Crosland Southeast Begins Blakeney Square; Announces BB&T, Chick-fil-A and Firestone as Tenants

Charlotte, N.C., Feb. 15, 2012 – Crosland Southeast, one of the region’s leading retail development firms, has begun development on the final phase of Blakeney in south Charlotte N.C. The firm has signed leases with BB&T, Chick-fil-A, and Firestone as the tenants of Blakeney Square, the last phase of the four quadrant 270-acre Blakeney master plan.

Over half of the original nine acre Blakeney Square site has been donated to the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department as stream buffer. The preserved green space will serve as the connecting link between an existing network of trails behind the Apartments at Blakeney, Blakeney Crossing, and the Blakeney Greens and Blakeney Preserve neighborhoods.

Blakeney is a multi-use development that includes nearly 600,000 square feet of retail, single-family attached and detached homes, office development and apartment homes. Complete with a 1.5-acre community park with entertainment area and playground, the original retail component is home to Target and Harris Teeter, with more than 300,000 square feet of specialty retail, casual and upscale dining, and local and national retailers. Its second retail phase, Blakeney Crossing, is anchored by Best Buy and PetSmart. The master plan was embraced by consumers and succeeded in establishing a new commercial node in affluent South Charlotte.

Blakeney Square is the final phase of Blakeney, offering the area’s last prime retail space. BB&T, Chick-fil-A and Firestone have each signed leases for freestanding stores. Construction has begun, with completion expected by year-end 2012. Crosland Southeast worked with the tenants to maintain high-quality architectural compatibility with overall Blakeney area.

Bank of America will provide the construction loan, Osborne Company is the general contractor, and W.D. Smith is handling grading/earthwork.

Crosland Southeast is also underway on the redevelopment of Quail Corners Shopping Center in south Charlotte, as well as Stonebridge, a redevelopment of the former 1,000,000-square-foot Cloverleaf Mall in Richmond, Va. Work on phase 1 of the 83-acre multi-use development joint venture with Hutensky Capital Partners began in October 2011 and includes a 120,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace, which will be the largest Kroger in the commonwealth.

About Crosland Southeast

Through its acquisition of Crosland’s Retail Development division in 2011, Crosland Southeast and its partners have a long history of developing and leasing award winning retail and mixed-use developments throughout seven southeastern states. The five Crosland Southeast partners previously served as officers of the 74-year old Crosland legacy company, and have a combined 110 years experience in the shopping center industry. During their tenure at Crosland, the partners developed over 20 million square feet of retail space.

Notable projects include Birkdale Village and Blakeney in Charlotte, N.C., Providence Marketplace in Nashville, Tenn., The Shops at Greenridge in Greenville, S.C., and Biltmore Park Town Square in Asheville, NC. Today, Crosland Southeast perpetuates the excellence of the legacy company with its emphasis on retail acquisitions, advisory services, single-tenant development and the development of high-quality retail and mixed-use projects. For more information, visit www.croslandsoutheast.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Julianne McCollum

Yellow Duck Marketing

704-271-9556
julianne@yellowduckmarketing.com