A crowd of nearly 350 celebrated the best development projects of the past year on Oct. 17 at The Westin during the Charlotte Business Journal’s 12th annual Heavy Hitters Commercial Real Estate Awards.
The highlight of the evening was the recognition of Pete Lash, the longtime leader of Beacon Partners, one of Charlotte’s most prolific developers of office and industrial properties. Lash was selected as this year’s recipient of CBJ’s Pillar Award, a lifetime achievement honor given to an individual who has had a major impact on the local commercial real estate industry through leadership, professional accomplishments and community involvement.
Lash was recruited to the startup effort in 1989 by local business leader Ed Weisiger Jr. and served as CEO and managing partner for 35 years, steering the firm’s growth from small development company to one of the city’s major players. Since 2020, Beacon Partners has developed 4.5 million square feet of commercial space with such projects as The Station at LoSo, RailYard in South End and Metrolina Park in north Charlotte.
Great projects come about, Lash said, because of great teams.
“There has been nothing better about being in the real estate business than the people I have worked with,” Lash said. “When we first got started, I really thought the answer to the formula was you go out and do great real estate and then the people part, you just figure that out. In retrospect, it’s exactly the opposite. If you can put together a good team, the real estate takes care of itself.”
Lash said agreeing to join Beacon Partners after Weisiger had devised the idea to pursue industrial development in Charlotte was the best decision he ever made.
“Ed is smart. He is savvy. But best of all, he’s just as solid as a rock and I trust him.” Lash said. “I think we could have spent the last 35 years together on a handshake, and that’s the kind of people you want to be in business with.”
Lash also took the opportunity to highlight the link between the success of commercial real estate projects and the vibrant community that is the Charlotte region. He urged those gathered at the event to not forget that much of their success, as well as Beacon Partners’ success, has come from the overwhelming demand of companies and people to locate in Charlotte.
“The reality is we live in an amazing town, in an amazing region, and people want to live here and move here,” Lash said. “If being in a vibrant, healthy community is critical to our business plans and success, then shouldn’t we be investing in that community with just as much vigor and health as we invest in other things that make us successful?”
That would include education, health care, nonprofits, homelessness and mental health counseling centers.
“I would ask you to think about making community investment,” Lash said. “This is not only good for our city, but it is good for your business.”
Sponsors of the annual awards program were title sponsor Bank OZK, which has supported the event since its inception, as well as CPI Security, BRC CPA, Comporium, Robertson & Associates and Metromont.
During the event, 23 developments were recognized as finalists across nine categories. The winners of each category were revealed during the event. Presenting the awards were: Anthony Swainey, managing director, commercial banking and CRE for Bank OZK; Laura Ward, a partner with BRC; and Paul Bourdeaux, chief information officer for CPI Security.
Cindy Wolfe, chief operating officer of Bank OZK, greeted the crowd and told the story of how the bank came to help bring the event into fruition as commercial real estate regained ground after the Great Recession.
The winner in each category of CBJ Heavy Hitters Commercial Real Estate Awards is:
- Top Apartment or Condominium Development: Linea
- Top Civic/Nonprofit Development: Carolina Theatre
- Top Entertainment Development: Ten Tenths Motor Club
- Top Warehouse/Distribution Development: 85 North Logistics Center
- Top Mixed-Use Development: The Bowl at Ballantyne
- Top Office Development: Charlotte Pipe Product Knowledge & Training Facility
- Top Space Build-Out Project: TTX Headquarters
- Top Hospitality Development: The Westin Charlotte
- Top Health Care Development: The Pearl