GAINESVILLE, GA. — Greenville, S.C.-based Pacolet Milliken Enterprises has tapped Greenville-based Carolina Holdings to develop a 460,000-square-foot retail project in Gainesville. The property will span 55 acres at the intersection of Jesse Jewell Parkway and Limestone Parkway. No groundbreaking date has been set.
“It’s a fairly big piece of property for the Gainesville community,” says David Winburn of Carolina Holdings. “We really are at the very early stages of it. We’ve just begun figuring out how best lay out the boxes on the site.” It’s so early in the process, in fact, that the company is still waiting on soil tests and other prep work before moving forward with the development’s layout. The location, Winburn says, is one of the “gateway entrances” to the city and will be well-served by a retail project.
Winburn says that Carolina Holdings is moving forward with the development because Gainesville is weathering the recession with vigor. “We feel that our site is well-positioned in an area that’s been fairly stable,” he says. Carolina Holdings has targeted the area for a retail project, but with a site location close to Gainesville’s central business district and the proliferation of medical office buildings in the area, that could easily change. At this point in the process and with the dearth of retail in the area, it’s unlikely, but anything’s possible. “We think we have a retail site, but as we go through it, we’ll pay attention to what the market tells us,” Winburn says.
Pazdan-Smith Group of Greenville will design the project, and Hall Engineering and Freeland & Associates will provide engineering and surveying services, respectively. Carolina Holdings will oversee project entitlements, architectural and civil plan developments and leasing of major property tenants. Winburn says the next goal on the road to completion is May’s International Council of Shopping Centers conference in Las Vegas. His firm will bring a finalized project plan to the conference, hoping to generate interest among retailers.
“April’s going to be a busy 30 days,” he says.