Columbus is experiencing a retail resurgence and evidence of that continues to pop up along the Highway 45 North and 18th Avenue North corridors.
That resurgence has pepped the steps of local commercial real estate agents looking to bring the most to the area. The commercial real estate landscape along Highway 45 and 18th Avenue looks somewhat similar to a decade ago, according to Wythe Rhett of Rhett Real Estate, but it’s a welcome change from the 2008 recession that sent the market spiraling into stagnation.
“We are getting quite a few inquiries along 45 and 18th because the buyers are back,” Rhett said. “I think you will continue to see growth there. I think there are great things on the horizon for Columbus if we don’t have another setback in the national economy.”
Recently, four hotels — a Courtyard by Marriott, a Fairfield Inn, a Hampton Inn, a Hyatt Place — have opened in the area, and Rhett said another hotel (which he would not name) will soon begin construction. A Cracker Barrel restaurant is being built along 18th Avenue, and Rhett said retailers large and small continued to drive traffic to the area. Columbus also saw a DICK’s Sporting Goods, a Michael’s and a Hobby Lobby set up shop last year.
But the consequence of booming growth along Highway 45 and 18th Avenue is that space is now at a premium, according to Tony Tate of Swoope Real Estate. That, he said, is keeping prices slightly above what companies normally pay for commercial property.
“It’s tough because of limited spaces, and the spaces that are available are priced pretty high,” Tate said. “I don’t think the prices are that much more than they were 10 years ago, but they might have been high 10 years ago and the economy may be just now catching up with them.
“We try to help companies find what they need when they are looking to come here. But when companies look at Columbus, and they know they want to be on 45, they know they’re going to have to pay the price to get there.”
Tate said commercial properties on Highway 45 and 18th Avenue between 1 and 2.5 acres were priced at about $750,000 on average, but those prices could easily venture into the millions.
One selling point for companies that both Rhett and Tate indicated was vacant, build-ready properties. Lots with buildings that a company has to demolish are harder to move because of the extra cost and time associated with locating there.
Tate said some sellers are starting to demolish existing structures themselves to improve their properties’ value and appeal.
Rhett said unprecedented industrial growth in Lowndes County greatly helped the Columbus retail market survive the recession and now begin to thrive again.
“That greatly improves the sellability and values of your real estate,” he said. “Whether it’s because of job growth or an influx of suppliers who come and stay a couple of days here, industrial growth comes right down the pipe and affects every facet of real estate — commercial and residential.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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