Barkley Palmetto: A Full-Cycle Story

October 27, 2022

By: John Kincaid

Deep breath…

Due diligence, budgeting, negotiation, zoning, grading, construction, contractors, leasing, proposals, pitching, pricing, touring, leases, legal, closing, upfits, approvals, marketing, media…….just the tip of the iceberg.

The number of milestones in a typical commercial real estate deal can be overwhelming. Especially true in a full-cycle project from new construction to fully leased.

BUT THIS IS OUR EVERYDAY.

We are one of the only firms in the Charleston area who can adeptly handle EVERY aspect of a full-spectrum project. Let’s talk about a shining example:

9851 Palmetto Commerce Parkway, Ladson, SC.

This is now a 100% leased, 80,000 SF warehouse facility with retail pads ready for the taking.

36 months ago it was a patch of dirt.

Lee & Associates Charleston partnered with ownership to handle all phases of this project including Construction Management, Warehouse Leasing, Tenant Upfit, and Retail Pad Leasing.

Here is how it went down:

CONSTRUCTION - March 2021

For the construction of the 80,000 SF speculative warehouse building, we partnered with longtime client Trident Construction, and began efforts in March of 2021. The tilt-up concrete building process went smoothly, and we began marketing and pre-leasing early in this stage. We’ve worked with Trident many times, and they never fail to produce an exceptional product. Barkley Palmetto was no exception. By December of that same year, we had a shimmering new warehouse ready for a tenant.

LEASING - February 2022

Going spec was absolutely the right decision. We hit the warehouse market at a time when demand was through the roof. Due to this demand, along with superb property intangibles (location, highest quality construction, etc), we received traction almost immediately. After fielding dozens of tenant proposals we refined the list, focusing on 8-10 prospects. In February 2022, we secured a full-building 80,000 SF tenant, Accelerated Inc.

TENANT UPFIT CONSTRUCTION - April to July 2022

This is when the second leg of construction management began. We worked again with Trident in customizing the space to suit Accelerated Inc.’s needs. It took 4 months of careful planning and execution, but we delivered a finished space the tenant was proud to occupy. We celebrated by holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the project team and community stakeholders.

OUTCOME

Commercial real estate is rarely easy. Managing a process from conception to completion takes organization, creativity, consistency, overcoming failure, and sticking to a vision. We do this every day, and are proud to have played a part in Barkley Palmetto’s journey. At the end of the day, ownership is happy, Accelerated Inc. is happy, the City of North Charleston is happy, and we now have another successful industrial project center in our portfolio.

But there is more to come!

Check out the retail pad opportunities here.