This week, Abacus Capital purchased the ground-level retail stretch on East Boulevard between Bakersfield and People’s Market for $7.075 million. The local real estate investor plans to make major changes to the busy Dilworth block, with renovations and a new parking configuration.

Currently called Latta Pavilion, the development is a 23,250-square-foot block of retail that’s fully leased. Abacus plans to give it a new name and spend more than $1 million in exterior upgrades, including landscaping, adding new signage and enhancing sidewalks.

It’ll look entirely different to passersby on East, says Wes McAdams, Abacus Capital’s managing partner.

“We’re going to upgrade the center so that it better reflects the cultural and social fabric of the Dilworth neighborhood,” he says. “We’ll evaluate prospective new uses that might better complement the immediate area.”

Abacus will examine the tenant lineup to determine what makes sense in the “reimagined center,” McAdams says. Current tenants include Inishmore (a spot that’s housed two different Irish pubs since East Boulevard Bar & Grill closed in 2016), Sassy Nail Bar and Modern Lighting Design, among other businesses. The center’s anchor is Novant Health Dilworth Pediatrics, a tenant Abacus wants to keep there longterm, McAdams says. 

The corner spots that house Bakersfield and People’s Market were not included in the sale. Neither were the condos on the floors above the retail. 

The Abacus purchase isn’t the only sign that the neighborhood is changing.  The plot of land across East Boulevard — where the pumpkins are this time of year — is for sale for about $5 million. An LLC affiliated with the Winston Salem-based Summit Healthcare Group recently bought the Key Man Building around the corner on Scott Avenue for $4.75 million.

Abacus’s other big recent purchase was the Pavilion shopping center in South End, which went earlier this year for $7.3 million. Once home to Owen’s Bagels, the 31,000-square-foot center across from Atherton Mill will now have a Snooze AM Eatery, Silverlake Ramen and Rockbox Fitness.

Construction on the Dilworth renovations are expected to start immediately and wrap up in mid-2020. Preferred Parking will help implement a new parking system.

“(Tenants) are asking for help managing abuses in the parking deck so we are doing this in response to tenant feedback,” McAdams says.

Below you’ll see what renovated center will look like.

Renderings courtesy of Abacus Capital