Tom Fox with his wife in the Austrian Alps in Summer 2017.
Q&A with Tom Fox, Owner, FOX Commercial Properties
Fox Commercial Properties specializes in the development of grocery-anchored shopping centers and commercial real estate investment.
How was the experience of teaching your first MRED Class? “I really enjoyed teaching last Fall’s Market Analysis class. It was my first time teaching and it gave me a whole new level of appreciation for all the incredible teachers I had when I was a student. The students in the program are incredibly bright and many of them are already amazingly accomplished and they challenged me to make each class as educational and as interesting as I could make it.”
What are your thoughts on the outlook of retail? “I think the grocery store business, at least in the Carolina’s is in a little bit of a funk right now. We’ve had a number of new grocers enter the market but most have unexpectedly stopped their expansion plans. Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods is probably partly to blame but I also think that the Carolina’s are overstored which, as a developer, is not easy to admit. I also think we’re going to see some further consolidation in the grocery store market over the next couple of years which is making matters a little more confusing. Fortunately the Carolina’s are growing and will continue to grow so the need for more and better grocery stores will always be there and will help remedy the current malaise quickly!”
Tom Fox on a recent golf adventure in Ireland.
Are there any current deals you’re excited about (if you can disclose)? “Despite the funk previously mentioned, I am working on a new grocery-anchored center outside of Fayetteville, NC and I’m optimistic that we’ll get it off the ground. I’m also working on a new 30,000sf industrial project in Greenville, which is a first for me, so that’s very exciting and some friends and I continue to invest in interesting opportunities in the area.”