Developer John Kane plans a 12-story building in Raleigh’s North Hills area that will include nine floors leased to Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, a Chicago-based health care technology company with a colorful history in North Carolina. Allscripts, which lost more than $165 million in the last three years, plans to move 1,000 employees from existing north Raleigh offices into the 330,000-square-foot building, which is scheduled to open in early 2017. Allscripts merged with Misys, a British company, in 2008. Misys had acquired Raleigh-based Medic Computer Systems for $923 million in 1997 — a record at the time for a North Carolina technology company. Medic was run by John McConnell, who acquired it from Black & Decker Corp. in 1990 for $29 million, with backing from Charlotte investor C.D. “Dick” Spangler. McConnell now runs Raleigh-based McConnell Golf. The Allscripts tower is the latest expansion at North Hills, which abuts U.S. 1, the north side of the Interstate 440 beltline, and sits between north Raleigh and the center city. Kane Realty bought North Hills Plaza for $11 million in 1999, followed by North Hills Mall in 2001 for $16 million. Kane-related entities have invested about $1 billion on North Hills-area projects since 1999. In addition to the new building, the area is also home to the Offices at North Hills that opened in 2005, the 17-story CapTrust Tower (2010) and the 18-story Tower Two, which is slated to open next year. Kane and Raleigh-based partner Concord Hospitality Enterprises sold two North Hills hotels this year for $103 million, while Kane last year sold its Midtown Green apartments to a group led by J.P. Morgan Investment Management for about $43.9 million, or $205,000 per unit. The company’s fifth apartment complex is slated to open next year, and it’s considering adding condominiums. Mixed-use developments are becoming more attractive to employers, John Kane says. “Locating their office space above places to meet customers for coffee, lunch, dinner or drinks after work is very appealing.”
Briefs
RALEIGH — Stock Building Supply Holdings will merge with Atlanta-based Building Materials Holdings in an all-stock deal valued at $1.5 billion, including debt. BMC shareholders will own 60% of the company. Founded here in 1922 as Carolina Builders, Stock sells lumber and building products to homebuilders and contractors and employs about 3,200 people, compared with BMC’s 5,300 employees. Stock went public in August 2013; BMC is privately held. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
CHAPEL HILL — UNC Chapel Hill and pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline will establish Qura Therapeutics, a company dedicated to developing treatments for HIV. London-based GSK will invest $20 million over five years in the partnership and open an HIV Cure research center at UNC.
CHAPEL HILL — Drug developer Pozen will acquire Milton, Ontario-based Tribute Pharmaceuticals Canada for about $146 million and move its headquarters from here to Ireland. The company will be renamed Aralez Pharmaceuticals. Adrian Adams will be chief executive officer, succeeding John Plachetka, who founded Pozen in 1996 and retired in June. Investment-management firm Deerfield will invest up to $350 million in the new company and Pozen’s aspirin therapy designed to prevent ulcers.
RALEIGH — Erick Hawkins was named chief financial officer of Rex Healthcare. He replaces Bernadette Spong, CFO since 2005, who will join former Rex President David Strong, the CEO at Orlando Health, an eight-hospital system in Florida.