But his latest project looks like such a sure thing it is commanding higher than normal rental rates and land prices.
"Our rates start at $19 per sf, which is a notch higher than a lot of others in the area," Rowe tells Globest.com. His latest project, the 185,000 sf Wakefield Plantation, is due to have its grand opening Sept. 1.
The retail component is part of a 2,200-acre master planned community that includes championship golf courses and about 4,200 homes, as well as multifamily and offices.
Wakefield Associates is marketing the land for office and commercial uses at prices ranging from $4 per sf ($174,240 per acre) to $16 per sf ($696,960 per acre) for out-parcels. Prospective medical tenants are interested, Rowe says.
The project's location is off U. S. 1 near the new 540 Outer Loop going around the Triangle area. An exit about one mile from the Wakefield project is due to open in June.
Business has never really slowed since he started his five-person company in 1985, Rowe says.
"Even when the economy starts to slow down in other areas, the Research Triangle has its research component that continues to grow," he tells GlobeSt.com. "I think that coupled with the fact that we have three universities and this is the state capital, they all compliment each other," he says.
The area's granddaddy of malls is the 1.4 million-sf Crabtree Valley Mall, which Rowe says maintains its rental rates and traffic counts. In addition to its latest and largest project, Wakefield is working on five other retail centers.
The company recently formed a joint venture with New Hyde Park, NY-based Kimco Realty Corp. Kimco, a REIT with more than 500 properties and assets valued at $4 billion, already has centers in the area, including the Pleasant Valley Promenade in Raleigh and the OakCreek Village Shopping Center in Durham.
"Most of our work has been in the Triangle area, though we follow a few of the national retailers that we work with," Rowe says. "We're relatively small, but teaming up with someone who has a good reputation nationally could lead to more projects and get us introduced to the larger retailers."
Most of the retail developers in the Triangle area have been locals, he says, drawn in large part by the vacancy rate that he says continues to hover around 4% despite new building.
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