Roaring Back

One of West Ashley’s most conspicuously empty pieces of commercial real estate was just purchased for $5 million.
Mike Harper, a commercial developer for the downtown office of Gramling Brothers, confirmed Friday that his company has purchased the 50,000-square-foot St. Andrews Boulevard shopping center that had been home for years to a Food Lion grocery store.
Dormant for months since the regional grocery chain closed the store last year, many in the community pointed to the empty store as proof of West Ashley’s problematic commercial real estate market.
Parts of West Ashley are thriving, as evidenced by the resurgence in shopping and dining destinations in Avondale Point a few blocks away on Savannah Highway.
And yet, other parts, like Citadel Mall and the Sam Rittenberg Boulevard commercial corridor, have been foundering for years.
Several politicians representing West Ashley see this purchase, which includes two strips where a CVS pharmacy and several causal restaurants enjoy strong patronage, as proof of West Ashley’s looming comeback.
City councilmen Bill Moody and Aubry Alexander both linked the sale to the ongoing improvements at the Ashley Landings site around the corner on Old Towne Road, where a Charlotte-based developer, Faison, has spent nearly four times as much on that property and outbuildings.
City government has been working steadily on a plan to help West Ashley enjoy the kind of quality growth Mt. Pleasant has enjoyed for the past decade.
Harper said that while he welcomes the glad tidings, he wants everyone to know, that his company hasn’t completed its redevelopment plan for the site. Food Lion, which is continuing to honor its several-year lease even though it’s not open, has given Gramling some breathing room.
Harper said that the site will probably attract a tenant dealing in what he called “necessity” shopping not available online, like another grocery store.
Tongues are wagging down St. Andrews that the shopping center Barnes and Noble occupies, Westwood Plaza, is about to undergo a major facelift, with Harris Teeter rumored to be going into the soon-to-be former Office Dept spot.
Office Depot, following national trends, has downsized into a smaller storefront in the same strip mall.
A spokesperson for Harris Teeter, whose presence helped spur redevelopment at the St. Andrews Shopping Center nearby, said it was against company policy to comment on any potential site unless a lease has been signed.
A Barnes and Noble spokesperson has said there are no plans to close or move or downsize its existing store there.