade Street, please contact Kris Westmoreland, Addison Stratton, or Joe Franco.

For commercial financing opportunities, email the Business Solutions team at BusinessSolutions@REVfcu.com or call 800.845.5550.