An Asheville development group plans to build a shadow retail center next to the property where a Harris Teeter grocery store will be built in Carolina Beach, a broker said this week.

The group, MCCL Investments LLC, bought 5 acres at and around 906 N. Lake Park Blvd. for $1.4 million last week from a trust administered by First Citizens Bank.

The Jungle Golf Mini Golf and Batting Cages that had operated for decades via a lease of 906 N. Lake Park Blvd. will close permanently.

MCCL Investments will develop retail space to complement the Harris Teeter, said Bryce Morrison Jr., a broker with Cape Fear Commercial. Morrison represented the sellers while the buyer was represented by Pulliam Properties of Asheville.

“The developers of this site will be bringing what essentially will be a shadow retail center to the Harris Teeter since Harris Teeter is a stand-alone grocery with no retail component planned," Morrison said, adding that there will be cross access between the two sites. “This will create a centralized place for residents and visitors of the area to shop and dine.”

Greg Reynolds, executive director of the Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce, said more retail space is needed on the island, which includes Carolina Beach and Kure Beach. 

"Spaces around this town do not stay empty for very long, so I think the more inventory we have, the better off we're going to be," he said. "We have people calling all the time want to know if space is available."

As for the adjacent Harris Teeter, construction has not yet begun on the 53,000-square-foot store at 1000 and 1010 N. Lake Park. Officials with the grocery store chain, based in Matthews, are addressing a right-of-way issue and have a fairly minimal amount of review work to do with the town before construction can begin, said Ed Parvin, assistant town manager and director of planning and development, on Wednesday.