The new owners of an aging shopping center on South College Road plan to revamp the nearly 40-year-old property near the University of North Carolina Wilmington after paying $4.4 million for it.

University Square, 806 S. College Road, is home to Saigon Market, a location of bakery Apple Annie's, Long Island Eatery, Big Gal's Boutique and Wilmington Furniture & Mattress, among other tenants.

The center was first developed in 1980, according to New Hanover County tax records, by the Dunlea family, which sold University Square this month to Hospitality Holding LLC, a company associated with Par 5 Development Group of West End.

"University Square has been a staple in the community conveniently serving the surrounding area residents for decades," said Richard Vincent, a Par 5 representative, in an email Thursday. "In the near future we plan to remodel and invest in improving the property, and supporting the tenants as best we can to thrive in their businesses." 

Par 5 isn't new to Wilmington's commercial real estate scene, having developed Dollar General stores in the area. 

Jeff Idol, a broker with Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co., represented the sellers in the sale, while Steve Hall, partner with Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Co., represented the buyers

The shopping center, adjacent to one of two Wilmington locations of Dick's Sporting Goods, contains nearly 50,000 square feet of retail space on about 4 acres and has entrances on South Kerr Avenue and South College Road. 

"It's a nice piece of property," Hall said Thursday. "These guys are going to revitalize it, give it some much needed love and attention and really improve that site."