A Chattanooga shopping center at the foot of Signal Mountain that formerly held a Food Lion store will be converted into self-storage space in a nearly $6 million project.
A venture between Ziff Properties of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., and Reliant Self Storage is expected to redevelop the Mountain Creek Road center, said Christian Chamblee, Ziff's chief operating officer and director of acquisitions.
"We saw the opportunity to not only provide storage but clean up that shopping center," he said. "It was in pretty sad shape."
Rudy Walldorf of Herman Walldorf Commercial Inc. said the 5-acre tract held one of the larger Food Lion stores before it was closed after the grocer nearly left the Chattanooga area in early 2012. Walldorf said the former Food Lion store had no functioning heat and air-conditioning.
The purchase price for Mountain Creek Village, which is 56,000-square-feet in size, is more than $1.5 million, according to Walldorf.
The center will be expanded to hold 81,728 square feet of self storage with 718 units. The property also will provide outdoor storage for boats and recreational vehicles. In addition, there will be a two-story office and on-site manager's units.
"We'll be adding to the footprint of the building," Chamblee said. Even though there's already self-storage in the area, a study showed a need for more, he said.
Chamblee said plans are to start work within the next six months and for the self-storage center to open about eight months later.
"We are excited to provide a first-class storage facility for the Chattanooga community," he said.
Ziff Properties already has a presence in the area. It owns the Signal Mountain Shopping Center nearby, where a Food City is located, as well as a center in East Brainerd.
Walldorf said the seller, represented by Tom Cofer of River City Realty, was Mountain Creek Village LLC of Virginia.
Walldorf said a restaurant currently in the shopping center plans to relocate.
Food Lion, once a major player in the Chattanooga area's supermarket sector, has nearly left the market. A big exodus occurred more than four years ago when the grocer announced plans to close 13 stores in the area. A Food Lion store still operates in East Ridge.
Ziff Properties owns about $250 million of community and neighborhood shopping centers in the Southeast, according to the company. Since 1991, Ziff Properties has purchased over 5.1 million square feet of office, retail, storage and light-industrial properties.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.