Charlotte Business Journal
February 18th, 2011
A 10.5-acre tract in SouthPark is being targeted for an ambitious development with a Target-anchored collection of shops and apartments.
Renderings outline plans for what’s billed as The Market at South Park. Lincoln Harris, a consultant to property owner Atlanta-based Reynolds Capital Group, has made inquiries with area brokers about tenants for the proposed project. The site lies behind the SouthPark Towers on Fairview Road on vacant land bounded by Piedmont Row Drive South and Barclay Downs Drive.
The biggest retail name linked to the project: Target Corp., one of the main anchors at high-profile developments such as Blakeney and the Metropolitan on the edge of uptown. Target could make a decision on the Charlotte development within a few weeks, an industry source says…
Andrew Jenkins, Managing Partner, KARNES
Although retail demand remains weak, the submarket that includes SouthPark had some of the best leasing activity in Charlotte during 2010, according to Karnes Research Co. Last year, the area absorbed 72,170 square feet of retail space, up from a net loss of 257,023 square feet in 2009. The retail vacancy rate in the submarket dropped to 8.6% in December from 9.8% year end 2009. Overall, the retail vacancy rate for the greater Charlotte market increased to 9.9% from 8.4% in 2009…
Still, Andrew Jenkins, managing partner at Karnes, says that a new retail project opening in 2012 or 2013 could benefit from continued improving consumer confidence and spending. In the current economic climate, new development is “going to go to the places with the best demographics in terms of existing households and incomes,” he says. Using that criteria, SouthPark is a safe bet, Jenkins says…
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