Three buildings at the heart of Mt Laurel’s town center have new ownership, and with it comes plans to fill the gap left by a beloved Mexican restaurant that quietly shut its doors. Premium Property Trust has acquired the Robinson, James and Croft buildings from EBSCO Industries, covering roughly 90,000 square feet of commercial space in the heart of the Shelby County community.
The deal, reported by AL.com, closed for an undisclosed amount. Premium Property Trust, based in Birmingham, will own and operate all three buildings going forward, with plans for improvements and a new leasing strategy aimed at boosting the town center’s vitality.
Chris Reebals, founder and chairman of Premium Property Trust, who also serves as president of Christopher Architecture & Interiors, framed the purchase as an effort to build on what already works in Mt Laurel. He said PPT intends to make the town center more vibrant while preserving its special qualities, according to the same report from AL.com.
Coworking Space Headed for the Robinson Building
Among the first concrete plans: PPT is bringing WORX BHM, a coworking and flexible workspace concept, into the Robinson Building. The concept is designed to serve entrepreneurs, small businesses and professionals looking for shared office space, per the AL.com report. It's part of a broader vision to reimagine available space across the three buildings as a mix of restaurants, retailers, services and workplaces.
Patrick Reed, PPT's director of development, said the buildings offer office and retail tenants a chance to join a walkable town center with a built-in community. He added that early interest in the space has already been high, and the company expects the buildings to be fully leased very quickly, the outlet reported.
A Restaurant Search to Replace La Paz
Part of that leasing push includes finding a new tenant for the space long occupied by La Paz, the Mexican restaurant that closed its Mt Laurel location after serving the area for more than nine years. The Shelby County Reporter confirmed that La Paz would not be reopening at the site, which sat at the main entrance on Mt Laurel Avenue since the location opened in June 2017.
Premium Property Trust is recruiting a restaurant operator to bring that space back to life, according to the AL.com report. No timeline or specific operator has been named, and the plans will roll out in phases as tenant discussions, design work and improvements proceed.
The People Behind the Deal
On the seller’s side, Nick Dawson, vice president of strategy and operations at EBSCO Realty Investments, and David Hobbs, CFO at EBSCO Industries, helped bring the transaction together. Bo Grisham, a senior vice president with Graham & Co., represented the seller in the sale.
The acquisition adds to a run of real estate activity across the region. Federal Realty Investment Trust recently announced it was acquiring The Summit, described as one of Alabama's premier retail destinations, in a deal reported by PRNewswire. For Mt Laurel, though, the focus now turns to how quickly Premium Property Trust can translate its leasing ambitions into tenants on the ground — and whether a new restaurant can fill the void La Paz left behind.
