Sale of Wake Forest site will help NC restaurant workers in need

A Triangle real estate company plans to donate a portion of its profits from the sale of an industrial site to help hospitality workers impacted by the ongoing pandemic.

Cary-based real estate company CityPlat – which will soon move its headquarters to downtown Raleigh – facilitated the sale of a warehouse property, located at 203 Capcom Avenue in Wake Forest, for $5 million. CityPlat partner Vincenzo Verdino says the company will donate 10 percent of its gross profits from the sale to the North Carolina Restaurant Workers Relief Fund.

Verdino did not give the exact amount but said CityPlat’s profits were larger than a typical sale as it represented both the seller and the buyer in the transaction.

Built in 2001, the property features 40,000 square feet of flex space and currently has several tenants. Raleigh-based 203 Capcom LLC, managed by K. Kevin Neshat, bought the property last week. The seller was Capital Enterprise LLC.

After taking over leasing of the property, CityPlat worked to raise the occupancy from 60 percent to 100 percent in less than 18 months before putting the property on the market. It received an offer in less than two months.

The donation will assist workers in the state’s restaurant industry, which has been especially hard hit sine Gov. Cooper ordered establishments to suspend dine-in service in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. As restaurants responded – by offering takeout or working with landlords for rent support – many have laid off large numbers of staff. To help hospitality workers, the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association launched the relief fund to provide cash to those that need it.

The goal of the fund is to provide industry workers $500 each to help with immediate expenses for qualified applicants, and the Association expects to help tens of thousands of people across the state impacted by the pandemic.

April 6, 2020