What's to become of the Bi-Lo in Boiling Springs?

A vacant Bi-Lo grocery store in Boiling Springs is being advertised for lease, and no prospective tenants have been announced yet.

Boiling Springs resident Evan Maybry said he often drives past the vacant store in the 80,435-square-foot Cypress Shopping Center, wondering what will become of it. The store anchors a strip mall with several other tenants that are still open for business, including restaurants, a workout center and financial services offices.

That’s what prompted Maybry to reach out to Upstate Lowdown in hopes of getting an answer. Upstate Lowdown allows Herald-Journal and GoUpstate.com readers to ask questions that we’ll try to find answers to.

In May 2017, the supermarket chain announced its decision to close the 47,260-square-foot Bi-Lo store on Highway 9 at Old Furnace Road in Boiling Springs. It had been open since April 1998, and closed a month after the announcement.

“While there aren’t any plans publicly announced for that site, I can say that the store is a prime location and there is plenty of interest in it,” Spartanburg County Councilman Justin Bradley said. “I regularly used the store myself, so I was disappointed to see it close."

So what would Maybry like to see revive the site?

“I would like to have something for the younger people to do in the day or at night,” he said.

Joe Caldwell, spokesman for Southeastern Grocers of Florida, the parent company of Bi-Lo, said he did not want to speculate on the future of the property. Southeastern Grocers does not own the site.

According to Spartanburg County property tax records, the site is owned by WHLR Cypress of Virginia Beach, Va., which was incorporated in South Carolina by Cogency Global of Columbia.

Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust of Virginia Beach acquires, finances, develops and leases assets such as strip centers and grocery-anchored centers in the Midwest, Southeast and Southwest, according to its website.

A subsidiary, Wheeler Real Estate Co., advertised the vacant store for lease as recently as June 18. The leasing agent listed is Harold McCaleb of Wheeler’s Charleston office. The rental rate and lease term are not disclosed.

According to the marketing brochure, the shopping center is “one of the leading neighborhood centers in the rapidly growing Highway 9 corridor in Boiling Springs.”

It notes that an average of 25,100 cars travel each day near the center on Highway 9 and that 9,500 cars use Old Furnace Road.

Dave Kelly, CEO of Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, said this week although Bi-Lo vacated the store last summer, its lease didn't expire until March of this year.

"We are marketing it for lease," Kelly said. "There has been some strong interest in the property. Right now, we're being very patient. We want to make sure we get the right tenant."