WEST ASHLEY — Demolition continues at the Ashley Landing shopping center where the popular Publix grocery store is expected to move across the parking lot as part of a $348 million redevelopment effort.
On July 3, a representative from the developer Edens told Charleston’s Technical Review Committee, which reviews every land development plan before a permit is issued, that they have to deliver the new Publix location by Oct. 31, 2026.
The existing store is expected to remain open during construction and then move into its new location without interruption. Site plans for the new location show it will be about 2,000-square-feet larger than the existing 48,391-square-foot store.
Edens’ Jim McKenney told the committee the new store will take nearly a year to build, so the timeline is tight.
Demolition of part of the existing strip mall closest to Old Towne Road began May 7. That’s where the new Publix will be located, while the existing store, which is in the middle of planned development, will be demolished in a future phase to make way for housing.
The long-awaited redevelopment project covers about 35 acres bordered by Sam Rittenberg Boulevard and Old Towne Road. It combines the larger Ashley Landing shopping center and a vacant lot across Sumar Street where a Piggly Wiggly once stood.
Plans call for more than six acres of green space, a four- to five-story apartment complex with 285 units, 100 townhomes and 240,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
The redevelopment plan will cost taxpayers an estimated $48 million, with another $300 million investment from Edens, a Columbia-based real estate company that owns properties in Mount Pleasant, Kiawah, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and California.
In October, Edens purchased the shopping center for more than $38 million, and in December paid the city $1.1 million for the three-acre Piggly Wiggly parcel, according to county property records. That’s nearly $2 million less than the city paid for the property in 2017.
The properties sit in a tax-increment financing district, or TIF district, which the city is relying on to fund its portion of the redevelopment. That will include $10 million for affordable housing; $9.6 million for public streets and right of ways; $4.7 million for parks and green space; $1 million for a 3,000-square-foot community space; and $13 million for stormwater infrastructure.
A TIF essentially allows municipalities to borrow against future tax revenue generated from improvements to blighted properties and reinvest it back into the district. The West Ashley TIF was created eight years ago, and according to county tax records, still hasn’t accrued any revenue. If the city doesn’t issue any bonds within the next two years, then the TIF expires.
If all goes to plan, construction is slated to finish in 2028.
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