By Mark Wineka
mwineka@salisburypost.com
Childress Klein Properties, a large Charlotte developer, has purchased 15.3 acres at Jake Alexander Boulevard and Brenner Avenue from Livingstone College for $2 million.
Meanwhile, Childress Klein still has interest in Livingstone College’s 97 acres across the road, according to Chris Thomas, a partner.
The larger tract has long been rumored as a future retail development that would include a SuperTarget store.
Childress Klein’s two-year option on the 97 acres recently expired, but Thomas said his company has executed a longer term agreement with the college. He said Livingstone is committed to working with Childress Klein on a master plan.
Thomas said Childress Klein has had active discussions with a number of retailers about this Jake Alexander Boulevard-Brenner Avenue area. He acknowledged retailers are being a little more cautious in the current economic environment and that some patience will have to be shown with the Salisbury property.
Thomas expressed excitement, however, about his company’s recent land purchase.
Childress Klein Properties ó more precisely, CK Salisbury Retail LLC ó bought the 15.3 acres at Brenner Avenue and Jake Alexander Boulevard on June 30.
The triangular wedge of land reaches back to Milford Hills Drive along Brenner Avenue. It extends along Jake Alexander Boulevard to a point opposite the Salisbury Motor Co. property across the street.
Livingstone College Entrepreneurial Development Co. is the entity that controls the large amount of land the college owns in this area. The 185-plus acres (before the recent sale of a portion to Childress Klein) had an assessed value of more than $9.7 million, according to county land records.
In early 2007, Childress Klein purchased a 1.44-acre parcel at 1318 Lincolnton Road for $600,000.
That parcel is seen as providing additional access to the 97-acre tract.
Key tenants in other Childress Klein retail centers have included SuperTarget stores, prompting the long-held belief that a Target store could end up in Salisbury.
Afton Ridge, a 500,000-square-foot retail center which Childress Klein has developed in Kannapolis, includes a SuperTarget, Best Buy, Marshalls, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Lane Bryant and other stores.
Childress Klein is one of the larger real estate development, investment and management companies in the Southeast. It has projects in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia, with main offices in Atlanta and Charlotte.
The company has more than 270 employees involved in office, industrial and retail development.