In 2018, Selwyn Property Group and SunCap Property Group broke ground on MoRA Point, a 60,000-square-foot retail development anchored by a 22,000-square-foot Aldi grocery store. Bounded by Monroe and Idlewild roads, Independence Boulevard and Long Avenue, the project is part of a wave of new development along the Monroe Road corridor, including Meridian Place, a mixed-use community featuring apartments, office and retail space.

ULI’s Young Leaders visited MoRA Point on June 13 for a tour of the center and a discussion of the area and what drew the developers to the site.  Attendees spoke with Paxton Hollar, Danelle Lane and Darius Oleksy of SunCap Property Group, and Kathy Hill of Monroe Road Advocates.

Some key takeaways:

• Hill, board chair of Monroe Road Advocates, says the MoRA area runs from Oakhurst to Matthews but has undefined boundaries. Monroe Road Advocates was born when Meridian Place was announced, she said and serves as an advocate for the vitality of the area.
  “There are so many people who have a poor perception of what this area is, and we seek to change that,” she said.
• Hollar said that the MoRA Point development was intended to complement the momentum already coming to the area. In addition to the Aldi, Starbucks, Verizon and Supercuts have signed leases, and construction is expected to start on a 7-Eleven convenience store this fall.
  A new rezoning approved in May would allow an additional two-story, 15,000-square-foot building at the site, potentially for a “national, high-end gym operator,” according to MoRA.
  “The leasing velocity really surprised us,” Hollar said. “We’ve been overwhelmed by it. There’s a whole lot of good things going on in this part of Charlotte.”
• Olesky said that Aldi and Starbucks were early adopters and understood the development’s visibility, ease of access and traffic counts (66,000 vehicles per day on Independence, and 31,000 vehicles per day on Monroe). Now national real estate managers who were once skeptical are showing interest in the project. “They’re coming back and seeing it and understanding it,” Olesky said.

To participate in exclusive ULI Young Leader Group events such as this, join at www.uli.org/join.

Notes provided by Will Boye of Yellow Duck Marketing.