LEESBURG, VA. — Four retailers are joining the tenant lineup at Village at Leesburg, a mixed-use property with over 60 boutiques, restaurants and entertainment experiences in Leesburg. Rappaport owns, manages and leases Village at Leesburg. The tenants joining the lineup include Sienna Sky Boutique, a women’s clothing store; Mochinut, a mochi donut store; My Wellness Physicians, a weight loss and weight management provider; and Playful Pack, a doggy daycare and boarding provider. Other tenants currently at the Village at Leesburg include Wegmans, CMX Cinemas and Bowlero.
MCALLEN, TEXAS — NAI Partners has negotiated a trio of industrial leases totaling 223,016 square feet at Sharyland Business Park in the Rio Grande Valley city of McAllen. Automotive parts supplier Standard Motor Products Inc. signed a deal for 120,340 square feet; pet products provider Worldwise Inc. committed to 70,676 square feet; and an entity doing business as TCOM LP inked a deal for 32,000 square feet. NAI Partners’ Carlos Marquez represented the locally based landlord, Killam Development, in all three sets of lease negotiations.
CHICAGO — Transwestern Real Estate Services has negotiated two lease expansions at 191 North Wacker Drive in Chicago’s West Loop. The 37-story office tower spans 733,759 square feet. Qualtrics, a software company for employee and customer experience, expanded its lease from 25,600 square feet to 51,200 square feet. Skills for Chicagoland’s Future, a nonprofit focused on increasing the economic mobility of unemployed and underemployed talent, also increased its lease from 3,828 square feet to 13,290 square feet. Katie Steele and Kathleen Bertrand of Transwestern represented ownership, Allianz Real Estate and JHUSA. Evan Djikas of Colliers represented Qualtrics, while Jon Milonas and Brandon Green of CBRE represented the nonprofit. Ownership plans to complete significant capital improvements to the property this year, including a renovated lobby, refreshed tenant lounge and upgraded fitness center.
CHICAGO — Allsteel Inc., an Iowa-based furniture manufacturer, has unveiled plans to open a new 24,000-square-foot showroom in Chicago’s Fulton Market district. The company plans to relocate from its current space at Merchandise Mart to 345 N. Morgan St. in the first quarter of 2023. Owner and developer Sterling Bay recently topped out the office and retail building, which is slated for completion later this summer. Chicago-based Partners by Design is the architect for Allsteel’s space.
CINCINNATI — Baxters Food Group has signed a 15,202-square-foot office lease for the last full floor available at The Strietmann Center in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine district. The office will serve as Baxters’ new North American headquarters, but the company will still retain its location at 4700 Creek Road in Blue Ash, Ohio. The Strietmann Center, located at 231 W. 12th St., features a rooftop conference and event center. Michelle Klingenberg of JLL represented ownership, Grandin Properties. Josh Niederhelman of CURO BRKG represented Baxters. Other tenants in the building include Astronomer Inc., Contact CI, NaviStone, Gyro and Saatchi & Saatchi X.
CARROLLTON, TEXAS — Lee & Associates has negotiated a 125,000-square-foot, full-building industrial lease at 2020 McDaniel Drive in the northern Dallas suburb of Carrollton. According to commercialcafé.com, the property was built on seven acres in 1981. Nathan Denton of Lee & Associates represented the tenant, BuzzBallz, a locally based provider of premixed alcoholic beverages, in the lease negotiations. Jeff Thornton of Duke Realty represented the landlord, Texas Dugan LP.
NEW YORK CITY — TPG Architecture has signed a 40,431-square-foot office lease renewal at 132 West 31st Street in Midtown Manhattan’s Penn Plaza district. The lease term is seven years. The property was built in the 1920s and recently renovated to feature an upgraded lobby, meeting rooms and elevators, as well as new food and beverage concepts. Mitchell Konsker, Matthew Astrachan, Kyle Young and Thomas Swartz of JLL represented the landlord, Vanbarton Group, in the lease negotiations. CBRE’s Mark Ravesloot, Michael Monahan and William Iacovelli represented the tenant.
With each year that passes in the current cycle, industrial real estate, along with multifamily, becomes more deeply ingrained as a darling asset class among commercial developers, lenders and investors. For all the talk about Americans being social creatures, there remains a massive contingent of the population that, when it comes to shopping, overwhelmingly prefers the convenience and relative anonymity of e-commerce. What started out as pandemic-related justifications for buying goods online as opposed to in-person has given way to a full-fledged, tacit acknowledgement of a trend that was already in place prior to February 2020. As such, demand for facilities — not just traditional, pure-play industrial spaces — that can function as e-commerce fulfillment and distribution centers continues to skyrocket. This trend is even more pronounced in markets with surging populations like those of major Texas cities. Industrial brokers are the ones who see it all. These professionals talk to tenants about acute real estate needs that are critical to serving customers without accruing exorbitant transit costs. Brokers work with developers who must build and price their spaces in accordance with their own escalating cost structures for land and construction. The deals that industrial brokers execute form the backbone …
JACINTO CITY, TEXAS — NAI Partners has negotiated a 91,000-square-foot industrial lease renewal at 4800 Fidelity St. in Jacinto City, located on the eastern outskirts of Houston. Chris Caudill of NAI Partners represented the tenant, PK Industrial LLC, which provides coating and fireproofing services for various manufacturers, in the lease negotiations. Eric Hughes of Centermark Commercial Real Estate represented the undisclosed landlord.
HOUSTON — Eleox, a joint venture between six energy trading companies, has signed a 4,300-square-foot office lease at Heights Clock Tower in Houston. The building was originally constructed in 1894 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Bryant Lach of JLL represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Russell Hodges and Jenny Mueller of CBRE represented the landlord, Radom Capital.