CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Three N.C. universities received huge windfalls Tuesday after selling Charlotte's venerable Park Road Shopping Center for $82 million to a company with a history of operating neighborhood-based retail centers on the East Coast.
Wake Forest University, Queens University of Charlotte and Wingate University became the 60-store complex's owner only last month after it was donated by 91-year-old Charlotte philanthropist Porter Byrum, who'd owned the center since 1967.
As Byrum stipulated, Wake Forest, where he went to undergraduate and law school, will receive slightly more than $40 million, or 49 percent, from the sale. Queens and Wingate will each receive $20.9 million, or 25.5 percent, according to Wake Forest.
The schools sold Park Road to retail developer Edens & Avant, known for developing and operating community-focused retail complexes from Boston to Miami.
Which means one thing: We love Park Road Shopping Center the way it is, said Robbie Robertson, a company spokesman. Our model fits with what Porter Byrum has created.
Robertson said the company has no plans to significantly change the popular complex, Charlotte's first open-air shopping center when it opened in 1956.
The sale price is significantly more than Park Road's latest tax value of about $60 million.
Byrum, involved in approving the buyer, said he was pleased with the sale to Edens & Avant, adding he believes the company will be careful stewards of the neighborhood-flavored shopping center he has tried to nurture for nearly 45 years.
The company has an outstanding reputation as that rare company that puts community first in all their business decisions, said Byrum, a retired Charlotte lawyer and developer, in a statement.
Edens & Avant, launched in Columbia, S.C., in 1966, owns 125 retail properties, five in the Charlotte region. They are Kenilworth Commons on East Boulevard, Atherton Mills on South Boulevard, Mountain Island Marketplace on Mount Holly-Huntersville Road; Davidson Commons near Davidson, and Franklin Square in Gastonia.
Now it has six.
Park Road fits perfectly into our portfolio because it's a retail center that truly reflects the needs and values of the surrounding community, said Jodie McLean, Edens & Avant's president. When you shop at Park Road, you feel an instant sense of community, a real sense of connectivity.
Largest gift by individual
When he made his gift, Byrum, son of a Baptist preacher, said he wanted to give to the universities because he'd been given a chance - a Wake Forest scholarship to pay for his education.
His gifts are the largest at each of the schools by an individual.
Wingate will use the money for scholarships, educational programs and campus improvements, spokeswoman Jennifer Gaskins said.
Queens plans to use it solely for scholarships.
Mr. Byrum's support of Queens reflects his desire to give back to this community, said James Bullock, Queens' vice president for university advancement. A permanent scholarship endowment will make Queens more attractive to students who might not otherwise be able to afford college.
The gift will significantly boost Queens' endowment to more than $75 million, said spokeswoman Vanessa Willis.
That's a huge jump for Queens, Willis said. It is a transformative amount.
Wake Forest hasn't decided yet how its gift will be earmarked, though it will be for the good of students, said spokesman Brett Eaton.
Our students are the beneficiaries of both Mr. Byrum's successful career and his principle-driven life, said Wake President Nathan Hatch.
Merchants happy to stay
The landmark shopping center was considered a bold project when it was built just beyond the city limits at Park and Woodlawn roads. It was set in the suburbs, with most of Charlotte's retail concentrated in uptown.
It had 32 air-conditioned stores, a roomy parking lot and an array of shopping choices - all in one location. That would become a model for retail in Charlotte.
Byrum intentionally kept rents affordable to draw home-grown businesses. The center has experienced virtually 100 percent occupancy.
Some merchants received Tuesday's news with optimism.
Sally Brewster, owner of Park Road Books, said she was familiar with several Edens & Avant properties.
They seem to be very good landlords, Brewster said. You're always concerned that a new owner will try to make it something that it's not - and jack up rents.
It looks like they're going to try to maintain the type of shopping center that Mr. Byrum has preserved all these years.
Harold Rousso at Brownlee Jewelers thinks so, too.
I'm happy they bought it, he said. I met them and they seem fine. Brownlee Jewelers has been at Park Road for 35 years and I hope it will be there for another 35 years.
