Cary group plots mixed-use project in downtown Garner

A local developer is bringing a mixed-use destination to Garner with plans to redevelop a pair of aging industrial buildings into a retail and office campus.

Cary-based CityPlat has announced plans for The Distillery at Rand Mill, an adaptive reuse development set to feature 13,000 square feet of mixed-use space in downtown Garner.

The project is situated at 105 Rand Mill Road in an opportunity zone near the Garner Recreational Park.

“We’ve spent a lot of time researching and learning the dynamics of the Opportunity Zone legislation. This project fits perfectly into the profile of what the legislation was intended for,” says Vincenzo Verdino, principal at CityPlat. “We are investing a significant amount of capital into this property with the intention of owning this project for over a decade.”

Opportunity Zones were created through the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. They’re meant to spur economic development by providing tax benefits to developers and investors.

CityPlat paid around $1.2 million for the Garner property and is self-funding the project.

The company has already found several tenants for the space. The biggest tenant will be local wedding planning veteran Chad Biggs with an 8,300-square-foot event hall dubbed The Distillery. Also, Old North Distillery, a new venture, has signed on to 3,100 square feet, and a startup led by N.C. State graduates will be taking 1,500 square feet.

As a part of the project, Verdino says the company has worked with the town to allow for a design where instead of a curb the property transitions to form more of a plaza than a traditional curb and gutter street design.

Work is set to begin soon, and the company expects construction to take between six and eight months.

CityPlat is a local real estate development firm founded by Verdino, Nikita Zhitov, and Pat Moore more than a year ago.

Last May, the company announced a partnership with White Oak Properties of Raleigh, founded by Roland Gammon, to acquire six properties near N.C. State for a combined $1.7 million. The partners said at the time they planned to put 180 apartment rentals on the property.

The redevelopment project follows recent news that a 300,000-square-foot office park is coming to Garner. The Class A office park is set to feature three 3-story office buildings with provisions for some retail use on the ground floors. The park will be situated at the southwest corner of E. Garner and Jones Sausage roads.

Caleb Harshberger
Staff Writer
Triangle Business Journal

February 10, 2020