TIDE TURNS IN PROJECT'S FAVOR
When site preparation started in 2004, the developers of 24-acre Morrison figured they would finish the mixed-use project in late 2006.
About 34 condo owners have moved in and a couple of retail tenants have opened, but construction is still under way at Sharon and Colony roads.
Morrison has moved slower than anticipated, said Clay Grubb, president of Grubb Properties, which is developing the project with Casto Lifestyle Properties. But he believes it is poised now to be SouthPark's Next Big Thing.
Enough has been accomplished on the ground to give potential tenants and residents a good idea where the project is going and what it will look like.
Grubb said he never lost faith that the pivotal site -- about a block from SouthPark mall -- was too good not to succeed.
His challenge was convincing his anchor tenants during often intense and prolonged lease negotiations over such issues as common area ownership and customer parking.
"We had to do a lot of hand holding with retailers to get them to understand our commitment to getting it right," Grubb said.
Such projects can be tough to accomplish, said retail analyst Kathleen Rose of Rose & Associates Southeast Inc., because "the retail industry is just now beginning to understand mixed use."
The traditional model, she said, has been smaller tenants following supermarket anchors to a neighborhood center, big-box anchors to a power center or department stores to a mall.
Mixed-use developers must convince anchors that a project will have a critical mass of shops and residents to support them.
"With retailers, it's always about prices and location -- a location where they can maximize sales potential and not be out-positioned by a competitor," Rose said.
Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar backed out of its plans in 2005 to lease space at Morrison, touching off rumors in the real estate industry about the project's potential to succeed.
"There was always this dance: 'Oh, Fleming is gone, what else is going to happen,' " Grubb said. "We just kept plowing forward."
He said the Newport Beach, Calif., chain walked because it was concerned there were too many steakhouse competitors in the SouthPark market.
The mall's expansion also impeded progress at Morrison.
"SouthPark dramatically impacted our ability to nail down retailers," Grubb said, when owner Simon Property Group began marketing new shop space in competition with it.
"It disrupted our plans, but in the end I think it was positive because the caliber of retailers looking in the market increased dramatically," he said.
Now, Grubb believes, attention is shifting to Morrison. Tenants have leased or have signed letters of intent to lease 91 percent of the project's 130,000 square feet of retail, he said.
Varji & Varji Salon and Winestore are open.
Earth Fare, a natural and organic foods market, is finishing its 25,000-square-foot store with plans to open in late summer.
Barnes & Noble will move from Sharon Corners to a 28,500-square-foot, two-story bookstore at the Sharon and Colony corner in March.
Women's clothier Capitol will move its high-fashion boutique from Phillips Place to a two-story, 6,000-square-foot space in May.
A high-end furniture store -- name undisclosed -- has signed a letter of intent to occupy the last anchor spot, Grubb said.
The market favors Morrison.
The continued upscaling of SouthPark mall is attracting more high-end shoppers, and condo development is flourishing in the area.
Urban planners endorse high-density mixed-use projects such as Phillips Place in SouthPark and Birkdale Village in Huntersville because they cut down on car trips, helping reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.
Grubb Properties' goal is to create a village with small streets and sidewalks for residents to walk to shops and restaurants.
The Grubb Real Estate Preservation Foundation preserved the Lloyd Presbyterian Church Cemetery as a green retreat and a memorial to the church on an adjoining 2.1 acres.
Grubb said he expects the retail space to be 100 percent occupied by next April. Residential development will continue as the market dictates, probably in phases over the next four years.
The company has experience in apartment, condo and office development, but Grubb believes so strongly in mixed use that "we've committed our company to it going forward," he said.
Grubb Properties developed the Latta Pavilion mixed-use project in Dilworth and is working on three other such projects in the state, Grubb said.
Morrison provided the company a lesson in the importance of holding on to anchor tenants in a massive mixed-use project, Grubb said.
"Another thing we really learned at Morrison is the importance of a perception of convenient parking," he said.
Even though decks will be available, "we need to make sure there is a fair amount of surface parking up front," he said.
Grubb said the company will apply the lessons in Elizabeth, where it's spearheading a redevelopment to include a 55,000-plus-square-foot Whole Foods Market.
MORRISON OVERVIEW
Size: 24 acres.
Residential units planned: 550.
Retail: 130,000 square feet.
Parking: about 1,000 spaces.
Developers: Grubb Properties and Casto Lifestyle Properties.
Architect: Little Diversified Architectural Consulting.
Contractor: Rodgers Builders.
Info: www.grubbproperties.com.
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
The Lofts at Morrison
Size: 37 condos.
Price range: high $100,000s to mid-$300,000s.
Unit size: 549 to 1,387 square feet.
Completion: summer 2006.
721
Size: 80 condos.
Price range: $240,000s to $500,000s.
Unit size: 787 to 1,556 square feet.
Completion: June 2007.
Luxury Condos
(Name to be announced)
Size: 2 units.
Price range: $999,000 to $1.475 million.
Unit size: 2,920 -- 4,290 square feet.
Completion: Spring 2008.
Still planned: about 222 for-sale homes ranging from condo flats and penthouses to luxury 3-level garage townhomes.
Prices: up to $500 per square foot with high-end units in the $2.5 million range.
Sterling Morrison Apartment Homes
Size: 214 apartments.
Units: 597 to 1,479 square feet.
Rental rate: $1,050 to $2, 490 monthly.
Completion: June 2007.
RETAIL DEVELOPMENT
Size: 130,000 square feet.
Leased: 66 percent; letters of intent to lease: 25 percent.
Completion: spring 2008.
Anchors: Earth Fare (summer 2007), Barnes & Noble (March 2008), Capitol (May 2008).
Open: Varji & Varji Salon and Spa, Winestore.
Who's coming: Arooji's Wine Room and Ristorante (May 2007), Laughing Buddha Yoga Studio (May 2007), Yama Asian Fusion restaurant (fall 2007), Stoney River Legendary Steaks (spring 2007), Swoozie's gifts, paper and printing (spring 2007).
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Doug Smith
April 18, 2007
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