A former grocery store on Wilkinson Boulevard that's sat vacant for years will soon be upfitted into new office space.
Charlotte firms Red Hill Ventures and the Roby Family of Cos. are in a joint venture to redevelop the old Park 'n Shop building, at 3512 Wilkinson Blvd., into about 30,000 square feet of office space. The venture, New Park N Shop LLC, acquired the 2.4-acre property at Wilkinson Boulevard and Old Steele Creek Road in October for $1.8 million, according to Mecklenburg County real estate records.
The Park 'n Shop on Wilkinson was one of the city's busiest grocery stores at its peak, with a favorable location on a main thoroughfare in Charlotte. It was opened in the late 1950s by Charles Reid and drew shoppers from across the region — Park 'n Shop eventually became a small chain of grocery stores throughout the '60s and '70s.
The Wilkinson Boulevard store closed in 2004 and has sat vacant since. The iconic sign was removed by an architectural salvage business in an episode of "Salvage Dawgs" that aired on the DIY Network in 2017.
The building has since fallen into disrepair, so Red Hill and Roby will have to work through asbestos abatement and other issues before bringing the structure up to 21st-century standards. But the idea is to keep the overall aesthetic of the building in place, though it may be expanded slightly, said Tim O'Brien, Charlotte studio manager at LaBella Associates. That firm is heading up architecture and engineering on the project.
The team expects to have permits by March, with between three to six months of construction work expected before space delivers later this year.
The Park 'n Shop redevelopment is one of several projects in west Charlotte that Red Hill and Roby have in the works. The firms will also this year develop a flex project behind the QuikTrip on Wilkinson Boulevard.
Erick Miller of Red Hill Ventures said there's been good pre-leasing interest so far at the Park 'n Shop redevelopment. It includes an approximately 6,500-square-foot basement space likely used for storage or deliveries during the grocery store's days. That space could be converted into a private office or, potentially, a retail use.
The building will be designed for up to five office suites but is flexible and could accommodate even a single user.
West Charlotte is quickly changing, with developers looking for old buildings to upfit and land to develop on, creating a rush of investment in an area that has for years lagged as other parts of town have boomed.
Red Hill and Roby are using an opportunity zone fund for the Park 'n Shop project as well as the flex development off Wilkinson but say they had planned to pursue the sites before the legislation was introduced. In fact, Roby acquired a 12-acre assemblage at Wilkinson Boulevard and West Morehead Street in 2009 because company leaders felt momentum would come back to Wilkinson, especially because it's a primary connection between uptown and Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
"We want this to be our trademark," said Trent Haston, president and CEO of the Roby Family of Companies.
Roby Realty will handle leasing at the Park 'n Shop project. Roby Commercial is the general contractor. Red Hill Ventures will lead project management and development.