CHARLESTON, S.C. — Federal Capital Partners (FCP) and Roi-Tan Investments have purchased the Cigar Factory building on Charleston’s Cooper River waterfront for $24 million with plans to convert the site into a mixed-use property. The target date for completion is first-quarter 2015.
Taylor Smith and Austin Wilson of the Atlanta office of Lee & Associates, along with Amanda Reeves of the Charleston office, represented the buyer. The seller was TSO Cigar Factory LLC.
Constructed in 1882, the vacant building previously was used as office and commercial space. Redevelopment plans call for a transformation of the five-story, 244,000-square-foot building into a mixed-use property that includes office, restaurants, retail and parking.
Estimated costs for the building’s redevelopment will exceed $55 million, and both FCP and Roi-Tan will contribute equity capital to the transaction. FCP will also provide mezzanine debt financing.
The Cigar Factory in Charleston’s Historic District sits on 4.5 acres at the foot of Ravenel Bridge. The building was constructed in the Victorian-era commercial architecture style and features high, exposed ceilings and views of the river, Ravenel Bridge and the city’s skyline.
Roadstead Real Estate Advisors LLC and Palmetto Commercial Properties Inc. are currently pre-leasing the office and retail portions of the development.
Roi-Tan Investments is a Charleston investment group comprised of local investors, including William Cogswell of WECCO Development LLC and Jay Weaver of Weaver Capital Partners LLC, among others.
Federal Capital Partners of Chevy Chase, Md., is a privately held real estate investment firm that has invested in or financed more than $3.5 billion in assets since its founding in 1999. The firm currently owns and manages more than $2.3 billion in assets.
— Scott Reid