By Sierra Marling, Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The transformation of a former industrial site in South Charleston into a regional retail hub began with a vision in 2016. While surveying what was then a fly ash pond previously used by FMC Corp., developer Mike Nidier saw potential.
That day with his team at Interstate Real Estate Development, including co-owner Brent Roswall, Nidier pointed to the landscape and floated the idea of building a “power center” — a large retail complex anchored by major national chains.
“I was actually sitting up here eating a Krispy Kreme donut with one of my agents,” Nidier said Wednesday at a groundbreaking for a new Kroger grocery store to be placed on the site. “I said, ‘We need a power center site in South Charleston, because I know a lot of tenants are coming here.’ I looked out the window, and I pointed right to the site and said, ‘Right there.’ That’s really how it first started.”
