SEATTLE — Starbucks Coffee (NASDAQ: SBUX) has announced plans to open 2,000 stores by 2025 and invest $450 million in its North American real estate, which will include the modernization of existing locations across the United States. The announcement took place during the company’s 2022 Investor Day conference in Starbucks’ hometown of Seattle. The company’s reinvention plan includes the implementation of a store design that streamlines work behind the counter, enabling better connection with the customer. Starbucks also plans to reorganize its real estate portfolio to include a greater number of pick-up stores and drive-thru-only and delivery-only locations. “When we think about our existing store portfolio and our investments, they must deliver in a few critical areas,” said John Culver, group president for North America and chief operating officer. “Reducing the level of complexity and making work easier for our partners; enabling stronger engagement and connection between our partners and the customers they serve; and delivering experiential convenience.” Starbucks also plans to expand its mobile order offerings via the company’s app, allowing customers to know when their order is ready and making the process of mobile ordering easier and more efficient during peak hours. Mobile ordering will also be extended to the …
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Regal Cinemas’ Parent Company Cineworld Group Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
by Katie Sloan
BRENTFORD, U.K. — Cineworld Group, parent company to Regal Cinemas among other international theater brands, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. While a specific plan regarding the company’s real estate was not announced, Cineworld expects to pursue an “optimization strategy” regarding its locations across the U.S. as part of its bankruptcy proceedings. The company is engaging in discussions with its landlords on improving cinema lease terms in hopes of further positioning Cineworld for long-term growth in the U.S., the company says. The Brentford, U.K.-based company was founded in 1995 and has over 747 theaters open across 10 countries, with 511 located in the U.S. As part of its Chapter 11 proceedings, Cineworld is seeking to reduce debt and strengthen its balance sheet in order to accelerate growth. The company has nearly $2 billion in financial commitments from existing lenders to keep operating. The company expects to operate its global business and cinemas as usual throughout the Chapter 11 process. Cineworld’s subsidiaries and affiliates not engaged in the U.S. or U.K. businesses were not included in the filing and are not part of the Chapter 11 process. Cineworld made …
MINNEAPOLIS AND TULSA, OKLA. — Commercial real estate capital markets platform Northmarq has agreed to acquire Stan Johnson Co., a Tulsa-based real estate brokerage and advisory firm, for an undisclosed price. The acquisition will include Stan Johnson’s affiliated debt services company, Four Pillars Capital Markets. Minneapolis-based Northmarq offers commercial real estate investors access to experts in debt, equity, investment sales and loan servicing. The company boasts an annual transaction volume of $33 billion and has 22 investment sales offices across 13 states. Stan Johnson Co. has closed nearly 7,500 transactions exceeding $45 billion in sales volume since it was founded in 1985. The firm focuses on investment sales transactions involving retail, office, industrial, healthcare and specialty properties. “This is an important milestone for our growing platform as our company now has investment sales professionals across the country that can service investors across all major asset classes,” says Jeffrey Weidell, CEO of Northmarq. “Adding this talented group of real estate professionals further establishes Northmarq as a full-service investment sales and capital markets platform.” Stan Johnson employs more than 100 brokerage professionals across 16 offices in 10 states, including Oklahoma, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Texas. “Our …
Landmark Properties Announces $2B Partnership with ADIA to Target Student Housing Development
by John Nelson
ATHENS, GA. AND ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Landmark Properties has announced a $2 billion joint venture with a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). The partnership will be focused on developing and operating student housing properties in targeted markets throughout the United States. The new build-to-core joint venture follows the $1 billion value-add student housing platform formed by Landmark and ADIA announced in March 2022. “We remain disciplined in our strategy of growing the highest quality student housing portfolio in the country,” says Wes Rogers, president and CEO of Athens, Ga.-based Landmark. “Student housing continues to demonstrate, in all market cycles, a resilient asset class with strong fundamentals, and we continue to see compelling opportunities for development throughout the U.S.,” adds Rogers. “This latest joint venture offers the opportunity to expand our relationship with ADIA, one of the world’s leading institutional real estate investors.”
TORONTO AND WASHINGTON, D.C. — Toronto-based commercial real estate services firm Avison Young has signed an agreement to acquire Washington, D.C.-based Madison Marquette’s office and industrial property management, agency leasing and project management service lines. The trio of services will operate under the Avison Young brand as part of the acquisition, which is expected to close in September. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition includes more than 20 million square feet of affected real estate, as well as 235 team members, including property managers, agency leasing professionals, project managers, building engineers and accountants. The former Madison Marquette staffers will integrate with Avison Young’s existing markets, primarily in Texas and California, the East Coast region and a new Hawaii office. Avison Young will integrate its data analytics, technology and global real estate intelligence platform with Madison Marquette’s trophy assets and institutional clients, such as CenterPoint Energy, Starwood Property Trustand Principal Global Investors. “This is a transformative opportunity for both companies to build on their core strengths to achieve competitive advantage,” says Vince Costantini, CEO of Madison Marquette. “We made the strategic choice to move a portion of our services to Avison Young to better serve our office …
BELLEVUE, WASH. — JB Capital has partnered with Taylor Street for its Real Estate Lending Income Fund. The fund provides capital to professional owners, operators and developers of multifamily and industrial real estate assets in key markets across the United States. Under the partnership, JB Capital will leverage Taylor Street’s national real estate expertise, further allowing Taylor Street to serve its clients across to institutional alternative asset management. While the equity gap required to invest continues to increase, professionals are looking outside traditional sources of capital with equity and mezzanine structured solutions. The fund’s purpose is to continue JB Capital’s commitment to providing its investors with a high-yield debt investment that delivers consistent monthly income while minimizing the risk of loss of principal and maintaining near-term liquidity.
SEATTLE AND SAN FRANCISCO — Seattle-based tech giant Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has agreed to acquire San Francisco-based primary medical care chain One Medical (NASDAQ: ONEM) for $3.9 billion. One Medical operates over 180 doctor’s offices throughout major metro areas in the United States. Approximately 767,000 people have memberships to One Medical, paying a $200 annual subscription fee for the service. The company also mixes in-person, digital and virtual care services, with the intent of being convenient to where people already work, shop and live. Amazon has been pushing its way into healthcare in recent years, and the One Medical acquisition represents its biggest push into the sector to date, particularly regarding the physical real estate. “We think healthcare is high on the list of experiences that need reinvention,” says Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services. “Booking an appointment, waiting weeks or even months to be seen, taking time off work, driving to a clinic, finding a parking spot, waiting in the waiting room then the exam room for what is too often a rushed few minutes with a doctor, then making another trip to a pharmacy — we see lots of opportunity to both improve the quality …
NEW YORK CITY AND WAYNE, N.J. — Macy’s and New Jersey-based WHP Global, the parent company of Toys ‘R’ Us, have launched a partnership open in-store toy shops within the department store’s locations across the country, an agreement that was announced last year. Toys ‘R’ Us stores will range in size from 1,000 to 10,000 square feet and are set to open from late July through October 15. Each location will feature colorful fixtures, demonstration tables for customers to interact with toys and a “Geoffrey on a Bench” photo opportunity for families. The in-store shops may also grow by an additional 500 to 3,000 square feet during the holiday season.
BOSTON AND NEW YORK CITY — American Tower Corp. (NYSE: AMT), a multitenant communications REIT, has agreed to sell a 29 percent stake in its data center platform to Stonepeak, an alternative asset management firm based in New York City. The deal, which comprises common and preferred equity from Stonepeak’s affiliated investment vehicles and debt commitments, is valued at $2.5 billion. The AMT data center portfolio consists of 27 data centers in 10 U.S. markets. AMT purchased Denver-based CoreSite Realty Corp. in a $10.1 billion deal that was announced last November. AMT will retain managerial and operational control, as well as day-to-day oversight of its U.S. data center business, and Stonepeak will obtain certain governance rights. The transaction is expected to close in third-quarter 2022, subject to customary closing conditions. “We are pleased to partner with Stonepeak in our U.S. data center business,” says Tom Bartlett, president and CEO of American Tower. “While this transaction supports the equity financing component for our previously completed CoreSite acquisition, it also creates a platform through which growth opportunities can be strategically evaluated and financed.” Andrew Thomas, managing director and co-head of communications at Stonepeak, says that AMT’s data center platform aligns with Stonepeak’s …
IRVING, TEXAS — Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) will relocate its global headquarters from Deerfield, Ill., to Irving. Beginning later this year, the construction and mining equipment manufacturer will begin moving its employees from the metro Chicago area to its existing office within the Dallas-Forth metroplex. According to Fox Business, Caterpillar employs about 107,000 people globally, and about 230 people from the existing headquarters office will transition to Texas. The move comes roughly six weeks after global aerospace and defense contractor Boeing announced a relocation of its global headquarters from Chicago to Northern Virginia.