Teeter, AmSouth to anchor shopping center

The Harris Teeter grocery store chain and AmSouth Bank have signed long-term leases as anchor tenants of the $30 million Belle Meade Town Center, the project developer announced Thursday.

Tony Giarratana of Giarratana Development said the approval of the leases Nov. 30 paves the way for a two-year construction process that will start early next year with the bank building.

“The new connector road that Metro wants us to build between Harding Road and Ridgefield [Drive] goes directly through the existing AmSouth branch, so we had to negotiate a very complex arrangement with them to keep them in operation until the new branch can be constructed, and then move them over,” he said.

In January 2004, Giarratana Development signed a 65-year ground lease with landowner Ridgefield Properties to develop 140,000 square feet of retail and residential space at 4301 Harding Road, the site of the old Belle Meade Theater.

The lease has required the developer to incorporate the historic theater facade into the project. Also, the project was subject to Metro’s new urban design overlay, which involved rezoning approvals and neighborhood forums.

“I did not envision the process being as long or as difficult as it ultimately turned out to be, but that’s the nature of the business,” Giarratana said.

The grocery store, expected to be open in about two years, will be the area’s largest Harris Teeter, at 57,000 square feet, Giarratana said. It will be surrounded by four to six retail tenants.

“We have received numerous inquiries from restaurants and retail shops that have expressed a desire to be in the facility, but we’ve been focusing all our attention on the large anchor leases,” he said.

The 9,700-square-foot bank building, with a drive-through, will be topped by 40 to 50 luxury apartments — a mix of flats and townhouse-style units with two-story open living rooms.

Gresham, Smith and Partners will be working on architectural and engineering plans over the next 90 days, Giarratana said.

He said the $30 million project is being financed by a combination of equity from the development group and bank financing. The project is expected to employ 250 people during the construction phase.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.