Duke Energy’s future uptown HQ gets a new name as company looks to cut back on space

Duke Energy will move its headquarters into a newly renamed 40-flood office building across South Tryon Street by 2023, part of a goal to cut its real estate footprint by 60 percent, the company said Monday.

Duke Energy Plaza, formerly known as Metro Tower, is currently under construction at 525 S. Tryon St., in between the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture and St. Peter’s Catholic Church. Once finished, it will house about 4,400 employees, the company said in a news release.

Once the new tower is completed, the company will leave Duke Energy Center — with its iconic handlebar roof and LED light show — at Stonewall and Tryon streets, and Piedmont Town Center in SouthPark. The company said it also intends to sell its 526 S. Church St. and 401 S. College St. facilities and exit its lease at 400 S. Tryon St.

Duke Energy’s goal is to reduce its footprint from 2.5 million square feet to 1 million square feet by 2050.

“We’re excited to transition our employees into the Duke Energy Plaza, where we will drive additional collaboration and innovation to deliver the affordable, reliable and increasingly clean energy our customers expect and achieve our goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Donna Council, the company’s senior vice president of administrative services and real estate.

The company said in March that it was under contract to sell its Piedmont Natural Gas Charlotte Business Office to apartment developer Terwilliger Pappas, the Observer previously reported. The move drew the company to “a smaller real estate footprint,” Council said in March.

Duke Energy was already consolidating office space before the coronavirus hit with the construction of their 40-story tower in uptown, the Observer has reported.

Duke’s new hybrid work model

Council said the company is working on implementing a new hybrid workplace model that will allow their employees to work on-site or remotely full time.

“We remain firmly committed to Uptown Charlotte with an office tower that we’ll be proud to call our new home,” she said in a statement.

Duke Energy’s planned move also will help reduce costs by saving the company $85 million-$90 million over the next five years, according to the company.

“These actions will allow us to operate our business more efficiently, enhance employee productivity and better serve our customers and communities,” Council said. “It will also free up premium real estate in Uptown Charlotte for other purposes.”

Duke Energy said it will move into other existing facilities and begin to adopt the new hybrid workplace model until the new tower is done.

The company employs 27,500 people across several states, including South Carolina.

Duke Energy Plaza construction

Construction of 1 million-square-foot Duke Energy Plaza is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022, with interior work extending into 2023, the company said.

Childress Klein Properties is the developer of this new building, and Duke Energy said about 1,000 craftsman and trade workers will work on the construction project.

The site will include about 25,000 square feet of retail space, and a seven-level, above-ground parking facility with 1,100 spaces, the company said.

Staff writer Danielle Chemtob contributed to this article.