Two locally run shopping centers with a lot of Anderson family history are now in the hands of outside developers and landlords.
On Friday, Aug. 12, the Andersons sold their nearly 70,000-square-foot shopping center, Anderson’s Plaza at 266 Bobby Jones Expressway, for an undisclosed sum of money. Earlier this year, the Village Plaza, which sits on land once owned by the Andersons, was also sold.
“It was just time,” Frances Anderson’s son, Mike Adams, said about the sale. “She was involved a long time and got an offer and it felt like a good time to sell.”
Adams says the new owners made a good impression on his family.
“They are part of a family company out of Florida and will try to continue running it as we did,” he said. “They are all really down-to-earth people.”
Adams said his stepfather, Hubert Anderson, acquired the family land in the 1960’s and sometime after that, the Bobby Jones Expressway was built.
“Everyone thought they’d close it off, but they left it open and my stepfather was able to develop all that,” said Adams.
The family still owns the land that Home Depot sits on near the Expressway entrance, and in 1987 built Anderson Plaza.
Tim Kennedy leased his Furniture Outlet store in 2009 from the Andersons and remembers when Frances Anderson, now 90, and her deceased husband had the old Anderson’s Pool on Davis Road, with the land extending over to the current shopping center locations, even before the Bobby Jones Expressway was built.
“They always put the tenants first,” Kennedy said. “She turned away unsavory businesses and never leased to competing tenants within the center. They were very good landlords and highly respected by everyone in the center.”
Anderson’s is anchored by long-time tenants Hobby Town, Party N Dollar, Oriental Market, Furniture Outlet, and six others. Currently, there are three vacancies including in the old Trace Staffing Solutions space and the ifix cellphone repair store.
About 10 years ago, the Andersons renovated the entire shopping center, which pleased the tenants and consumers and elevated the Andersons into first-rate landlords in the CSRA leasing community.
Years ago, the Andersons also owned part of the land behind Anderson’s Plaza. The land stretched from what is now Walmart all the way to the end of the 208,000-square-foot center at Sam’s Club. Weldon Wyatt, the founder of Sage Valley Golf Course, bought the land and developed Village Plaza. In May 2022, that center was sold for about $20 million.
Real estate agent, Johnny Blue Craig represented the seller in this transaction and was also part of Anderson’s closing last Friday as well.
“After a lengthy ownership period that involved extensive expansions and renovations, the seller (of Village Plaza) accomplished their objective on the project and can redeploy the capital into new projects,” Craig said. “Both the seller and buyer achieved a win on this transaction, and it was a pleasure being able to facilitate that process.”
