Flagship Healthcare Properties Makes Record Acquisition With Graystone Eye Medical Office and Surgery Center in Hickory, NC

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Flagship Healthcare Properties has completed its largest single-asset acquisition by purchase price, purchasing a fully leased, 92,516-square-foot Class A medical office building and ambulatory surgery center anchored by Graystone Eye at 2424 Century Place SE in Hickory, North Carolina. The transaction, announced Sept. 14, 2026, was executed through Flagship Healthcare Trust, the company's private real estate investment trust.

A Record Deal in Hickory's Primary Outpatient Corridor

The property sits within Hickory's primary outpatient medical corridor and was built in 2008, then expanded in 2019. The 2019 expansion added administrative offices, exam and procedure rooms, an aesthetic clinic, and improvements to the surgery center, including additional operating capacity and expanded patient areas. The facility is 100% leased and includes four operating rooms accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). The surgery center operates under a North Carolina Certificate of Need.

Flagship Healthcare Properties will provide both property management and asset management services for the building.

Graystone Eye: A Physician-Led Anchor Tenant

Graystone Eye, founded in 1969, is a physician-led ophthalmology practice serving Western North Carolina from five locations. The practice employs more than 350 people and includes 14 board-certified ophthalmologists, five optometrists, and eight fellowship-trained specialists.

"Flagship made the sale of our Hickory medical office and surgery center building smooth and collaborative. We chose them for their healthcare real estate expertise and their commitment to partnering with Graystone Eye as we grow and continue serving patients across Western North Carolina," said Andrew Tate, CEO of Graystone Eye. "Graystone Eye remains an independent, physician-owned practice. Hickory is home, and we look forward to continuing to serve patients from our main campus here along with our six other locations."

Blake Bratcher, Partner and Executive Vice President of Acquisitions at Flagship Healthcare Properties, said the deal reinforces the firm's regional strategy. "This acquisition expands Flagship's growing presence in the region and strengthens our portfolio with a strategically located, fully leased asset that supports the delivery of outpatient care," Bratcher said. "We look forward to supporting Graystone Eye's continued success and contributing to the growth of the region's healthcare infrastructure."

Flagship Healthcare Trust Portfolio Context

The acquisition was made through Flagship Healthcare Trust, a private REIT focused on clinical healthcare assets in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Following the transaction, Flagship Healthcare Trust holds interests in 114 properties comprising 3.0 million square feet of space valued at more than $1.1 billion. The firm describes the Hickory deal as the largest single-asset acquisition by purchase price in the trust's history.

Market Backdrop: Stable MOB Fundamentals Support Demand

The acquisition arrives during a period of relatively firm fundamentals in the medical office building sector. The average U.S. medical office building cap rate stood at approximately 6.9% in early 2026, down 13 basis points year over year, while the national MOB vacancy rate held near 9.8%. Separate industry data put national MOB occupancy at roughly 92.4% and average cap rates at approximately 7.1%, underscoring a stable pricing environment for well-leased medical assets.

Against that backdrop, fully occupied, physician-anchored outpatient assets with surgery-center components have continued to attract competition among healthcare-focused buyers. The Hickory property's 100% occupancy, AAAHC-accredited operating rooms, and long-tenured physician tenant position it as the type of asset that has remained in demand in the medical office sector.

Sources: Flagship Healthcare Properties press release, Sept. 14, 2026