NASCAR name no longer carries the same weight in Charlotte

Putting the NASCAR name atop a large office building no longer attracts other tenants like it used to.

The massive NASCAR sign atop the office tower adjoining the NASCAR Hall of Fame in uptown Charlotte was removed last week and replaced by a sign reading “Five Fifty South,” the new name for the 20-story office building at 550 S. Caldwell St.

Real estate firms Foundry Commercial and Cousins Properties, which manage the building, announced in December that they would change its name to 550 South in order to emphasize its uptown Charlotte locale.

“Replacing the sign was just the next step in a re-branding process that we’re really excited about,” Foundry partner Meredith Ball said.

Other signage around the building had already been changed, but the top-floor logo stayed longer because of the time it took to manufacture its replacement, according to Ball. Though the logo is gone and the name changed, most of NASCAR’s operations at 550 South will remain.

Meanwhile, a project is underway to move NASCAR Productions, the company’s television and video wing, to a new multi-million dollar facility in Concord near Charlotte Motor Speedway, according to Forbes. NASCAR Productions is currently housed in 550 South. Read more at Charlotte Observer