MERIDIAN CORPORATE CENTER, a 1.8 million square foot campus, located in the 3,200 acre University Research Park in Charlotte, North Carolina, was acquired from IBM Corporation in August 2000 for $90.3 million. The campus, built by IBM between 1979 and 1984 at W.T. Harris Boulevard and I85, is a multi-tenant office, manufacturing, and warehouse facility containing 11 buildings on 230 acres in a wooded setting. At $50 per square foot, the purchase price was significantly below replacement cost.
 
The campus was 65% leased to three major tenants listed on the New York Stock Exchange at acquisition: IBM, which leased back 722,000 square feet of office space for 10 years, Solectron Corporation, and Manufacturers’ Services Ltd. (MSL).  
 
Meridian increased occupancy in the complex to 86 percent and added value through expansions and extensions of the spaces leased by MSL and Solectron along with leases with several new tenants. 
 
In October 2002 Meridian sold the 1.8 million square foot park to a New York-based investment firm.