ST. LOUIS — Phoenix-based Alignment Realty Capital has purchased four Sonic Drive-In restaurants located in metro St. Louis. The acquisition price for the sale-leaseback transaction was not released. The company acquired the four drive-in restaurants in a double-escrow transaction where a Sonic franchisee purchased the operations and real estate of a like-sized franchisee and simultaneously spun-off the real estate at closing. Banker’s Trust provided Alignment Realty Capital with a five-year, floating-rate acquisition loan.
BRIDGETON, MO. — Berkadia has secured $11.2 million in financing for Chateau Du Mont, a garden-style apartment property located in Bridgeton. The borrower is New York-based David Stern Management. Robert Lipson and Pat Garlich of Berkadia’s New York and St. Louis offices, respectively, arranged the financing through Fannie Mae. The 12-year loan features a fixed interest rate and a 30-year amortization schedule. The specific use of the funds was not disclosed. Located at 12100 Monter Drive, Chateau Du Mont features 120 apartments. The property was built in 1970 and offers convenient access to the intersection of interstates 70 and 270.
TROY, MO. — Fast-casual restaurant Slim Chickens has opened at 31 The Plaza in Troy, about 55 miles northwest of St. Louis. R-Chicken, a division of R-Solution, is the franchise operator for the Troy location. Since its founding in 2003, Slim Chickens has expanded to more than 100 locations in 17 states. The goal is to open 600 restaurants by 2025, according to a news release. Slim Chickens serves fried chicken and Southern-inspired side dishes.
BERKELEY, MO. — Provender Partners has sold a 232,556-square-foot distribution center leased to Dollar General in Berkeley near St. Louis. Provender also sold a separate Dollar General-occupied distribution center in San Antonio along with the Berkeley facility for a total of nearly $64 million. Provender acquired both facilities in 2019 and invested more than $6 million in improvements and renovations before securing 10-year leases with Dollar General for both properties. With freezer, cooler and dry storage space, the properties are part of Dollar General’s new DG Fresh initiative to bring logistics capabilities in-house. Guy Ponticello and Robert Gibson of CBRE and Scott Delphey of Food Properties Group represented Provender in the sale. The buyer was undisclosed.
EARTH CITY, MO. — The Opus Group has broken ground on a 13.5-acre industrial development in Earth City, about 20 miles northwest of St. Louis. Johnstone Supply, a wholesale distributor of HVAC equipment, will occupy four acres with a new 45,000-square-foot headquarters and distribution center. Opus will also construct an 111,000-square-foot speculative industrial building on the remaining 9.5 acres. Johnstone’s space will include a training room and product showroom. The spec building will feature 139 car parking stalls, 27 dock positions and a clear height of 32 feet. Construction on both buildings is slated to begin this month with completion scheduled for spring 2021. Opus is the developer, design-builder, architect and engineer. Jake Corrigan and Vince Bajardi of Sansone Group will market the project for lease.
FENTON, MO. — Kadean Construction has completed construction of a new 185,590-square-foot headquarters and logistics facility for 1st Phorm, a manufacturer and distributor of nutrition supplements and athletic apparel. The multi-million-dollar facility is located in Fenton Logistics Park in Fenton, a southwest suburb of St. Louis. The project includes corporate offices, 16 Zoom rooms, a 222-seat education and training auditorium, private library, podcast studio and a 16,000-square-foot athletic facility with a weight training room, basketball court and batting cages. The company is relocating from its headquarters in South St. Louis County and consolidating several warehouses around the St. Louis area. More than 400 employees will work at the building. U.S. Capital Development is the developer and owner of the project. M+H Architects served as architect.
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Kansas City-based developer Hunt Midwest has promoted two members of its management team and hired three new employees. The move is in effort “to support the volume of development projects underway and in the pipeline,” according to a release from the company. Earlier this year, Hunt Midwest completed construction of 400,000 square feet of speculative Class A industrial space at SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground business complex. The addition brought the amount of leasable space in SubTropolis to more than 6.5 million square feet. There is more than 7.5 million square feet available for development at the site. Justin White has been promoted to senior director of operations and will continue oversight of facilities, security, property management and capital improvements for SubTropolis. Tony Borchers has been promoted to senior director of acquisitions and development. Borchers was instrumental in expanding Hunt Midwest’s industrial footprint to Louisville, Ky. Tyler Schyvinck has joined the commercial division as manager of facilities. He will supervise ongoing maintenance, light construction and grounds operations for SubTropolis and portions of the Hunt Midwest Business Center. Bret Richardson has joined the corporate services division as asset manager. He will guide third-party management and operations of …
ST. CHARLES, MO. — Napoli III will join the tenant lineup at Streets of St. Charles, a 27-acre mixed-use development owned by Cullinan Properties in suburban St. Louis. Napoli III is the third restaurant from the Pietoso family and an extension of the family’s original Café Napoli. The new restaurant will occupy 4,500 square feet and feature a private room as well as outdoor dining. The menu will offer fresh seafood and pasta as well as favorites such as the veal chop and penne a la vodka. Buildout of the space for Napoli III is set to begin in August. An opening date has not yet been released.
OHIO, WISCONSIN, INDIANA AND MISSOURI — Gorjian Acquisitions has sold eight retail and mixed-use properties totaling more than 500,000 square feet for $25 million. The portfolio includes the following Midwest properties: Saint Clairsville Plaza in Saint Clairsville, Ohio; Bradley Square in Milwaukee; Cabool Center in Cabool, Mo.; a single-tenant Dunkin’ property in Gary, Ind.; and Lafayette Center in Indianapolis. The portfolio also includes a mixed-use building in Brooklyn, N.Y.; a single-tenant Family Dollar property in Danville, Va.; and Oglethorpe Plaza in Albany, Ga. Gorjian Acquisitions, based in Great Neck, N.Y., is led by Joel J. Gorjian. The privately held commercial real estate investment and management firm holds an ownership interest in 75 properties nationwide. Buyer information was not disclosed.
ST. LOUIS — Clayco is underway on Delmar Divine, a $100 million redevelopment of a long-vacated hospital campus along Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis. The 500,000-square-foot project will become “a hub for innovation and enterprise,” according to Clayco. Completion is slated for fall 2021. The first phase will establish a nonprofit working space, a café and residential apartments. The 150 multifamily units will be geared toward professionals in fields such as social work, nursing and policing. More office space and services such as early childhood education will follow. The developers hope to attract a myriad of nonprofits, foundations and community support organizations to the project. The name “Delmar Divine” draws a sharp contrast to how the area has historically been negatively perceived, according to Clayco. For many years, the area was referred to as the “Delmar Divide” due to racial and income stratifications that existed on the north and south ends of the street. “We want to enhance growth and investment in this neighborhood,” says Bob Clark, executive chairman and founder of Clayco. “At the same time, we want to do it responsibly so we’re not displacing people or relocating anyone, but bringing prosperity, jobs and the type of development …