Crosland Completes Blakeney Leasing with Creative By Nature HOME and Verve Fitness; Blakeney Crossing Adds UPS Store and Pigtails & Crewcuts

Charlotte, N.C., Oct. 15, 2009 –Crosland, one of the Southeast’s leading diversified real estate firms, announces new store openings and tenant signings at Blakeney and Blakeney Crossing in south Charlotte.

Creative By Nature HOME recently opened in the village shops at Blakeney, while Verve Fitness is set to join the Target-anchored shopping center in early November. With the addition of these tenants, the shopping center’s third and final phase is 100 percent leased.

Meanwhile, across the intersection of Ardrey Kell and Rea roads, The UPS Store opened at Blakeney Crossing in September, while Pigtails & Crewcuts opened in mid-October.

Creative By Nature HOME (1,418 sf), one of Charlotte’s premier home decor and furniture stores, offers distinctive home furnishings and preserved floral designs. The retailer, which moved to Blakeney in August, also has an eclectic mix of home accessories.

After establishing a successful business and loyal clientele at a local Black Lion over the last 11 years, owners Paula and Dennis Tompkins decided to venture out and establish their own storefront.

“Blakeney is by far the best location for the customer we want to reach, and the close proximity to all the great retailers within Blakeney is a plus,” said Dennis Tompkins.

The designers at Creative By Nature HOME work with customers to create a distinctive look for a bookshelf, niche or mantle, so customers are encouraged to bring in their own fabrics, photos and measurements. The retailer also boasts an in-store floral design studio where customers will find everything needed to create their own preserved floral arrangements.

Creative By Nature HOME also specializes in the sale of Bramble distressed furniture and Company C wool handcrafted rugs.

Verve Fitness (2,449 sf) will provide Blakeney customers with a personal training studio, nutritional services and merchandise promoting a healthy lifestyle. Verve Fitness focuses on coaching, expertise and motivation to propel clients to achieve their fitness goals. The company’s certified trainers customize Verve’s integrated training model for each customer’s individual needs.

Co-owner Fred Sanguine attributes his interest in Blakeney to the center’s high-profile location, its upscale retailers and Crosland’s detail-oriented management.

“Crosland wants to see business owners do well, and the events Crosland hosts such as Boo Bash provide us with great venues to market ourselves,” said Sanguine.

Pigtails & Crewcuts (1,204 sf), a creative kids salon in Blakeney Crossing, offers services and products that make the experience enjoyable for children and easy on parents. The salon includes airplane-shaped chairs, a kids party room, PlayStation2 and Wii game centers, and children’s movies playing throughout the salon. The salon provides haircuts and bang cuts, shampoo and conditioning, blow-dry and styling, fashionable braids, up-dos, and nail and toe polish. It even offers a special “first haircut package” to help its youngest customers enjoy a new experience. Skilled stylists walk parents through each step of the process to ensure complete satisfaction.

During the first 30 days that the Blakeney Crossing location is open, owners Hailey and Mike Arthur are donating $1 for each haircut to the Easter Seals United Cerebral Palsy child development center.

“We feel Blakeney Crossing is the perfect location for our target market, and we were attracted to it because of Crosland’s great reputation and proven ability to attract customers to its shopping centers,” said Hailey Arthur.

In addition to hair services, Pigtails & Crewcuts features a fun line of children’s hair-care products, such as “Goofy Grape Shampoo” and “Out Of This World Orange Shampoo and Conditioner.” Also specializing in children’s birthday parties, the salon offers accessories such as ribbons, bows and headbands, toys for boys, colorful lip glosses and bubble baths.

This is the chain’s third Charlotte location, and its first south of Pineville-Matthews Road. Pigtails & Crewcuts has locations in 15 states.

Also new to Blakeney Crossing is The UPS Store (1,045 sf), which opened in September. The UPS Store provides a variety of shipping, postal and business services with world-class customer service in a convenient location. The store also offers key duplication, passport photography, electronic filing of tax returns and Western Union services.

In 2009, Entrepreneur magazine’s annual “Franchise 500” issue rated The UPS Store No. 8 among all franchise opportunities and No. 1 in the postal and business services category for the 19th consecutive year.