Unison Realty Partners Expands Charlotte Market Presence
Unison Realty Partners Expands Charlotte Market Presence with Acquisition of Mooresville Festival
Anchored by Kohl’s and Big Lots, shopping center is a soft-goods retail destination in Mooresville, NC corridor
MOORESVILLE, NC (March 1, 2017) – Unison Realty Partners, a leading privately held retail real estate investment management firm, today announced that it has made its third acquisition in North Carolina with the purchase of Mooresville Festival, a 160,000-square foot community shopping center in Mooresville. The firm acquired the 12 store-front property from a foreign investment group for $10 million. Anchored by Kohl’s and Big Lots, the property is currently 95% leased, with over 80% occupied by investment-grade credit and national store tenants.
Situated off Interstate 77 on the local retail corridor of Route 150, Mooresville Festival serves as a soft-goods retail destination for the surrounding community. The property is shadow-anchored by Belk department store and additional tenants under Unison’s ownership include Shoe Carnival and Belk Kids.
Located 25 miles north of Charlotte, Mooresville is positioned on Lake Norman, and is one of the fastest growing regions in the MSA, attracting both long-time Charlotte residents and transplants from other cities seeking a high quality of life. Charlotte itself was ranked as one of America’s fastest-growing cities of 2016, and Mooresville is no stranger to growth. The town experienced a 60% population increase over the latest ten-year census period. In addition to being home to the corporate headquarters of national home improvement chain Lowe’s Companies, Mooresville also earned itself the nickname “Race City USA” as an epicenter for NASCAR teams and racing-related businesses.
“We are thrilled to deepen our presence in the Charlotte MSA with a quality property serving the growing Lake Norman community,” said Karim Fadel, founder and principal of Unison Realty Partners. “Mooresville Festival has been a success to date, and we are excited to continue optimizing its tenancy for the Mooresville residents.”
Unison has retained Collett, the region’s preeminent full-service commercial real estate firm specializing in retail, as the center’s property manager and leasing agent. Collett served as the original developer for the Mooresville Festival property in 1991.
“We look forward to partnering with Unison on Mooresville Festival as a continuation of our success to-date together in the North Carolina markets,” said Charlie Ellis, Partner and founding member of Collett. “We have been intimately familiar with the property since its construction, and are eager to return to the project in a management role.”
Mooresville Festival marks Unison’s third acquisition in the state. The firm also owns and operates Johnston Road Plaza, a Food Lion-anchored center in the Pineville sub-market of Charlotte, and Chatham Crossing, a Lowes Foods and CVS-anchored center in Chapel Hill. Collett serves as property management and leasing agent for both properties, each recently achieving 100% occupancy in the past year under Unison’s ownership. Unison continues to actively seek new deals in North Carolina and throughout the Southeast region to complement its existing New England and Mid-Atlantic presence.
Blake Thomas of Avison Young was the broker in this acquisition.
About Unison Realty Partners:
Unison Realty Partners is a Boston-based, privately held real estate investment management firm established in 2010. Focused purely on middle-market retail property segment, Unison works with individuals, families and institutions seeking to invest in neighborhood and community shopping centers in the Eastern U.S. As a direct owner and operator, the firm’s investment strategy focuses on acquiring and repositioning, redeveloping or otherwise improving shopping centers anchored by necessity and convenience-based tenants. For more information, please visit www.unisonrealtypartners.com.