Project Overview
Red Bay, LLC purchased the 13,662 square foot retail building in the New Centre Drive Commercial Park in Wilmington, NC. The commercial park consists of hotels, restaurants, offices and retailers and is conveniently located across from the New Centre Market Shopping Center, whose tenants include Target, OfficeMax, PetSmart, Party City and Chick-fil-A. Originally constructed in 2001, the center has excellent vehicular traffic, visibility and a widely popular anchor tenant in Plato’s Closet. Red Bay decided to divest itself of its local commercial real estate holdings and hired CBC Sun Coast Partners to handle this sale.
The Challenge
Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners completed a pre-sale analysis of the property and helped Red Bay establish an asking price. A buyer was found, and during the due diligence, Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners discovered a number of irregularities that could potentially delay the closing, dissuade the buyer or derail the deal completely. For one thing, the Center’s tenants had first right of refusal to buy the property in lieu of a 3rd party. Although time-consuming, the go-ahead was eventually granted. More problematic, however, was the condition of the Center’s Property Owners Association (POA). After a thorough review, Red Bay and Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners determined that the POA was never fully released to the tenants by the original developer. The buyer did not want to close until the POA documentation was redrawn and voted upon by the tenants.
The Solution
Although Red Bay was optimistic that tenants would fast-track the POA approval, the effort was met with resistance. Not to be deterred, Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners patiently guided the seller, buyer and tenants through the process and was in constant communication with the buyer and buyer’s broker to maintain their interest in the purchase. It was an arduous and time-consuming process that would have scared off many a buyer, but Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners’ attention never wavered.
The Results
A verbal deal was struck via phone at 10:30 p.m. on a Saturday night, months after the original closing date, and the property closed shortly thereafter. According to Red Bay principal Mark Tinsley, Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners’ efforts on their behalf were what made the deal finally come to fruition. “With all of the delays and complications, it would have been easy for Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners to wash their hands of it and walk away, but we hired Grayson and his team because he is a straight forward, honest dealer, and I know he will always do what is best for us, even when it’s not best for him. That’s critical in the commercial real estate game.”