It’s official: The city of Wilmington is the new owner of a collection of properties that include the region's tallest building, the former headquarters of PPD (and for a short while, Thermo Fisher Scientific).

The deal closed, and the deed for the properties was recorded Thursday afternoon around 2 p.m., county records show. 

Wilmington purchased 1001 and 1021 N. Front St., 929 N. Front St. and 155 Brunswick St. from River Ventures LLC. The city purchased the properties for $68 million, according to a city press release, which represents a $43-million savings from the appraised market value. 

Wilmington officials secured financing permission from the N.C. Local Government Commission (sans support from State Treasurer Dale Folwell, the lone commission member to reject the proposal) early last month. The LGC gave the city permission to borrow $70 million to purchase the properties. 

Officials submitted the purchase offer in January and though they initially considered a tax increase to back the deal, opted against one. "Our capacity to make such a major investment in the future without a tax increase speaks to the city’s historically strong financial position,” mayor Bill Saffo said in the release. Saffo described the purchase as “a creative and cost-effective solution to growing demands on downtown parking and city operations.”

The city will use the site to consolidate its offices. Council earlier declared a collection of city real estate surplus, and soon, the scattered properties will be listed for sale. Appraised at a combined value of $20 million, the properties will help the city offset the cost of the sale that closed Thursday. 

Thermo Fisher Scientific shared in April 2022 that it intended to explore selling its new Wilmington property just four months after its acquisition of PPD closed. The building first opened in 2007. 

"The transaction enables us to continue on the path we had announced in April 2022 of seeking new office space in Wilmington to support the growth of Thermo Fisher’s PPD clinical research business. We are continuing to pursue this multi-year initiative to enable us to match our workspace needs with flexible work models," a Thermo Fisher spokesperson said. "Our business remains committed to Wilmington as an employer and as a good corporate citizen investing in the communities where our colleagues live and work."

Wilmington will lease back two floors of the 12-story building to Thermo Fisher for three years, use five floors for city services and lease out the remaining five floors. The purchase also includes a 1,022-space parking deck, which the city intends to use to help with needs generated by events held at the nearby city-owned Live Oak Bank Pavilion, and two undeveloped adjacent tracts that could be utilized for economic development. 

Global commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield and Paul Loukas, broker in charge of Cape Fear Commercial (CFC), represented Thermo Fisher in the sale. The city was not represented in the sale. 

"The city initiated a request for proposals for architectural consulting services to assist with transitioning its operations into the new building," the release stated. "The city anticipates moving into the building over the course of several months as occupancy plans and improvements are completed."