The anchor supermarket in a longtime Charleston retail center is slated to be relocated as part of a proposed redevelopment plan.
Charlotte-based real estate developer Faison wants to move the existing 48,391-square-foot Publix grocery store in Ashley Landing Shopping Center in West Ashley to a corner space now occupied by discount store Dollar Tree, part of the space used by workout site Pivotal Fitness and a vacant store where Napa Auto Parts once operated on the corner.
"A portion of building will be demolished, circulation will be improved and the existing Publix will relocate across the parking lot," according to conceptual site plans for the property near Sam Rittenberg Boulevard and Old Towne Road. "The remainder will be new commercial tenant space."
Pivotal Fitness is in the process of moving to a 45,905-square-foot space once occupied by retailer Burlington, which recently opened a store in St. Andrews Center off Savannah Highway. Pivotal plans to open in the new space on Aug. 1.
Plans do not show a relocation site for Dollar Tree, though some existing vacant and reworked shop space could be available.
Pivotal Fitness will relocate by Aug. 1 to the site once occupied by retail shop Burlington in Ashley Landing Shopping Center. A new sign, shown above, is already on the new fitness location. The current sites of Pivotal Fitness and its next-door neighbor, Dollar Tree, are set to be demolished to make way for the relocation of Publix from across the parking lot in the retail center. Warren L. Wise/Staff
A 28,616-square-foot space remains vacant in the former site of Charleston Amish Furniture, which moved to a new location south on Sam Rittenberg Boulevard earlier this year.
Plans do not address what will happen to the longtime Big Lots store near the existing Pivotal Fitness site.
Faison bought the nearly 30-acre shopping center in 2014 for $19.23 million. The retail center opened in 1972 and was originally called Ashley Plaza Mall.
"We have been gradually trying to make some improvements," said Kris Fetter, president and CEO of Faison. "We want to listen to the neighborhood and city officials to create something in line with expectations."
Fetter confirmed plans to relocate Publix, which opened in Ashley Landing in 1994, but he said the new sites of some tenants have not been lined up.
The site of Dollar Tree and nearby Pivotal Fitness in Ashley Landing Shopping Center in West Ashley is slated to be a new location for Publix supermarket, which the retail center owner wants to relocate from across the parking lot. Warren L. Wise/Staff
"We have some vacancy in the center," Fetter said. "We are working with those tenants. They may be relocated on the site."
He called Dollar Tree "a good traffic generator" and said talks are underway to relocate Red Orchids China Bistro within the center.
Fetter said the existing Publix will remain open until the new store is built, possibly by 2024, if all of the city approvals line up and supply and labor constraints don't come into play.
As for the 6.5-acre Publix site that will remain vacant once the grocer relocates, Fetter said the company is working with an architectural firm to develop a master plan for its "highest and best use."
He declined to say what the company is considering for the site, but he did offer some insight by saying the shopping center's retail footprint will be smaller when Publix relocates.
"We don't want to over-retail the area," Fetter said.
A Publix spokesman declined to comment on the plans.
The current Publix backs up to Sumar Street, where the city of Charleston plans a mixed-use redevelopment of restaurants, offices and outdoor event space on the city-owned site of a former Piggly Wiggly supermarket that closed in 2013 and was demolished in 2018.
Faison is working with the city on a plan for the current Publix site that fits in with what the city is planning to build at the former Piggly Wiggly site.
"We are trying to be thoughtful," Fetter said.
Faison officials plan to meet with neighborhood associations in August to outline plans for the shopping center and to receive feedback.
