says Crabtree. “Apple is building its East Coast campus out in RTP, Google announced an engineering home in Durham and VinFast is building a manufacturing plant outside of Ra-leigh. And a lot of that growth is going to the tertiary markets outside of Raleigh to markets like Wendell, Knightdale, Holly Springs and Apex, which are seeing very high growth.” In South Carolina’s top markets, the main demand drivers for retail space stems from its advanced manufactur-ing bases. In Spartanburg, BMW has an established manufacturing plant that spans more than 8 million square feet and employs roughly 11,000 workers. The Upstate region benefits from BMW’s network of automotive suppliers, including tire manufactur-ers, as well as other industrial users looking to utilize Inland Port Greer, which connects directly via rail to the Port of Charleston. Jimmy Wright, shareholder with NAI Earle Furman, says that Green-ville-Spartanburg’s industrial roots remain intact and that the market is also becoming a haven for the young-er generation, many of whom are graduates of nearby Furman Univer-sity and Clemson University. “Greenville-Spartanburg is still a manufacturing-based economy — we have good jobs here and we have a good quality of life, just like most markets in the Southeast,” says Wright. “We’re seeing an influx of people moving here and are retiring here. Ten years ago, twenty-some-things would move to Atlanta or Charlotte, but now they’re staying in the Greenville area, so we now have a broad section of people to tap into from a retailing perspective.” In Charleston, Volvo, Boeing and Mercedes-Benz have established manufacturing operations, and work is just now underway on Redwood which attracts both developers and investors. Tanger recently acquired Asheville Outlets from New England Development for $70 million. Built in 2015, the outlet mall was 95 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Nike, Under Armour, RH, Bath & Body Works, Crate & Barrel and West Elm. The property, now known as Tanger Outlets Asheville, includes two anchors: Sportsman’s Warehouse and a separately owned Dillard’s Clearance Center. Jamestown, WECCO Development and Weaver Capital Partners are partnering on Navy Yard Charleston, a 79-acre mixed-use redevelopment of a former naval base. Materials’ $3.5 billion EV battery manufacturing plant in Berkeley County. Sherrod of NAI Charleston says that Charleston, like the other Carolinas markets, is a popular land-ing spot for retirees and young people alike. “Approximately 30-plus people move to Charleston every day,” says Sherrod. “People want to live here be-cause they can work from home eas-ier than before COVID. We also have an influx of half-backs, or people who moved from the Northeast to Florida and then moved halfway back up the East Coast.” Lebovitz of CBL Properties says that it’s not just the big four Carolinas markets that are seeing these demand drivers. And he should know as the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based mall owner has owned and operated large malls in smaller Carolinas markets such as Myrtle Beach, Wilmington and Fayetteville for years. “Carolinas markets other than Charlotte are starting to get attention from top-notch retailers,” says Lebo-vitz. “CBL has seen that particularly at Friendly Center in Greensboro and Mayfaire in Wilmington where de-mand has grown tremendously.” Asheville is another market that is seeing outsized residential growth, Perhaps the most marquee proj-ect in the development pipeline is Greenville County Square, a $1 billion mixed-use development underway in downtown Greenville. The develop-ment is a public-private partnership In the works Photos courtesy of CBL Properties Mayfaire is an open-air retail destination in Wilmington, N.C. CBL Properties recently signed Anthropologie and Lululemon to the tenant roster and will soon add a hotel. www.REBusinessOnline.com Southeast Real Estate Business • March 2024 • 19
Southeast Real Estate Business March 2024: Page 19
