Gildan buys Mikasa building

A Canadian apparel company has purchased a cavernous vacant warehouse in Berkeley County in a deal that could provide a jolt of new business for the Port of Charleston.

Gildan Activewear Inc. of Montreal this week emerged as the successful and only bidder for the former Mikasa Inc. distribution center on Clements Ferry Road.

The clothing maker and importer paid $20 million for the industrial building, which is on an 81-acre site.

The seller, American Commercial Inc., sought bankruptcy protection in September. To pay creditors, it arranged the court-supervised sale, with Gildan making the opening offer. The deal closed Wednesday.

Gildan said it still is finalizing plans for the property but would not elaborate about hiring, port usage and other details.

"I will only be in a position to share more information with you when we have finalize our plans and are in a position to communicate them to all of our stakeholders," said Genevieve Gosselin, the company's director of corporate communications.

Last month, Gosselin said the maker of socks and T-shirts was drawn to the Mikasa warehouse because it is seeking to expand its U.S. distribution network. She called the property "a good option for Gildan."

The 580,000-square-foot structure -- not including upper-level mezzanines and office space -- cost about $60 million to build and equip when Mikasa affiliate American Commercial completed it in 1997.

A decade later and under new ownership, Mikasa, a major importer of china and other tabletop goods, targeted the warehouse and adjoining retail store for closure.

When the distribution center went on the market about two years ago, the original asking price was $41.5 million. The $20 million that Gildan paid underscores the troubles plaguing the commercial real estate industry.

Charlie Moore, a principal with NAI Batten & Moore, said that when the economy still was humming, the Mikasa complex attracted a fair amount of interest and some purchase offers.

Many of the lookers were investors who vanished when the market turned south, said Moore, whose Charleston-based firm listed the building with Hart Corp.

Also, the high-tech racking systems and other amenities inside the warehouse were all custom-designed for Mikasa, which narrowed the pool of potential owner-occupants to a select few.

Moore said Gildan is "a perfect user" for the property.

"It was just a very fortuitous thing for us and for Charleston," he said Friday.

State Ports Authority spokesman Byron Miller declined Friday to comment on the maritime agency's prospect of gaining new import business from Gildan Activewear.

Reach John McDermott at 937-5572.