Cason Development Group Announces The Shoppes at Fox Manor
Contact: Frank Cason
Tel.: 803-767-7781
E-mail: Frank@CasonDevelopmentGroup.com
Web site: www. CasonDevelopmentGroup.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COLUMBIA, SC, Nov. 14, 2016 — Cason Development Group announces the development of The Shoppes at Fox Manor, a redevelopment of the 3.4-acre Mitchell/Hendrix property in Batesburg-Leesville in Lexington County.
The Shoppes at Fox Manor fronts East Church Street adjacent to Wal-Mart in the growing Leesville commercial district and includes three retail parcels – two at the front of the property and one in the rear.
A Taco Bell being developed by Cason Development Group for Prepared for You Inc., a South Carolina-based Taco Bell franchisee, will be the first project at the Shoppes at Fox Manor. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2017. The other two parcels are available for purchase or build to suit, said Frank Cason, owner of Cason Development Group in Columbia.
Cason is developing The Shoppes at Fox Manor under an agreement with property owners Frank and Kim Fox who had tried for over a decade to sell the Mitchell/Hendrix house and property. But as the area trended more and more commercial –it became apparent that redevelopment was the only way to go. The traditional means of selling the large historic house didn’t work and it got too expensive to live there, Fox said. “Frank (Cason) has been the only one that could do anything with it.”
Commercial growth along East Church Street, which began with the opening of Wal-Mart in 2006, has accelerated significantly in the last year. In the past 12 months, Batesburg-Leesville has seen more than $10 million in development, $8 million of which has been new development, said Ted Luckadoo, Batesburg-Leesville town manager.
Other restaurants, including a Hardees, are planned for the area around The Shoppes at Fox Manor. A Herlong Chevrolet Buick auto dealership already is under construction across the street at East Church and North Hendrix streets, and ground was recently broken for an O’Reilly Auto Parts store less than a quarter mile away.
Along with the redevelopment comes jobs. The Batesburg-Leesville Taco Bell is expected to hire 40 workers, said Gary Feathers, a partner in the restaurant.
The redevelopment for The Shoppes at Fox Manor has required demolition of the Mitchell/Hendrix House, despite exhaustive efforts to save it. Cason had offered the home free to anyone who was willing to move it, but such a move proved to be cost prohibitive. However, Cason did undertake an architectural salvage operation. Portions of the house – the doors, fireplace mantles, flooring, exterior columns, beams, stud walls — were saved for use in future renovation projects.
Lexington County resident Traci Lutz and her husband worked with Cason for months to try to save the house and move it to a piece of property that Lutz owns less than five miles from Fox Manor. But the cost of the move and the restoration of the house simply made it impossible financially.
Lutz praised Cason’s efforts. “Frank was wonderful. We didn’t expect him to be open to the idea, but he was immediately receptive to moving it,” she said. “It was a really long process. Frank stayed in contact with us constantly. He really tried to help. He’s a helpful, patient, gracious man. A lot of developers wouldn’t have even tried to let somebody save the house, that is kind of a rarity,” Lutz said.
About Cason Development Group
Cason Development Group is a commercial real estate development firm located in Columbia, SC, focused on development projects in the Columbia area as well as tenant-focused development outside Columbia.
Cason Development Group LLC, 1612 Marion St., Suite 327, Columbia, SC 29201
