Annex: Space race is on

Interest grows in retail and office spaces

Commercial space in this town doesn't come any more desirable than this, according to a Realtor who is marketing retail and office spaces in the yet-unfinished Summerville Town Hall Annex.

Edward C. Fennell/The Post and Courier

Work goes on inside and outside at the Summerville Town Hall Annex and the commercial spaces that will be available along West Richardson Avenue. The Robert L. Pratt RE/MAX real estate agency is seeking tenants for the two office suites and three retail spaces.

Five spaces at the annex, officially listed as 100 W. Richardson Ave., Summerville, went on the market in mid-April. Already, interest for the two office suites and three retail spaces is building, said Robert L. Pratt of Pratt & Co. Inc., RE/MAX Professional Realty.

He didn't say what types of businesses are looking at the annex as their new address, but confided, "We'd like to get a deli at the corner" of the building.

Both the annex, which will house town offices, and the rental office and retail spaces are expected to be ready for occupancy by midsummer, Pratt and Town Administrator Dennis Pieper said.

Construction of the annex and a 229-space parking garage began more than a year ago. The garage, annex and renovations planned to the existing Town Hall are costing about $14.6 million, Pieper said.

The garage opened late last year, and so far parking in it has been free, not counting a special $10 all-day fee charged during the Flowertown Festival last month.

Pieper said rents paid by business tenants in the annex will help offset building costs, but there are additional reasons for including rental spaces in the annex.

The commercial sites will benefit downtown revitalization by encouraging new businesses. Locating businesses at the annex will fit in with the town's plans for creating a downtown conducive to foot traffic, Pieper said.

Liollio Architects

A rendering of the completed Town Hall Annex as seen from West Richardson Avenue. This image is from a flier being used to advertise the retail and office spaces. Town Hall is at left.

He said the commercial space "will be a good return on our investment," and, if necessary, "Twenty years down the road if the town has outgrown its space in the annex, it can take over the (commercial) space."

Being offered, Pratt said, are 3,800 square feet of retail space and 3,500 square feet of office space. The retail space is on the ground floor, the offices are upstairs, "and we have an elevator," he added. Rental fees are $15 per square foot annually, which translates into about $2,175 monthly for a 1,740-square-foot space, Pratt said.

"The best feature is it's next to everything, and a parking garage is next door," he explained.

Advertising by Pratt describes the annex spaces as a "prime commercial location ... with ample parking in the new garage just behind the property. Don't miss this opportunity for quite possibly the best location in town!" an advertising flier states.

Businesses at the annex will share the same building complex as Town Hall. That will make it more convenient to do business at Town Hall. The commercial spaces are adjacent to a town square and a planned "landscaped urban park," and are within walking distance of other major businesses and offices of utilities, Pratt said.

"CPW (Commissioners of Public Works) and the power company are within a block. All the services are right there," Pratt said.

Town Hall was built in the 1960s and has become too small to serve the rapidly growing town. Pratt said that by choosing to stay at its present location and build the annex, rather than move away from downtown, gave the area a needed psychological boost.

Pratt said most construction sites, including the annex, look less than attractive while work is under way. But, he said, he's watched the building slowly take shape and expects it to be impressive.

"As this thing grows and blossoms, it's going to be spectacular," he declared.

Reach Edward C. Fennell at efennell@postandcourier.com or 745-5865.