Emilee Collins-Pickett Sprouse Commercial Real Estate

08/29/2026

North Carolina is center-stage as the G20 Summit kicks off in Asheville today and moves to Chapel Hill early this week. I'm grateful to live and work in a state where our economic vitality is recognized around the world. It's incredible that Asheville is one of the hosts, intentionally bringing back tourism and revenue to the beautiful area that Chantal devastated in so many ways.
How many international flags have you seen this week Asheville friends?

https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/north-carolina-takes-global-stage-with-back-to-back-g20-meetings-in-asheville-chapel-hill/

The back-to-back meetings will showcase two very different sides of North Carolina. Asheville’s recovery from Hurricane Helene and the Research Triangle’s dynamic technology sector will…

08/28/2026

North Carolina just landed another major advanced manufacturing win — this time in the drone and defense technology space.

Ukraine-based drone manufacturer Skyeton is establishing its first North American manufacturing facility in Fayetteville, a multimillion-dollar investment that will bring well over a hundred new jobs to the region. The company will occupy an existing building near Fayetteville Regional Airport, redeveloping a site that had sat vacant since a prior manufacturing tenant closed nearly two decades ago.

The deal reflects a broader pattern across the state: international manufacturers continuing to choose North Carolina for U.S. operations, often landing in secondary markets with available infrastructure, workforce, and local incentive packages rather than the state's largest metros. For property owners and landlords statewide, it's another data point on where industrial demand and adaptive reuse of older manufacturing sites are heading.

👉 Read the full story here: https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2026/07/27/skyeton-drones-fayetteville-plant-us-headquarters.html

08/27/2026

What actually determines whether you can build, lease, or convert a property the way you want? Zoning.

Zoning is the local rulebook for how land can be used — set at the municipal or county level, not the state. In North Carolina, that typically breaks down into a handful of core classifications: residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and mixed-use, each with its own allowed activities and density limits.

Here's where it gets more nuanced than most people expect. If your intended use doesn't match the current zoning, you're not automatically stuck — you can pursue a variance, a special use permit, or in some cases a full rezoning. Each comes with its own public hearing process and timeline, which is exactly why this needs to get checked early, during your examination period.

What most people miss: zoning isn't static. Municipalities update land use plans, and those updates can shift what's allowed on a parcel over time. Along the I-85/I-40 corridor, where industrial demand keeps evolving, that gap between "what a site is zoned for" and "what a site could realistically become" is worth watching closely.

Bottom line: before you fall in love with a site, confirm what the zoning actually permits — and understand your options if it doesn't. It's one of the fastest ways to save yourself a costly surprise.

08/26/2026

Grateful to be able to freshen up on CPR skills last week, hosted by Big Spoon Roasters. Big Spoon’s team and the wider Hillsborough community were invited and trained by representatives from the American Heart Association .

The premise is simple: Call 911 and then push hard and fast. Don't worry about the perfect technique — keep going until help arrives, at the same rhythm as "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees. That's the beat that could save a life!

A massive thank you to Big Spoon Roasters for opening this up to the community, and to the American Heart Association for making it so approachable. This is exactly the kind of readiness every business and neighbor should have in their back pocket.

Have you had CPR training? 👇

https://cpr.heart.org/en/cpr-courses-and-kits/hands-only-cpr

08/26/2026

Chapel Hill released a draft rewrite of its land-use rules — the first major update in over 20 years — that could reshape where and how growth happens along its major corridors.

The draft Land-Use Management Ordinance (LUMO) lays out a 20-30 year vision built around six focus areas along major transportation corridors, where taller buildings, mixed-use projects, and denser residential development would be allowed. Rather than a wholesale overhaul, the draft largely formalizes the town's Complete Community strategy adopted in 2023 — expanding housing types, streamlining approval for smaller projects, and opening the door to more commercial and mixed-use development on key residential streets.

For property owners and landlords watching the corridor, the details worth tracking are the density bonuses tied to affordable housing, new stormwater and tree-preservation standards for larger developments, and eased approval paths in designated growth areas — all of which could shift site planning and development economics well beyond Chapel Hill's borders.

👉 Read the full story here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/orange-county/article316535203.html

08/24/2026

Durham Technical Community College is two weeks into a new semester — students back in classrooms, programs back in motion.

Every semester that starts is another pipeline of talent moving toward the businesses expanding in this region. Industrial and office growth here doesn't happen without a workforce ready to fill it.

I've gotten to see that connection up close, and it's a good reminder of what's actually driving growth here beyond the deals themselves.

08/21/2026

Just because you *can* turn an office building into multifamily doesn't mean you should.

On the latest episode of Behind the Building, Pete Frandano, CCIM, Broker and Valuation Director at Colliers, breaks down what actually separates a good idea from a good deal.

Where do you draw the line between a creative idea and a smart investment? 👇

👉 Watch or listen to the full episode now!

https://youtu.be/4ucuYiHkB2Y

08/20/2026

On the latest episode of Behind the Building, Pete Frandano shared the question he runs every valuation through before it ever reaches a client.

It's a habit built from years of working both sides of the table, as a broker and an appraiser.

What's the gut check you run before you commit to a number? 👇

👉 Watch or listen to the full episode now!
https://youtu.be/4ucuYiHkB2Y

08/19/2026

There's a difference between deriving a number and knowing it would actually survive the market.

Pete Frandano, CCIM, Broker and Valuation Director at Colliers, has been a hybrid broker-appraiser since 2012, guided early on by his mentor, Hector Ingram, who gave him a simple test of reason for every value he puts on paper.

👉 Watch or listen to the full episode now!

https://youtu.be/4ucuYiHkB2Y

08/19/2026

🎙️ NOW STREAMING! 🚀

My latest episode of Behind the Building is live, and I'm sitting down with Pete Frandano, CCIM, Broker and Valuation Director at Colliers, to talk about what it really takes to get a property valuation right. 📊

Pete's worked both sides of the table — broker and appraiser — since 2012, and he breaks down why staying grounded in the fundamentals beats falling in love with a property, and what actually determines a property's highest and best use.

👉 Watch or listen to the full episode now! https://youtu.be/4ucuYiHkB2Y