After five years and $5.5 million, Red Hill Ventures’ remake of East Town Market is complete.
Red Hill Ventures purchased the 182,362-square-foot commercial center at the intersection of North Sharon Amity Road and East W.T. Harris Boulevard for $13 million in 2017. The development has 142,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, anchored by Compare Foods, and about 40,000 square feet of office space on the second floor.
Todd Collins, founder and CEO of Red Hill Ventures, said prior to the acquisition, the 38-year-old development was owned by Florida-based Sterling Organization. The investment firm bought the property in 2007 with the intent of building a Walmart on the site. Collins said when those plans fell through, the property fell into disarray.
“For 10 years, that center languished,” he told the Charlotte Business Journal. “When the opportunity became available we were excited because we knew there was a massive vacuum of need. The goal was to make it look like something people cared about and were proud to have it there.”
Between 2018 and 2019, the firm focused on making basic repairs and renovations, which included repaving the parking lot, repairing the roof and replacing the HVAC. Most recently, Red Hill Ventures completed a lengthy facade renovation that included painting, replacing the exterior awnings, new signage, landscaping and hardscaping. The interior office atrium was also completely renovated.
Work wrapped up at the end of August. 505Design, Rite Light Signs and a crew of independent contractors worked on the project.
“We asked ourselves a few questions as they were completing renovations, ‘Is it a high-functioning center? Does it look great? Is it a place you feel safe visiting? Do you feel like it’s a good place to come work every day or house your business?'” Collins said.
Red Hill Ventures also owns five multifamily communities in east Charlotte — Amber Lake Apartments, Park Haven Apartments, Park Creek Apartments, Sharon Pines Apartments and Woodfield Gardens Apartments — totaling nearly 950 units.
It was the residents in those apartments that Collins said made Red Hill Ventures seriously consider investing in retail and office real estate in the neighborhood.
“Prior to our purchase of the center, when we would tour communities, one of the things our residents said was that it was a challenge because there were no nearby services or amenities they could benefit from,” he said. “There’s a massive gap in service, so any business that locates itself in the center is often the sole provider of that service.”
Erick Miller, Red Hill Ventures’ commercial director, said leasing momentum has been strong, and he believes it’s due to the on-site changes. When Red Hill Ventures bought East Town Market, occupancy hovered around 40%. Now, Miller said, it’s at 95%.
Current tenants include Speechworks Therapy Services, LaundroLab, Diener Law and job-training services through the Urban League of Central Carolinas. Local counseling group Harmony Health has expanded three times at the center, going from 900 square feet to 3,500 square feet, Miller said. And an urgent care facility is slated to open sometime next year.
“What we’ve experienced in the last 18 to 24 months is the progress we made in filling out the whole center with that tenant mix we’re talking about,” he said. “The exciting thing is, with the base work and refresh, we’ve done a lot of what was required to get this property really active.”
Collins said when they purchased the property, it had only one office tenant. Now, he said, 42 businesses lease office space on the second floor. The average leasing rate for the property is about $17 per square foot.
“These are all businesses where the owners are primarily residents of Charlotte and east Charlotte,” he said. “There’s been a massive gap in service, so any business that locates itself in the center are often the sole provider of that service.”
Collins said that in the past, misconceptions about the quality of the neighborhood may have kept regional and national brand tenants away. He thinks that might begin to change now that East Town Market renovations are complete.
“The reason we weren’t getting some of the regional and national brands was because they perceived the AMI (area median income) of that area to be a bit too low,” he said. “In general, east Charlotte is often overlooked as a vibrant community and an economically viable area.”
