Company News

PITTSBURGH — Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) plans to open as many as “75 to 100” new House of Sport stores over the next five years, according to Lauren Hobart, CEO of the Pittsburgh-based retailer. House of Sport is a retail concept that provides interaction and experiences including putting greens, rock walls, batting cages and turf baseball fields, along with sports-related apparel and equipment for sale. There are currently three House of Sport stores in Rochester, N.Y.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Minnetonka, Minn. “House of Sport will be a significant part of our future growth story,” says Hobart. “Over the next two years, we plan to open around 20 additional locations, including downtown Boston and our two hometowns of Pittsburgh and Binghamton, N.Y.” Hobart’s comments came during an earnings call following the release of Dick’s Sporting Goods’ fiscal fourth-quarter 2022 earnings report. According to CNBC, Dick’s outperformed expectations with a 5.3 percent increase in same-store sales during its fiscal 2022, which ended Jan. 28. Analysts predicted the retailer’s same-store sales would rise only 2.1 percent. Dick’s recently announced its decision to exit its Field & Stream brand, which focused on outdoor sports such as fishing and hunting. As a result, the …

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AURORA AND LAKEWOOD, COLO. — The Ensign Group Inc. (NASDAQ: ENSG) has acquired the operations of Hampden Hills Post Acute, a 218-bed skilled nursing facility in Aurora, and Mapleton Post Acute, an 84-bed skilled nursing facility in Lakewood. Both properties are located in first-ring suburbs of Denver. Ensign has signed long-term, triple-net leases for both. The owner was not disclosed. These acquisitions bring Ensign’s growing portfolio to 290 healthcare operations, 26 of which also include senior living operations, across 13 states.  Ensign subsidiaries, including Standard Bearer, own 108 real estate assets and sublease three healthcare operations to a third-party.

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NASHVILLE, TENN. — Northmarq has officially opened its Nashville office, serving the Middle Tennessee, Northern Alabama and Kentucky markets. The Minneapolis-based commercial real estate services firm has grown its local team to eight consisting of producers and admin support and is looking to grow to upwards of 20 in the Music City across both its Investment Sales and Debt & Equity teams. Bryan Schellinger, managing director of investment sales, is leading Northmarq’s Investment Sales division at the new office. He relocated from Northmarq’s Southern California team where he also helped grow the firm’s investment sales offerings. The Investment Sales division in Nashville is now primarily handling multifamily deals but intends to expand its exposure across all asset classes in keeping with the company’s push to be property type-agnostic following Northmarq’s acquisition of Stan Johnson Co. last year. “We’re actively looking to add an industrial investment sales team [in Nashville] given the significant growth in the sector across the Southeast and Tennessee,” says Schellinger. “Northmarq’s Nashville office will soon be able to provide a suite of services for all property owners and lenders.” Locally based broker David Stollenwerk joined the new Northmarq office after several years with Marcus & Millichap’s Nashville …

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DALLAS — Corner Bakery, a national restaurant chain based in Dallas, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court after defaulting on its loans last year, according to reports from multiple media outlets, including The Dallas Morning News. The chain cited its reliance on traditional office workers seeking fast casual or grab-and-go meals, which has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels in many areas, as a key driver behind the move. Philadelphia-based Pandya Restaurant Growth Brands purchased Corner Bakery, which currently operates 140 locations in 20 states, in October 2020. Prior to its acquisition by Pandya, the chain was owned by Atlanta-based private equity firm Roark Capital Group.

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WASHINGTON, D.C., AND ROCKLEDGE, MD. — KLNB has acquired Edge Commercial Real Estate, a Rockledge-based brokerage with offices in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. The move increases the size of the Washington, D.C.-based commercial real estate brokerage firm by 20 percent and serves as KLNB’s entry into the multifamily brokerage arena. KLNB is adding 32 total employees, 18 of which are brokers who specialize in multiple facets of office, industrial, tenant representation and multifamily investment sales. Six of the brokers will be immediately installed as principal partners at KLNB. “The acquisition of Edge fits perfectly in our timeline for smart and disciplined progression,” says Marc Menick, president of KLNB. “By acquiring Edge, we will be able to do virtually everything we’re already known for, but at an even higher level and a wider reach. And in the case of multifamily, this opportunity brings the KLNB customer experience to a whole new sector that we have wanted to approach for some time.” Additionally, KLNB will fold Edge’s property management division, which oversees a 1 million-square-foot portfolio, into its KLNB Asset Services platform, a joint venture between KLNB and Divaris Real Estate. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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MIAMI ¬— Eugene Rutenberg, a veteran lender and capital advisor consultant, has opened Celestial Fund I LLC, a capital advisory firm based in downtown Miami. The financial intermediary raises debt and preferred equity on behalf of developers and investors across several real estate sectors, including multifamily, spec home construction (non–owner occupied), hospitality, industrial, mixed-use and office. Rutenberg initially plans to hire two originators with at least five years of capital markets experience and an underwriting analyst who has at least two years of experience. The producers would join Rutenberg in the firm’s new downtown Miami office. Celestial Fund will work with capital sources of all types, including agency lenders, debt funds, private lenders, banks and credit unions, life insurance companies and CMBS lenders, among others. Financing options will cover ground-up construction, redevelopments, bridge loans, permanent loans and distressed debt opportunities. For developers seeking agency and private-label debt, Celestial Fund’s lending parameters are generally $2 million to $200 million for senior loans and $2 million to $20 million for mezzanine loans or preferred equity investments. The firm will also originate construction loans starting at $20 million. Rutenberg has over 15 years of experience in the capital markets arena. He has closed …

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KENILWORTH, N.J. — Biopharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE: MRK) has agreed to sell its 108-acre office and research campus in Kenilworth to a joint venture between private investment firms Onyx Equities and Machine Investment Group. The price was not disclosed. The life sciences campus, formerly Merck’s headquarters, features 1.4 million square feet of laboratory space, 500,000 square feet of Class A office space, 30 acres of developable land, a 25-megawatt cogeneration plant, three cafeterias, a fitness center, auditoriums, conference centers, outdoor amenity areas and more than 3,200 surface and structured parking spaces. The property sits off Garden State Parkway and is located near to Route 78, the Route 22 retail corridor, the New Jersey Turnpike, Newark Liberty International Airport and the Port Newark Elizabeth Marine Terminal. Kenilworth is located just across the Arthur Kill waterway that separates New Jersey from Staten Island. The buyers plan to market and lease out the site’s laboratories and support facilities to biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and technology companies. Merck will vacate the property in phases over the next several years while expansion progresses on the firm’s new headquarters in nearby Rahway. “New Jersey receives two forms of good news today as one of the pillars of our business community …

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BENTONVILLE, ARK. — Sam’s Club, a division of Bentonville-based Walmart Inc. and a leading membership warehouse club retailer, plans to open more than 30 new “clubs” across the United States over the next several years. The first store, which is planned for an undisclosed Florida city, is slated to open in 2024. The new clubs will span approximately 160,000 square feet, which is larger than most current locations. Most new stores will feature a seafood/sushi island, full-service floral and walk-in dairy and fresh coolers, as well as a larger healthcare space featuring a patient waiting area, health services suites, private consultation rooms and dedicated hearing and optical centers. Many of the new locations will also include fuel stations and liquor offerings. In addition to the new stores, the company has a multiple-year plan to invest in and modernize its supply chain through new distribution and fulfillment center locations across the country. Sam’s Club will launch five new supply chain fulfillment and distribution centers this year, with the first location planned in Georgia in the third quarter. Kathryn McLay, CEO of Sam’s Club, says the decision to invest in expanding the company’s physical footprint was motivated by historic comparable sales growth …

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Jeff Rinkov Brokerage Expansion Lee & Associates

Against the backdrop of higher interest rates and the collapse of commercial real estate investment transactions, large brokerages have begun to reduce staff and other expenses to weather growing uncertainty over property values. But executives at Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services consider it an ideal environment to continue an expansion that has added more than ten new locations over the last few years. Earlier this month, Lee & Associates announced the opening of an office in Baton Rouge, La. In November, they opened an office in Calgary, Alberta. In the same month, a satellite office in Nashville, Tenn. transitioned to a freestanding office, a designation that provides brokers in the office with the opportunity to fully benefit from the Lee & Associates capital structure — namely, to participate in funding the brokerage’s future growth and reaping the potential rewards. Those additions followed new office expansions in downtown Los Angeles, San Francisco and Omaha, Neb., earlier in the year. The Southern California-based brokerage anticipates announcing two more openings in early 2023, eventually increasing its footprint to around 90 locations from more than 70 today, says Jeffrey Rinkov, CEO of Lee & Associates. “We see some of our competitors cutting …

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MIAMI — Trez Capital has restructured its Florida operations by closing its Palm Beach office with plans to open a new office in metro Miami under new regional leadership. The firm is ending its current joint venture partnership in the South Florida market as part of the restructuring. Under the continued direction of Trez Capital’s global head of origination, John Hutchinson, the firm will continue building upon its existing market relationships, servicing borrowers, real estate owners and brokers in the Southeast. “Florida and the Southeast remain an incredibly important part of Trez Capital’s business. We have established solid roots in the region and will continue our expansion by investing in our people, reinforcing our ‘boots-on-the-ground’ strategic approach and dedication to our investors,” says Hutchinson. “Our ability to leverage our team’s local market knowledge and varied experience no matter the geographic location has yielded trusted, well-established relationships throughout the country. I am excited about what the future holds for the Florida market and continuing what we do best: delivering results for investors and borrowers.” Trez Capital has over $5.3 billion in assets under management, has originated over 1,700 loans totaling more than $16.5 billion funded since its inception and has nearly …

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