This major SC downtown shopping center was just sold. Here’s what to know

The owner of Columbia’s Marketplace on Harden has added to its South Carolina portfolio by buying McBee Station in downtown Greenville.

Aston, a Charlotte-based company that specializes in shopping centers in the Southeast, also owns three shopping centers in Greenville, one in Powdersville and another in Florence.

The 79,000 square-foot McBee Station includes Publix and Staples on the edge of the city center. The overall development, which also includes apartments and condominiums, was designed by McMillan Pazdan Smith, which has design studios in several cities in the Carolinas and Georgia.

It is located on 14 acres covering two city blocks on a former rail station.

Publix is the only major grocery store chain in the downtown area. As Greenville’s downtown transformed over the past decade, a grocery store was a key ingredient, but the development also provides space for locally-owned retailers and restaurants.

The Ashton website shows all 14 shops are leased. The purchase price was not revealed.

“Aston sees great opportunity in the Greenville community, and we are excited to deepen our investment in the area with the acquisition of McBee Station,” Barnes Connell, Aston managing director, said in a news release. “McBee gives Aston exposure to the downtown Greenville submarket, while also catering to surrounding residential neighborhoods.”

The previous owner of the shopping center was Barings of Charlotte.