When John Ball joined Foundry Commercial to lead its Charlotte agency landlord office team, one of his goals was to expand its portfolio in and around North Carolina's Queen City.
Ball did just that, increasing the amount of third-party office leasing assignments in the greater Charlotte region to nearly 5 million square feet of space. He now has a bigger task ahead in a city that grew almost 20% in the decade leading up to the 2020 U.S. census.
Last week, Orlando, Florida-based Foundry promoted Ball to Charlotte market leader. He succeeds Bill Simerville, who "wanted to be more involved in our Development & Investments business, so he’s migrated over to be the Deal Principal in that function in Charlotte," Foundry spokesman Lauren Leetun said in an email.
In Ball's new role, he will work to expand all lines of business for Foundry in the greater Charlotte market. Ball also will remain leader of the brokerage's agency landlord office team.
Foundry CEO Paul Ellis said Ball was a natural fit to take over as Charlotte market leader because of the relationships he cultivated inside the firm, in the commercial real estate industry and among key investors. They should help Ball grow Foundry's business in the important region, Ellis said.
“Charlotte continues to be one of the strongest and busiest markets in our platform, from office, retail, and industrial brokerage services to property and project management to developments in which our company and our partners are investing," he said in a statement.
Ball, who joined Foundry in 2018 after working nearly a decade at Charlotte-based Trinity Partners, has worked with several high-profile clients and institutional investors including New York Life Real Estate Investors, Portman Holdings, Principal Global Investors, Starwood Capital Group, Sentinel Real Estate Corp. and AEW Capital Management.
One of Ball's first orders of business will be to help Foundry's Charlotte office settle into its new home at The Line, a 16-story office development that's connected to the Rail Trail in Charlotte's South End. Foundry, which relocated last week from 121 W. Trade St., leased approximately 15,000 square feet on the 10th floor of The Line.
Foundry markets and leases the retail and office space at The Line, which Ball said is a sign of the city's resurgence. “It has been fascinating to not only watch — but to experience — the rebound of the Charlotte office market from the early days of the pandemic,” he said in a statement.
Formerly known as CNL Commercial Real Estate, Foundry entered the Charlotte market in 2011. In 2015, it acquired the Charlotte office of Thalhimer, adding nearly 30 more team members to the firm.
Since then, Foundry has grown to 80 employees in Charlotte, and the office oversees more than 13 million square feet of leasing and management assignments.