WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA: The Cotswold Group of Harrison, New York is pleased to announce their late August acquisition of the Williamsburg Crossing Shopping Center in James City County, Virginia. This Food Lion grocery-anchored center consists of 150,000 square feet of leasable space, and is located at the high-traffic intersection of Route 199 and John Tyler Memorial Highway (Route 5). The center is positioned to conveniently serve residents of both Williamsburg and James City County and has, in the past, been a vibrant and fully-leased property. 
     The shopping center itself sits on 17 acres of land and the tenant mix currently includes, Greenwood Christian Academy, Anytime Fitness, as well as numerous restaurants and service tenants such as Papa John’s Pizza, Fantastic Sam’s, Subway, Domino’s Pizza, H&R Block, Allstate Insurance, Let it Grow, City Nails and others. Several developed outparcels, owned by others, host Zaxby’s, Busters Ice Cream, the VEC, Union Bank , Victoria’s Restaurant, Mega Auto Spa, and the Riverside Hospital outpatient facility borders the center. There are also plans for a new townhome development, recently approved by James City County, to flank the eastern portion of the center.
     The interior of the center’s 47,000 square feet of available vacant space are being reconditioned in tandem with a planned “face lift “ and façade upgrades for the buildings as the new owners attend to any and all deferred maintenance to the buildings, landscaping and parking areas between mid-October and year end. “ We want this property to shine once again” shared Robert Shasha, president of The Cotswold Group. “We like the Williamsburg market because it is a stable marketplace with a well-established and mature residential population base, and is also bolstered by institutions like The College of William and Mary, and Colonial Williamsburg.”  
     The Cotswold Group has been investing in the Commonwealth for almost two decades and also owns the 195,000 square foot Military Crossing in Norfolk, the 150,000 square foot Midlothian Center in Midlothian, VA, and the 110,000 square foot Brandy Hill Plaza in Mechanicsville, VA.  The addition of Williamsburg Crossing to their portfolio will complement their Eastern Virginia holdings and benefit from their well-established property management platform.
     The Cotswold Group retained the exclusive services of locally-based Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer for the marketing and leasing of the Williamsburg property. Drew Haynie, a vice president in the retail group, and lifelong Williamsburg resident, will direct the lease-up of the vacancies and has a unique perspective on the property as a former restaurant owner there himself over 20 years ago. “This center has the extraordinary potential to be a thriving neighborhood “go-to” hub for services, dining and shopping once again,” says Haynie. “Its central location and ease of access to Route 199, coupled with the coming improvements and highly competitive rental rates, make this property a fantastic assignment”. 
     The Cotswold Group continues to seek new acquisitions of value-add retail properties in the Hampton Roads market, and in the five other states in which they operate, which include New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Ohio.  The Cotswold Group seeks to acquire high quality lemons and turn them into lemonade.