CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA: Construction has begun on the new 73-acre, super-regional shopping center, 5th Street Station, in the heart of southern Charlottesville. 5th Street Station brings the first Wegmans store to Central Virginia, along with 335,000 square feet of additional anchor, junior anchor and small shop opportunities. Leasing for Phase One is complete and includes the 140,000-square-foot Wegmans, the region’s first 50,000-square-foot Field & Stream and Dick’s Sporting Goods’ second store to the market. PetSmart, Panera Bread and other exciting retailers will round out Phase One. Leasing for Phase Two is underway with approximately 75,000 square feet of retail space already under negotiation.
“5th Street Station has always been on the radar for a number of super-regional tenants and now that the project has broken ground, the interest level has increased tremendously. Retailers are really starting to see the project take shape,” said Erica Meekins Rorrer, vice president of retail for Divaris Real Estate, Inc.
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a family-owned, Rochester, New York-based U.S. regional supermarket chain with stores located in New England and the Mid-Atlantic. It is known for its European-style, open-air markets offering a variety of products including grocery items, exceptional prepared food items, fresh produce, seafood and quality bakery and deli items. Consumer Reports ranked it the top large U.S. grocery chain in 2014.
Dick’s Sporting Goods is a 50,000-square-foot, authentic full-line sporting goods retailer offering a broad assortment of brand-name sports equipment, apparel and footwear in a specialty store environment.
Field & Stream, Dick’s Sporting Goods’ exciting new concept, will open its first store in Virginia at 5th Street Station. Each corner of the 50,000-square-foot store will be set up as its own shop offering the finest selection of merchandise from the most trusted outdoor brands and providing in-depth services for archery equipment, fishing gear, firearms and more.
PetSmart, which operates approximately 1,300 stores nationwide, will provide a broad range of competitively-priced pet products and in-store services including pet adoption, boarding, grooming and training. The 12,157-square-foot store will be stocked with more than 10,000 products and will be the company’s second location in the Charlottesville area.
Panera Bread has more than 1,810 cafes in 45 states. The 4,388-square-foot restaurant will offer fresh, authentic artisan bread, pastries and a variety of deli selections. This will be the third location in the Charlottesville region.
5th Street Station is strategically positioned on 5th Street, directly off I-64 at exit 120 in southern Charlottesville. It is located less than five minutes from the University of Virginia, with more than 34,000 students, faculty and staff on campus annually. Over 2 million tourists visit Charlottesville and spend in excess of $440 million each year.
“The advent of 5th Street Station will, for the first time, offer Charlottesville’s residents an array of retailers that are not only new to the market, but also that will serve an area of town that hasn’t had the luxury of the choices that 5th Street will provide. It truly will alter shopping patterns in the region,” said Larry Agnew, vice president of retail for Divaris Real Estate.
According to state population estimates released this week by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville’s population grew by nearly 10 percent between the U.S. Census in April 2010 and July 2014. Not only is there a want for a super-regional power center, but also there is a need.
“5th Street Station benefits from its direct access from Interstate 64, thus making it the only super-regional shopping center in the Charlottesville area. That, combined with the drawing power of Wegmans and Field & Stream, and the center’s close proximity to the University of Virginia, will make it a bustling shopping destination for decades to come,” said Zach Means, vice president of retail for Divaris Real Estate.
The $153 million project boasts itself as a super-regional shopping center, situated less than 65 miles to Richmond, Staunton and Lynchburg, and 100 miles to Washington D.C. Ground broke at 5th Street Station in November 2014 and the center will celebrate its grand opening in fall 2016.
Divaris Real Estate, Inc. is headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA with offices in Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond and Roanoke, VA; Charlotte, NC; and metropolitan Washington, DC. Divaris Real Estate and Divaris Property Management Corp. are divisions of The Divaris Group, an international real estate brokerage and property management company that currently manages and/or leases approximately 23 million square feet of prime office, retail and industrial space from New Jersey to Florida. Gerald S. Divaris is Chairman of the Board, and Michael B. Divaris is President of Divaris Real Estate, Inc.
Divaris Real Estate is a member of Realty Resources, (http://www.realtyresources.org)a national group of independent retail property brokers and managers, covering 91 major markets throughout the U.S. DRE is also the Virginia affiliate for The CORE Network, (http://www.corenetworkcre.org/) a national group of office and industrial brokers with affiliates throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Asia and Europe. These organizations represent corporate and institutional clients, tenants and buyers in all aspects of leasing, development, management, sales and acquisitions.
