What's happening at this mostly vacant Southport-area shopping center?
The Live Oak Village shopping center near Southport will soon lose another tenant, leaving another empty storefront in the once-busy venue.
But a representative for the leasing company, Mark Properties, said a new business may soon occupy some of the now-vacant spaces.
Here’s what we know.
How old is Live Oak Village?
According to listing information on LoopNet, a commercial real estate marketing site, the neighborhood shopping center, located on Long Beach Road between Southport and Oak Island, was built in 1975.
What tenant may be leaving?
San Felipe, a Mexican restaurant currently occupying a 5,200-square-foot space, has secured one of the outparcels in the nearby Southport Crossings Shopping Center, located at the corner of N.C. 133 and N.C. 211.
More: Bevy of major retailers showing heavy interest in Southport area shopping centers
What tenants have left previously?
San Felipe will be the third tenant to make the move to Southport Crossings. Lowes Foods, the center’s anchor store previously occupied a 40,945-square-foot space, and CVS Pharmacy previously occupied the third largest space at 8,950 square feet. Both Lowes Foods and CVS relocated their stores to Southport Crossings about five years ago.
A third retailer, Peebles Department Store, has also vacated its space — the second largest at 12,000 square feet — but that was due to the store’s closure in 2020.
What stores remain?
While much of the shopping center is currently vacant, some tenants remain. They include Fred’s Beds, Papa John’s Pizza, NC Nail Spa, and SeaCoast Homes LLC, a firm that specializes in custom homes and renovations.
What could be coming to the space?
Mark Properties, based in Durham, serves as the leasing agent for the property. An advertisement on LoopNet shows there are four spaces in the shopping center for lease.
A representative for Mark Properties said the firm is in negotiations with a potential tenant that would occupy the former Lowes Foods space and either the CVS space or the Peebles space. He added that these negotiations have been ongoing for several months due to the complexity of combining the two spaces.
Because the lease is not finalized, he could not comment on the possible tenant or the nature of its business, he did say it would be something “good" for the area.
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This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Southport shopping center could soon have new anchor tenant
