Affluent Retail Centers Selling Fast in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, NC-In back-to-back retail sales, Cotswold Village and Terraces at SouthPark have traded for $85 million. The sales reflect Charlotte’s recovering retail market. Casey Rosen and Mike Burkard of CB Richard Ellis’ National Retail Investment Group Florida and Charlotte Teams exclusively represented the sellers. The sellers were affiliates of Greensboro-based Bell Partners.

“The investment environment for grocery-anchored centers has been particularly strong,” Burkard tells GlobeSt.com. “Pricing on these centers has reverted to pre-recession levels due to high investor demand and extremely favorable debt alternatives.”

Selling for $74 million, Cotswold Village is one of the most successful shopping centers in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The 50-year old property has 262,553 square feet of class A retail on 22 acres and serves the affluent and mature neighborhoods of south Charlotte. Anchored by Harris Teeter, Marshalls and PetSmart, Cotswold has a long history of strong tenant sales, a supply constrained trade area, strong demographics and a lineup of leading specialty retailers including Starbuck's, Ulta, Toys & Co. and Bath & Body Works.

Terraces at SouthPark is a 28,658-square-foot specialty retail center in Charlotte's premier suburban retail and office submarket of SouthPark. SunTrust Bank and FedEx-Kinko's are the property's largest tenants. Terraces at SouthPark sold for $11 million. It was built in 1999 and is located across from the upscale SouthPark Mall and surrounded by 3.8 million square feet of office space and an affluent residential base. A new Whole Foods grocer is under construction adjacent to the property.  

“Both properties are located in mature neighborhoods with significant barriers to new competition,” Burkard says. "Cotswold Village represented a rare opportunity to purchase a market dominant grocery anchored community center that contains all of the elements institutional investors are looking for today—market leading grocer, in-fill location, excellent demographics and opportunity for future growth.”