Group buying Showplace, other buildings

High Point— A group of North Carolina developers has agreed to acquire Showplace and four other downtown buildings here in a blockbuster real estate transaction that will make the group the third-largest High Point showroom owner.

The purchase includes an eight-story office building at 101 S. Main St. that will be converted into about 135,000 square feet of permanent showroom space and linked to Showplace with a skywalk. The Main Street building will be renamed Showplace West.

Combined with the 470,000-square-foot Showplace and three high-end showroom buildings on North Hamilton Street that also are part of the deal, the new owners will control approximately 950,000 square feet of showroom space.

Only the International Home Furnishings Center and Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., the owner of Market Square and several other venues, have larger showroom holdings in High Point.

Earl N. "Phil" Phillips, a prominent High Point businessman, is the principal owner who is selling all the buildings involved in the transaction. The new owners, High Point residents Maurice Hull and Coy Williard, and Paul Bell of Charlotte, N.C., operate a company called Capstone Property Group.

The purchase price wasn't disclosed, but Tim McGee, vice president of leasing at Showplace, said the price is comparable to the $100 million paid by MMPI when it bought Market Square, Furniture Plaza, Hamilton Square and the former Holiday Inn hotel site in 1998.

"This is an impressive transaction by any real estate standards," McGee said. Additional funding for the purchase will be provided by Walton Street Capital LLC, a private equity investment firm based in Chicago.

Other buildings involved in the deal are high-end showrooms at 200 N. Hamilton St., 320 N. Hamilton St. and 330 N. Hamilton St.

The current management team at Showplace, headed by Chief Operating Officer Joanna Easter and McGee, will remain in place and will oversee all the Capstone showroom properties.

Williard, who also chairs the High Point Economic Development Corp., said Showplace and the new Showplace West "will be catalysts for continued downtown growth.

"Showplace is an outstanding property, especially with the new transportation center depositing buyers at its front door," he said. "The building has been a phenomenal success, and has added a dynamic dimension to downtown High Point."

A construction timetable for renovating the Main Street building and adding the skywalk have not been established. The structure, known locally as the GE Capital building, has been largely vacant for months.

McGee said all remaining commercial office tenants except for the International Home Furnishings Market Authority already have relocated to the eighth floor. Relocation discussions with the Market Authority, which is on the first floor, are ongoing, he said.

Noble's, a popular upscale restaurant, will remain on the lower level of the building.

McGee said the deal "sends good signals" about the High Point market and reflects the Capstone group's belief that the event can continue to prosper.

"It attests to the vision of Phil Phillips and his partners, who took a risk in building such a unique and beautiful showroom facility," he said. "Plus, it affirms the strength and promise of the High Point home furnishings market."

Phillips said he is "delighted to pass the torch to the new local ownership team."

"I'm confident that Capstone Property Group will carry on the showroom tradition of excellence we've established," said Phillips.

Showplace, which opened in October 2000, is being sold by Phillips and partners Paul Brayton and the family of the late Jim Millis.

McGee said Showplace and all three Hamilton Street properties are fully leased.