Continental Realty Nabs $17M Shopping Center in SC

by Laura Calugar

West Ashley Shoppes in Charleston

Charleston, S.C.—Continental Realty Corp., a Baltimore-based real estate investment and management company, recently acquired West Ashley Shoppes, a 136,242-square-foot retail center, from T West Ashley SC LLC for $17 million. The seller was represented in the transaction by SRS Real Estate Partners. The shopping center was approximately 93 percent occupied at the time of the purchase. Colliers International will now assume property management responsibilities.

Located at 946 Orleans Road, West Ashley Shoppes services the Charleston submarket of West Ashley and was renovated in 2003. Fronting Orleans Road, the asset is assimilated into the major retail big-box cluster of this area which includes Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Dillard’s, JC Penney and Target. The center is also adjacent to the Citadel Mall and anchored by four national credit tenants such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Cost Plus World Market, Ross Dress for Less and Party City. The average household income within a three-mile radius of the property exceeds $62,000 and more than 122,000 people reside within a five-mile radius.

West Ashley Shoppes in Charleston

“The large amount of wetlands in the area creates a high barriers-to-entry environment making it very difficult to develop any new shopping centers of scale. Many retailers in this submarket are thriving and the owners of several older centers are reinvesting capital and upgrading their properties by way of redevelopment or anchor re-tenanting. Given these fundamentals and on-going residential growth in the market, this is an exciting addition to our portfolio,” said Paul Kang, vice president of acquisitions for Continental Realty Corp., in a prepared statement.

Continental Realty acquired the asset on behalf of Continental Realty Fund IV LP, a $164 million fund that seeks value-add retail and multifamily opportunities in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions and represents the third retail property purchased by the Fund and sixth overall.

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