Locally based Eastern Financial, which has been involved in real estate since the 1930s, has focused on real estate development and management since selling its 22 movie theaters to Regal Entertaiment Group five years ago. Its Charlotte portfolio consists primarily of neighborhood retail centers in the affluent Myers Park district, including Providence Road Shops, Colony Shops and The Villa, which total 90,000 square feet. Properties in Florida are Varsity Plaza in Tallahassee and Miracle Plaza in Jacksonville, totaling 134,000 square feet.

"This really is the end of an era and a momentous step for our family," says Carter Meiselman, CEO of Eastern Financial. Most of the properties were bought by his grandfather, H.B. Meiselman, in the 1940s and '50s and have been managed by the family since that time, he says.

Crosland will also take on management and leasing of two high-profile apartment complexes, the 176-unit Ashley Square Apartments in SouthPark and the 190-unit Ten05 W. Trade. It will also manage two in-town multifamily properties with 123 apartments and condominiums.