This summer, Crosland Southeast promoted Barry James to partner, the first new one since the formation of the company five years ago. Barry's four years at Crosland Southeast have been busy, overseeing project management and construction on projects including the mixed-use Waverly in South Charlotte (below) and One Bellevue Place, the redevelopment of the Bellevue Mall in Nashville. We asked Barry about what's ahead for the Charlotte market and the company.
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Bisnow: Do you anticipate Charlotte will maintain its strong growth momentum in job creation and real estate absorption?
Barry: I do. Retail development is driven by rooftops, which is driven by job growth and growth in household formation. The fundamentals for Charlotte are some of the strongest—not only in the Southeast but in the country—for job creation and real estate growth thanks to our strategic location, climate, airport and more. The key for our region will be to continue the trend for the employment opportunities to be higher-income jobs for our region.
Bisnow: What's next for Crosland Southeast?
Barry: Crosland Southeast will expand and diversify both geographically and by product type by leveraging our foundation in retail and mixed-use development. We brought on Bobby Speir last year to focus on acquisitions of existing income-producing assets across multiple product types throughout the Southeast. We're also looking to expand our geographical reach for development to areas such as Florida and Texas, as well as other markets.
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Bisnow: What other property types?
Barry: We'll continue to look for new opportunities that utilize our strength in retail and apply it to other product types, such as medical office. We also started a construction company, C4 Builders, which is focused on small projects and interiors and upfit work. Through these new initiatives, Crosland Southeast will be more diversified and thus more sustainable over time.
Bisnow: What are the biggest challenges ahead?
Barry: The biggest challenges we face are the difficulty and the length of time it takes to entitle or zone projects, and the inflation in construction costs. These are making projects much more difficult to pencil. The entitlement challenge, however, is a competitive advantage to Crosland Southeast, given our experience and reputation.
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