Crescent Communities Sells Escent Research Park in Charlotte to Atrium Health for Behavioral Hospital Conversion

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Oct. 19, 2026) — Crescent Communities has sold Escent Research Park, a four-story, 159,000-square-foot research and office building in Charlotte's University City submarket, to Atrium Health. The acquisition supports Atrium Health's recently announced $340 million investment to expand behavioral healthcare across the region, including plans to transform the property into a behavioral health hospital serving pediatric and adult patients, the firm announced.

Escent Research Park Sale Details

Escent Research Park is located at 10714 David Taylor Drive in University Research Park, near UNC Charlotte. The building was delivered in 2021 and sits on roughly 20 acres. It was never occupied before the sale. The sale price was $24.5 million, or approximately $154 per square foot.

Crescent Communities developed the property to accommodate a range of tenants and uses. The company said its virtually column-free layouts, large floor plates and expansive natural light allow the building to support traditional office space alongside research, testing, lab and other specialized applications.

The campus includes a two-story atrium lobby, collaborative gathering areas, outdoor courtyards, activated amenity spaces and direct access to nearby walking trails and greenway systems. The property is Fitwel, WiredScore Gold and LEED Gold certified. It is accessible to UNC Charlotte, Interstate 85 and Interstate 485.

Atrium Health's Behavioral Health Expansion

Atrium Health plans to convert Escent into a 168-bed hospital for pediatric and adult patients. The facility would add a net 102 inpatient beds and is targeted to open in 2028. The project is part of a five-year, $340 million investment that Atrium Health said will expand inpatient and outpatient services, emergency care and community-based programs from York County, South Carolina, through North Carolina's Triad.

The transaction positions the Escent building as an example of adaptive reuse, in which a newly built office property is converted to a specialized institutional use without ground-up construction.

Crescent Communities' Comments

"Atrium Health's acquisition of Escent represents exactly the kind of long-term value we strive to create through our commercial developments," said Sagar Rathie, Managing Director for Commercial Office and Mixed-Use at Crescent Communities. "Our mission at Crescent Communities is to build community and better people's lives, and it's especially meaningful to see that mission come to life in a way that will directly benefit the Charlotte region. Escent was designed to be a highly flexible, adaptable property that could evolve alongside the needs of its occupants. We're proud to see that vision realized through a project that will expand access to critical behavioral healthcare services for individuals and families across our community."

Charlotte Office Market Context

Charlotte's office market improved during 2026, though vacancy remains elevated and performance varies by asset quality. Overall vacancy fell to 18.5% in the third quarter, the lowest level since 2022. Year-to-date absorption reached 511,356 square feet, including 454,723 square feet in the third quarter. Available space declined from 15.4 million square feet at year-end 2025 to 13.5 million square feet in the third quarter.

Class A vacancy stood at 19.8%, compared with 21.4% for Class B properties. Overall direct asking rent reached $38.09 per square foot, up 10.7% year over year, while Class A asking rent was $41.02 per square foot. A separate second-quarter market report showed an average sale price of $270.52 per square foot and an average cap rate of 7.86%.

Escent's price of about $154 per square foot is below that second-quarter average. Direct comparisons are limited because the building was vacant and the buyer plans a substantial healthcare conversion.

Crescent Communities' Charlotte Activity

The sale follows other recent Charlotte activity by Crescent Communities. The company recently announced a lease of nearly 197,000 square feet to Capital Group at One Independence Center, with occupancy beginning this fall. Crescent also sold Elizabeth on Seventh, its Class A office building in Charlotte's Elizabeth neighborhood, to Invesco in early 2026.

Crescent Communities reports $7.2 billion of residential and commercial investments and developments in various stages of construction, operations and planning nationwide. The pipeline includes 15,300 multi- and single-family build-to-rent units, 58,000 square feet of complementary retail space, and 7.5 million square feet of office, industrial and life-sciences facilities. Since 1963, its development portfolio has included more than 104 multifamily communities, 26 million square feet of commercial space and over 60 master planned communities.

Outlook

The Escent sale shows a newer, flexibly designed Charlotte office building moving to a healthcare user, while the market's leasing activity has concentrated in recently built or renovated properties. Atrium Health's planned conversion would expand behavioral health inpatient capacity in the region once the hospital opens, targeted for 2028.

Sources

Crescent Communities press release: https://www.crescentcommunities.com/media/press/crescent-communities-sells-escent-research-park-to-atrium-health-supporting-340-million-investment-in-regional-healthcare/