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Andrews – The reviving of the old Stanley plant in Robbinsville has the potential to significantly boost Graham County’s economy and provide jobs for neighboring counties.
That Stanley deal, plus numerous other high-profile commercial real estate transactions, have a common thread leading to Andrews – or, more specifically, Old Town Brokers.
Over the last few years, Old Town Brokers and its team of experts under the leadership of Robin Sargent – whose parents once owned the Hawksdene event venue south of town – has brokered every high-profile commercial real estate transaction in Cherokee and Graham counties.
“We’re actually really good with commercial properties,” Sargent said, adding that his firm sees potential in blighted properties like the Stanley plant that others might overlook.
“Selling these large commercial properties is much more than listing homes and much more about selling western North Carolina and the unseen opportunities that our communities provide businesses,” he added. “These deals involved both my leadership and were successfully closed because of the combined expertise of the Old Town Brokers team of experienced agents’ involvement.”
‘Big win’
The list includes:
- Represented seller on the Murphy property that became Rare Bird Emporium.
- Represented seller/buyer on the Murphy large warehouse at Alverson/Regal Street.
- Represented seller/buyer on Andrews’ old Prince property, now Cal Stiles Rental Warehouses and Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters’ North Campus.
- Represented buyer/seller on Murphy’s Sunrise Plaza.
- Represented buyer/seller on the former Murphy’s New Happy Garden Chinese buffet (adjacent to Sunrise Plaza), which has been leased to Mariolino’s Italian Cuisine.
- Represented buyer/seller on Murphy’s Mountain Vista Hotel.
- Represented buyer/seller on Andrews Baker Plant.
- Represented buyer/seller on Robbinsville Stanley Plant.
- Represented buyer of Andrews Morning Fog.
- Represented buyer/seller on Andrews West End Plaza.
- Represented buyer/seller on Andrews Old A&P, former Calaboose Cellars’ Main Street property.
- Represented buyer/seller on Murphy’s Persimmon Campground/RV park.
Sargent said these total real estate transactions list a combined value of just over $11 million.
“The big win to our community is a combined $98 million of property improvements,” Sargent said. “This translates into millions of dollars for local contractors and huge tax dollars coming from increased taxes on improved property values. All of these new companies employ additional human labor and acquire additional goods/services that help the area ecosystem to grow. It’s a big boast to our ecosystem.”
‘Heart and soul’
There’s an adage, “It’s a sorry dog that doesn’t wag its own tail,” Sargent said. “One notable data point is that the majority of the property sellers were represented by Old Town Brokers, and Old Town Brokers also represented the buyers.
“We find sellers and find the buyers,” he added. “Our success is partly due to our ability to find/located prospective commercial buyers due to our expertise in promoting commercial properties in western North Carolina nationally. When we capture leads, we are able to nurture interest and help resolve many impediments. This is because of our understanding of how and when to access of governmental/municipal and state representatives. This was true with the Stanley plant as was true with many others on the list.”
The sale of the Stanley plant in Graham County illustrates his point. Old Town Brokers was able to broker a deal that involved working with public and private utilities, seeking millions in private and public grants and investment, and securing cooperation with state, county and municipal governments – all to seal a deal with the China-based company. The revitalization will bring up to 500 jobs to Graham County, with surrounding counties helping fill those jobs.
“The firm put its heart and soul,” he said of the Stanley plant deal. “We wanted to see a win – not only for Graham County, but for the whole area.”
Background
Old Town Brokers was founded in 2000 as a real estate firm for residential, commercial and mountain land properties, with a focus on complex transactions, large-acreage investments and high-value commercial assets.
“We bring clarity and strategy to a rugged and often opaque market,” according to the firm’s biography.
Its team includes eight agents known for being meticulous, responsive and deeply connected to the communities they serve.
“Whether navigating remote mountain roads or structuring a complex commercial deal, Old Town Brokers delivers with precision and professionalism,” according to the bio.
Old Town Brokers is the top-producing firm for commercial real estate in the Mountain Lakes region and the No. 1 firm in Andrews.
Founder Sargent has more than 35 years of experience in high-level deal-making, mergers and acquisitions and international sales leadership – including executive roles at IBM and Philips Electronics.
Sargent was instrumental in launching early artificial intelligence and speech recognition technologies into the global market. He has learned from some of the world’s best minds in business development sales, coaching and client experience.
In addition, Sargent serves on the boards of the Cherokee County Health Department and Western North Carolina’s GrowNC.org, advocating for stronger, healthier communities.
Details: Visit oldtownbrokers.com.