A downtown Charleston block-long building where a bowling alley has operated for the past decade and an 8-story hotel has been approved is now under new ownership, but the transaction is not expected to affect operations at The Alley for the foreseeable future.
A Chicago-based partnership of real estate investment firm North Park Ventures and real estate developer MCZ Development paid $10 million this week for the 16,000-square-foot structure at 131 Columbus St. where the bowling alley has operated eight lanes and a restaurant since 2012, according to Andy Batkins of real estate brokerage and investment firm Woodlock Capital LLC.
Batkins, along with Woodlock's Wayne Simon and Elliot Calhoun, represented the buyer and the seller, Southern Realty Development Corp. It's affiliated with the Arnold Family Corp., a Columbia-based development firm that once ran a liquor-distribution business as the largest wholesaler in South Carolina.
The family had owned the building, once used to dispense wine and liquor, for the better part of half a century.
In August 2021, Southern Realty Development Corp. received approval from the city's zoning officials to build a 175-room hotel where The Alley operates next to the planned Lowcountry Lowline, a linear park slated along a former rail line.
The owners of the building that houses The Alley, a bowling venue and restaurant on Columbus Street in Charleston, recently sold the property for $10 million. The sale is not expected to affect The Alley's operations. File/Brad Nettles/Staff
The hotel entitlement comes with the building's purchase, but Batkins, who was serving as a spokesman for the new owners, said they declined to elaborate on whether they plan to pursue the lodging option.
City Zoning Administrator Lee Batchelder said the hotel entitlement is good for two years after first being approved, but the property owners can apply for one-year extensions for up to five years.
The new owners have been involved in numerous projects across the U.S.
The Alley features bowling and arcade games and functions as a restaurant, bar and event venue. The building where it's located at 131 Columbus St. in Charleston sold on Oct. 4 for $10 million. File/Kalyn Oyer/Staff
North Park Ventures' website shows its developments are mainly apartment and mixed-used ventures throughout the Windy City and in Minneapolis, Indiana and South Florida while MCZ Development has built apartments, condominiums, hotels and mixed-use projects in Chicago, South Florida and Washington, D.C., among other places.
MCZ also has partnered with JRR Development of Charleston to build a 250-unit apartment project at 584 Meeting St.
The bowling alley, which extends from Columbus to Spring streets, sits between U-Haul Moving and Storage on King Street and a shuttered supermarket on Meeting Street.
Alley owner David Crowley said customers at his entertainment venue, which has lined up dozens of group bookings into 2023, will not see a change in operations.
"The Alley has been in touch with the new property ownership group," Crowley said. "We are excited to work with them moving forward as we continue to serve the Charleston community."
