The former Greensboro headquarters property of the Atlantic Coast Conference has been sold for $1.87 million to a Jamestown group.
The buyer is Wynnefield Waybridge LLC, according to a Guilford County Register of Deeds filing Thursday. The sale closed Wednesday.
The property was sold at a steep discount compared with a $4.5 million appraised value, according to tax records.
The 24,251-square-foot, two-story building at 4512 Weybridge Lane sits on 1.07 acres in the Grandover Commons business park.
The ACC officially moved into its new 27,650-square-foot headquarters to the 12th floor of Charlotte’s Bank of America Tower on Aug. 29. The Charlotte opening came nearly a year after the ACC announced plans to leave its Greensboro hometown on Sept. 20, 2022.
Wynnefield Waybridge was formed June 21, according to a corporation filing with the N.C. Secretary of State’s Office. There was no company official listed in the filing.
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The ACC headquarters was built in 1996 and was renovated in 2007, 2013 and 2018.
The property is zoned as mixed development with 46 total office spaces, including five technology/media rooms, four workrooms and three conference rooms.
“With its close proximity to Grandover Resort and other major markets in the Piedmont Triad area, the property boasts the perfect blend of a serene office setting paired with unbeatable access to various amenities, golf courses, and more,” said Richard Mossman, executive vice president with CBRE|Triad which handled the marketing.
“The building will likely remain as a single tenant building, but it can be also turned into a multi-tenant building if needed,” Mossman said.
Mossman said the marketing pitch “is that it’s an opportunity to own a piece of history. Many of the ACC logos and branding remain throughout the building.”
“It’s not every day that a business owner can sit in the same office where the ACC commissioner sat and made decisions.
“Not to mention, it has great views of the Grandover Championship Course,” Mossman said. “The next owner can either keep it as-is, or make it their own with some design changes.
The ACC was founded in 1953 at Greensboro’s Sedgefield Country Club.
The conference began formally exploring relocation options in July 2021, shortly after Jim Phillips succeeded John Swofford as commissioner. The conference’s chief executives mandated the assessment.
During the Sept. 20, 2022, call with journalists Tuesday, Phillips called the decision “difficult” but said financial incentives offered by Charlotte “were incredibly impressive.” He did not provide details.
“We wanted a home that had … growth and diversity of population, [and] access to a large, international airport,” Phillips said.
Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan said in response to the ACC’s decision to leave its Greensboro headquarters that “we knew that we weren’t an airport hub, but we offered them concierge’s (private) jet service.”
Charlotte’s proximity to existing and prospective corporate sponsors, plus approximately 80,000 ACC alumni, were other considerations, Phillips said.
Home to 11 of the last 12 ACC football championship games and contracted to host that event through 2030, Charlotte is also the annual site for the conference’s preseason football and basketball gatherings.
Moreover, Charlotte is an occasional destination for the ACC men’s basketball tournament, and ESPN, the league’s media partner, has a studio facility there.
North Carolina legislators have budgeted $15 million for the ACC if the league remains in the state for 15 additional years and, by 2034, stages a set number of conference championships in North Carolina.
That requirement includes at least four men’s basketball tournaments, two in Greensboro, four women’s basketball tournaments, four baseball tournaments and 20 other championship events.
In February, the ACC announced the men’s basketball tournament would stay in North Carolina for five straight years, beginning in 2025, and the Greensboro Coliseum will host two of them, in 2027 and 2029. Charlotte’s Spectrum Center will host the ACC men’s tournament in 2025, 2026 and 2028.
In addition, the women’s ACC basketball tournament will come back to the Greensboro Coliseum in 2025. No site has been selected for 2026, and the Spectrum Center will host the 2027 tournament.
Greensboro also will host the ACC gymnastics championship in 2025 and 2026
The conference swimming and diving championships will be held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in 2025, as well as in 2027-29.
Sedgefield Country Club will host the ACC women’s golf championship in 2025, 2027 and 2029.
Meanwhile, Greensboro missed out on the ACC’s men’s and women’s soccer championships, which will be held in Cary this year through 2029. The baseball championship will alternate between Charlotte and Durham.