2011 A Year in Review

Bissell, along with our Property Services team, would like to wish you and yours happiness and success in the upcoming New Year. As the end of 2011 approaches, we would like to share with each of you accomplishments and improvements that have been made this year in Ballantyne Corporate Park.

Awards

Ballantyne Corporate Park received two exciting awards this year for its focus on sustainability:

- The NAIOP Sustainable Development Award for the Boyle and Harris Office Buildings
- The Charlotte Business Journal General Excellence in Sustainable Business – for Profit

These awards recognize Bissell’s commitment and dedication to sustainability and its strong pursuit of energy efficiency in development.

Development

This year was a busy year for Bissell Development. In addition to the completion of both the Calhoun Building and the American Honda Finance Corporation Building, Bissell Development broke ground on SPX’s new global headquarters as well as two 10-story buildings, representing the largest speculative office project in the nation. Currently, Ballantyne Corporate Park features more than 4.3 million square feet of built or under construction Class A office space, of which almost one third is LEED® Gold certified.

For The People 2011

In order to better assist visitors to our Park, seven wayfinding signs were added in strategic locations throughout the Park. We have received many complimentary comments regarding the new signs and we are delighted that they are proving beneficial. Two mile-marker plaques were added to Cullman Park to track the distance around the trail loop for the many walkers and joggers on the trail. For those enjoying our greenscape, we added grills at the Brixham Tent and Ballantyne One Building water feature. We also created an enhanced picnic area with tables and waste bins near the Ballantyne One water feature for all to enjoy. Pizzo Park, which features badminton, corn hole and bocci ball, was established as another area in which to better enjoy the outdoors.

The 17th Pond Event Area was also added this year as another option for our tenants to enjoy outdoor company events, incorporating a paved trail leading to the Morrison Y Field #7 recreation area. Beside the trail, four benches were added for comfort and relaxation as well as a quiet place to enjoy lunch.

Bissell has long been involved in the local community and is dedicated to the mission of the YMCA. This year we partnered with them to add soccer goals to Morrison Y Field #7 across from The Lodge at Ballantyne. In addition, the YMCA Corporate Wellness Center opened in the Medical Two Building this summer. The space provides free shower facilities to all Ballantyne Corporate Park tenants and offers a variety of services and seminars. The YMCA Corporate Wellness Center is also available as a resource for office wellness initiatives, so be sure to call them at (704) 716-8300 to schedule an event.

Community Outreach

We thank all of you in Ballantyne Corporate Park who helped achieve impressive results with our annual Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina Food Drive, collecting 45,000 pounds of food in April. Tenants significantly increased their contributions to this year’s drive, which featured a catchy theme of “Beans, Corn & Potatoes” to complement the first letter of each word in Ballantyne Corporate Park. With an incredibly generous donation of 20,000 pounds by Carlisle Companies, this year’s collection represents one of the largest single event collection efforts in the organization’s history. Our annual Color the Park Marker Drive for Classroom Central was held prior to the start of the school year and generated more than 21,000 packs of markers, assisting over 20,000 children in need.

Our community also came together in December for our Toys for Tweens Drive. In just two days, Ballantyne Corporate Park collected 837 toys, benefiting children ages 10–14 for the Toys for Tots of Charlotte organization. As we review the Park’s third year hosting park-wide charitable drives, we applaud you and your employees for your generosity and time with these important community initiatives. Again this year, Bissell was proud to serve as a supporter of Ballantyne Country Club’s BCC Rally by being a Premier Partner. The BCC Rally has been recognized as the number one fundraiser in the nation for Rally for the Cure, a grassroots fundraising division of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.

New Card

The Tenant Appreciation Card has been a popular perk for those working in Ballantyne Corporate Park. Over 12,000 employees paired up with more than 120 local businesses to provide exclusive cost savings opportunities to our tenants. Recently, we rolled out a newly designed card, now named the Ballantyne Corporate Park Card. The new card comes with a convenient key tag and a colorful design of the Park, which we hope will better represent the area. We are continually looking for enhancements, so check go-ballantyne.com often!

New Website

This spring, our talented Digital Media Specialist, Shelly Spencer, redesigned and improved go-ballantyne.com. The site now provides easier access to pertinent tenant information including upcoming events, news, job postings and park amenities. We hope the website is a useful tool for you and your employees and always want to hear from you on how we can make it better.

Tenant Activities

This year, Roaming Fork offered lunch at the Brixham Tent each Thursday. This bistro on wheels will return in early spring with tasty choices for its loyal customers. The beautiful weather helped attendance grow at our annual Earth Day event and Ballantyne Medical Fair and brought out new tenants to the Corporate Tenant Golf League. The demand to hit the links was so strong The Golf Club at Ballantyne added a second night to accommodate the crowd.

The Masters Challenge Triathlon had over 20 participants in this fun, yet competitive, contest. Congratulations to Pam Ostrander with Cato Management for winning the competition for the second year in a row!

The annual Pumpkin Carving Contest at the Brixham Tent in October was a blast. Congratulations to Attus Technologies for Best Carved Pumpkin and The Newport Group for Best Decorated Pumpkin. Carolina Premier Bank earned Honorable Mention for its “bank vault” pumpkin.

Throughout the year, Bissell hosted quarterly blood drives, along with various seminars and classes. We thank you and your employees for your participation in these fun activities.

Bissell Hotels

In hospitality news, Bissell Hotels unveiled a new website, bissellhotels.com. The site features a clean, modern design with easy navigation and most importantly, a one-stop shop for all of your lodging needs.

The Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge celebrated its 10-year anniversary in September and continues to perform at the top of Starwood’s Luxury Collection brand in terms of overall guest satisfaction. Forbes Travel Guide recognized this facility, Gallery Restaurant and The Spa at Ballantyne yet again with Forbes Four-Star Awards. Gallery Restaurant won the Best Dish in NC Award in the fine dining category for the Piedmont region. The Spa at Ballantyne completed extensive enhancements to improve upon its sense of arrival. Improvements include a splash of modern décor, more spacious, relaxing lounge areas and much more.

Courtyard by Marriott Charlotte Ballantyne received Marriott’s Silver Award for guest satisfaction as well as recognition for least incidents experienced out of 800+ Courtyard hotels worldwide. Our Courtyard also recently redesigned its lobby space. The new “living space” provides more seating options, a 52-inch LCD informational touchscreen GoBoard and The Bistro, a casual, comfortable venue to enjoy higher quality, healthier menu options for breakfast and light-evening fare.

It was another award-winning year for Staybridge Suites Charlotte Ballantyne. Our Staybridge Suites hotel received the
InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) Quality Excellence Award for achieving the highest standards in product quality, hotel operation and customer satisfaction. Several associates were nationally recognized, including Katarina Schneider-Meneely as Guest Service Employee of the Year and Kim Montijo as General Manager of the Year. Staybridge Suites conducted fundraising activities throughout the year in an effort to support the Give Kids the World Village, a 70-acre “storybook” resort where children with life-threatening illnesses and their families are treated to fantasy vacations.

Aloft Charlotte Ballantyne continued to gain momentum both locally and internationally. Our Aloft hotel was #1 in customer service and among the brand’s best in overall guest satisfaction. The Aloft brand also celebrated its 50th hotel opening this year.

Dana Rader Golf School & The Golf Club at Ballantyne

Dana Rader Golf School was selected yet again as a Top 25 Golf School in the nation by Golf Magazine. Dana Rader is currently the President of the LPGA and was named one of the Top 100 Teachers in the U.S. by Golf Magazine. Golf Digest included Dana again in its list of America’s Best Teachers.

In March, the School opened an indoor golf training center at Charlotte Athletic Club. Under the direction of Marc Lapointe, senior instructor at Dana Rader Golf School, the uptown location provides a golf simulator game improvement, practice and playing facility.

The Golf Club at Ballantyne completed two significant improvements to the 2nd and 8th holes. The new tee boxes at the 2nd hole require a more challenging dogleg drive; the new 8th green offers a more approachable putting surface and increased playability. In September, The Golf Club at Ballantyne raised $15,000 to benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation, an organization that provides post-secondary educational scholarships for children and spouses of military service men and women killed or disabled while serving our nation.

Looking Ahead to 2012

We are already gearing up for next year and are excited about impending road improvements that will begin this spring to enhance our mobility into and out of the Park. We believe that a healthy, efficient and enjoyable work experience is critical in attracting and retaining the most talented individuals to your team. Bissell’s goal is to provide that experience for you.

As always, we welcome any and all feedback. If you have any questions or comments, please send us an email through the form under “Contact” on go-ballantyne.com. Our Property Services team looks forward to serving you in the New Year. Best wishes to you, your associates and your families.

Sincerely,

Thomas R. Pizzo
President of Property Services