North Carolina property management, development and brokerage company Kuester Real Estate  and property owner Phil Nase plan to build the 11,000-square-foot retail center depicted above at the corner of Doby’s Bridge Road and Tom Hall Street, across from Fort Mill Square, a move the developers and town planners hope will spur more redevelopment at that intersection.

By Jonathan Allen, jallen@fortmilltimes.com

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2006

FORT MILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — Among the top of the list of wants in a recent town-wide survey was more commercial development in town, especially restaurants. Kuester Real Estate has decided to give the people what they want and recently announced plans for a new retail center at the intersection of Tom Hall Street and Doby’s Bridge Road called The Shoppes at Town Square. “More restaurants is something a lot of people said they wanted,” Shaw Kuester said. “Our plan, per the city’s help, is that one of the end caps will have a drive-through or patio, possibly for a restaurant or coffee shop.”

Kuester, known also for property and homeowners association management in the Charlotte area, plans to build an 11,000-square-foot retail strip center shell. The company will lease space starting at 1,000 square feet. The Shoppes already has one tenant. Property owner Phil Nase plans to move his State Farm Insurance office from Main Street. His office will take up roughly 1,500 square feet. “I’ve been in this office since 1999, but it has represented State Farm since the 1960s,” Nase said. “It’s almost become an icon…but the move will improve the exposure of State Farm.” Nase said the deal he got on the land was too good to pass up. The site is next to the CVS Pharmacy at Tom Hall and Banks streets, and includes the small fenced-in park and the old Smith Street roadbed that has not been used since Doby’s Bridge Road was realigned. Overall, the project represents a $1.8 million to $2 million investment, Nase said.