Brunswick County has long been considered by those in the commercial real estate industry as underserved when it comes to retail offerings, but new retail is on the way.
 
For example: In Shallotte, the Coastal Walk shopping center shopping center under construction at Main Street (U.S. 17) and Smith Avenue will include numerous national chains.
 
Hobby Lobby, Ulta, PetSmart, Marshalls, Burkes Outlet, Rack Room and Ross are under construction in what is anticipated to be a 200,000-square-foot center on Shallotte’s main thoroughfare.
 
“We are scheduled to be delivering this summer, and we plan to meet that schedule,” said Ross Waters, partner in Atlantic Retail, which is marketing the center. The developer is Realty Link of Greenville, South Carolina.
 
During an interview near the end of April, Waters said a grand opening date had yet to be determined.
 
But leasing work continued.
 
“We’re getting into the process of marketing locally. There’s been a lot of good interest, good outreach from the community, folks who have existing businesses in North Myrtle Beach or in Wilmington and are looking to expand in between,” he said.
 
All of the national tenants are new to the town, Waters said.
 
Nearby, a shopping center under new ownership has the potential to house more tenants.
 
The owner of other properties in southern Brunswick County bought Shallotte Commons Shopping Center for $1.75 million recently with plans for improvements and to add new tenants. The nearly 86,000-squarefoot center, built in 1984 and last renovated in 2006, now belongs to Carolina Dreams Golf LLC of West Virginia.
 
In northern Brunswick County, new retailers have been joining the mix rapidly in recent years. At Leland Town Center, a Starbucks completed by Wilmington-based McKinley Building Corp. opened a few weeks ago and construction is underway for more businesses bordered by Ploof Road, U.S. 17 and Ocean Gate Plaza in Leland.
 
“The other tenant upfits are still moving,” said Palmer Williams, of Leland Town Center development firm C&S Commercial Properties.
 
Although new retail decisions are on hold in many cases because of the coronavirus pandemic and measures to halt its spread, “The tenant interest is still there,” Williams said. “I think they’re all just waiting to see what’s going to happen with the virus.”