Aging center plans revival

The new owners of Augusta's Richmond Plaza shopping center plan to give the aging retail strip a face-lift and aggressively fill its empty spaces.

Philadelphia-based BPG Properties Ltd., which acquired the Wrightsboro Road property in late November, said the 19-acre parcel is poised for a rebound thanks to the addition of a "lifestyle center" development under way at the nearby Augusta Mall.

"Plans for improvements to the exterior of the center will ensure that the center is well positioned to benefit from" the mall expansion, BPG Vice President John Braithwaite said in a statement.

BPG Properties also said it plans to upgrade the parking lots, roofs and signage.

Augusta Mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. said last summer that it planned to break ground this year on a 135,000-square-foot lifestyle center that would cover part of the empty Macy's store and parking lot.

BPG Properties purchased the 177,311-square-foot Kroger-anchored shopping center Nov. 19 for $18 million from a subsidiary of New York-based DRA Advisors LLC.

BPG Properties owns no other properties in the Augusta area.

Richmond Plaza was built in 1979, one year after the opening of Augusta Mall.

Retail migration from the area in recent years has contributed to the property's current 29 percent vacancy rate.

The bulk of the empty space, 36,000 square feet, is inside the former Service Merchandise storefront. The remaining 15,000 square feet is spread among seven smaller storefronts.

Aside from Kroger, other tenants include Chuck E. Cheese's, Harbor Freight Tools, Catherine's, Casual Male Big & Tall and Burger King.

The company is "in talks with several national and regional tenants to fill the vacancies at the center," BPG Properties spokeswoman Holly Reynolds said in an e-mail Wednesday.

Reach Damon Cline at (706) 823-3486 or damon.cline@augustachronicle.com.