The Shops at Greenridge to open in '05

The Shops at Greenridge is planned on a triangular, 71-acre tract bounded by Woodruff Road and interstates 85 and 385 that was part of the estate of the late Greenville industrialist John D. Hollingsworth.

Crosland bought the property for $14.1 million in a transaction that closed Wednesday, Pappas said.

The sale price of the land works out to about $200,000 an acre, a record price per acre for a tract that size in Greenville, and possibly South Carolina, said Harry Croxton, retail specialist with Coldwell Banker Caine Commercial Real Estate, which represented the buyer.

"But it's probably the premier site in the Upstate," Croxton said. He said Crosland has a reputation for quality development.

The land sale also marks the most-significant single divestiture of an asset of the Hollingsworth estate, said Irvine T. "Buck" Welling Jr., Hollingsworth's longtime accountant and chairman of Hollingsworth Funds, a foundation that controls the estate.

Welling said the $14.1 million will be invested, with the resulting income distributed annually to the foundation's beneficiaries: Furman University, the Greenville County YMCA and other local charities approved for grants.

Hollingsworth died in 2000, leaving an estate valued at about $300 million to Hollingsworth Funds, most of it real estate. While he was alive, Hollingsworth called the 71 acres the "jewel" of his portfolio.

Pappas said the only other retailer that has signed a lease so far — besides Lowe's and Best Buy — is Total Wine, a Washington, D.C.-based chain.

Pappas wouldn't talk about who else might sign leases, but he said the center should include purveyors of home furnishings and sporting goods. Some of the stores will be new to Greenville, while others will be extra locations for retailers already in the market, he said. Some stores will be relocated from existing sites in Greenville, Pappas said.

Plans show a horseshoe of 11 stores visible from I-85 and I-385 with a "village" of smaller shops in the center of the property and seven so-called "outparcels" along Woodruff Road.

Pappas said the development would include a water fountain or "something that gives a sense of place."

Charles Thrift, a Crosland leasing associate, said the village will likely include a courtyard capable of accommodating a crowd of up to 150 people for live music.

"It's an incredible location, and we feel we're bringing something unique to the Upstate," Thrift said.

Tim Brennan, a Core Properties partner, said the outparcels should attract "some very exciting new restaurant concepts to Greenville that aren't even in the state of South Carolina yet."

The Shops at Greenridge would be 60 percent larger than Cherrydale Point in Northwest Greenville and about the same size as the Dorman Center in Spartanburg, according to data kept by Grubb & Ellis/The Furman Co., a local
real estate brokerage.

And it's bound to bring more traffic to Woodruff Road, said Eric Dillon, traffic engineer with the state Department of Transportation's regional office in Greenville.

"There are only so many cars that can fit into so many lanes," Dillon said.

Crosland has proposed a turning lane along Woodruff Road in front of the shopping center as well as a second entrance and road improvements at Garlington Road. The developer's plans also include a new stoplight on Woodruff Road between I-85 and Garlington Road.