Startup buys downtown Apex building for new HQ as sales pick up in office market
.jpg "LiveSwitch, a real-time video platform for businesses, recently purchased the 32,000-square-foot mixed-use building at 209 N. Salem St. in Apex.")
A tech firm is moving into new HQ digs after purchasing the Highline office building in historic downtown Apex.
LiveSwitch, a real-time video platform for businesses, recently purchased the 32,000-square-foot mixed-use building at 209 N. Salem St. for $12 million. Developed by Minnesota-based Oppidan Investment Company and delivered in 2022, it includes two floors with 21,000 square feet of office space and 11,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. A third-floor private balcony overlooks Salem Street.
Amid record-high office vacancies — and a dearth of sales through much of 2024 — the transaction offers a bright spot in an otherwise tough commercial real estate market.
“The Highline’s central location in downtown Apex offers unparalleled access to local amenities like coffee shops and restaurants,” said Anne English, executive president of LiveSwitch. “It’s a huge benefit to our employees from a team culture perspective.”
Triangle Business Journal first reported the deal.
Founded in 2008 in British Columbia, Canada, LiveSwitch enables real-time video sessions and recordings via simple text links and QR codes. In 2021, local entrepreneur Brian Hamilton invested in the firm, relocating its headquarters to Holly Springs.
This move reflects LiveSwitch’s “rapid growth,” said Michael Adams, CEO of LiveSwitch, adding he plans to scale quickly and “hire locally.” The company also has an office in Bangalore, India.
Sales in a soft market
Highline is one of several office buildings that sold in recent months, according to CBRE’s 2024 fourth-quarter market report.
Companies are continuing to reevaluate their needs in this post-pandemic era of hybrid work. The predominant trend remains to be tenants shrinking their footprints upon renewal or relocation, said Elizabeth Gates, a CBRE Raleigh senior analyst.
In recent months, there’s also been an uptick in tenants choosing the region for expansion or relocation, she said. Many have signed leases after “multiple-market searches.”
In the largest transaction, Easterly Government Properties purchased Crossroads I, II and III in Cary from Menlo Equities for $72.5 million ($246 per square foot), CBRE reported. The buildings are 100% leased with the majority of space occupied by the Wake County Public School System for 10 years.
A local investor paid Highwoods Properties $21.4 million ($125 per square foot) for a 170,102-square-foot building at 4800 Falls of Neuse Road in North Raleigh. The building was 75% leased at the time of sale.
Distressed sales are also on the rise.
In West Raleigh, Perkins Fund paid Bridge Commercial Real Estate $6 million ($37 per square foot) for Capital Center, 75% below the building’s assessed value of $24.4 million.
The 163,522-square-foot property was 55% leased at the time of sale. Its anchor tenant, Plexus Corporation, is expected to vacate in June 2026 after purchasing the nearby Interchange Plaza I for occupancy. Plexus paid Clear Path Asset Management $9.4 million ($260 per square foot) for the fully vacant, 36,000-square-foot building, CBRE said.
In a bifurcated market, aging buildings continue to face “stubbornly high” vacancy and “obsolescence,” Gates said. Sales are expected to increase, “driven by opportunistic investors and distressed sales,” she said..
This story was originally published February 1, 2025 at 12:51 PM with the headline "Startup buys downtown Apex building for new HQ as sales pick up in office market."
