BELTON, MO. — Venture Construction has broken ground on a 10,000-square-foot restaurant for Cracker Barrel in Belton, about 20 miles south of Kansas City. The property will be located on the southeast corner of 163rd Street and I-49. Cracker Barrel plans to hire more than 175 employees at the location. The opening is slated for this fall. This will be the 18th Cracker Barrel location in the state of Missouri.
ST. LOUIS AND VALLEY PARK, MO. — Berkadia has arranged the sale of a six-property multifamily portfolio located in St. Louis County. The 2,000-unit portfolio sold for nearly $180 million. Andrea Kendrick and Ken Aston of Berkadia represented the seller, New Jersey-based GEM Property Management. Joe Harms and Julie Irvin of Salivar Harms LLP acted as legal counsel to GEM. “This transaction is indicative of the strength of the St. Louis multifamily market,” says Aston. “It is the largest portfolio transaction in the history of St. Louis real estate.” Berkadia’s Peter Benedetto also arranged Fannie Mae acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer, Colorado-based Monarch Investment and Management Group. “The portfolio included six apartment communities with long-term ownership,” says Kendrick. “In recent years, the seller invested more than $50 million into capital improvements.” Five of the properties in the portfolio are located in St. Louis: the 320-unit Canyon Creek, 256-unit Southwoods, 388-unit Heritage Estates, 550-unit Villages at General Grant and 196-unit Village Royale. The portfolio also includes the 260-unit Forest Woods in Valley Park, roughly 20 miles southwest of St. Louis. The garden-style communities feature amenities such as swimming pools, playgrounds, fitness centers, picnic areas and sports courts. Monarch will take …
KANSAS CITY, MO. — CBRE has arranged an $8.7 million loan for the refinancing of Westport Commons in Kansas City. The borrower, Sustainable Development Partners of Kansas City, purchased the abandoned former school and converted it into a coworking office property. The project, completed in mid-2017, is now fully leased. John Perlik and Don Coleman of CBRE | Capstone arranged the permanent fixed-rate loan, which features a 20-year amortization schedule.
BRANSON, MO. — American Street Capital (ASC) has arranged a $3 million CMBS loan for the refinancing of a self-storage portfolio in Branson. The portfolio includes five facilities and 694 units spanning 127,449 square feet. The portfolio was over 95 percent occupied at the time of the loan closing. Igor Zhizhin of ASC arranged the 10-year loan, which features a 30-year amortization schedule.
ST. PETERS, MO. — Knoebel Construction has completed a new $5 million Fresh Thyme grocery store in St. Peters, a suburb of St. Louis. The 28,720-square-foot store features an extensive bulk food section with more than 400 bins of items. Approximately 25 percent of the store’s floor space is dedicated to fresh produce. Approximately 95 people will work at the new store. Fresh Thyme, a Midwest-based specialty retailer, operates other St. Louis-area stores in Kirkwood, Ballwin, South St. Louis and O’Fallon, as well as Fairview Heights, Ill. InSite Real Estate was the developer. NORR was the project architect.
BELTON, MO. — Salina Hotel Group has begun construction of an 83-room Fairfield Inn & Suites in Belton, about 20 miles south of Kansas City. The four-story, 48,000-square-foot hotel will be located just north of Highway 58 between Mullen Road and Interstate 49. Completion is slated for early 2019. Additional project partners include the City of Belton and Belton Economic Development.
BELTON, MO. — Marshalls, Party City, Petco and Five Below have opened as part of Belton Gateway’s second phase of construction. The $136 million, 47-acre mixed-use development is located west of Interstate 49 in Belton, about 20 miles south of Kansas City. Ross Dress for Less is scheduled to open later this spring. Developed by Christie Development, the property includes an Academy Sports + Outdoors and a Hobby Lobby as part of Phase I.
ST. JOSEPH, MO. — FFO Home has opened a new 35,000-square-foot store in St. Joseph, which is located in northwestern Missouri. The Arkansas-based company will occupy the space in the former Big Bob’s Outlet store at 3715 N. Belt Highway. Tony DeTommaso and Mark McConahay of Block & Co. Inc. Realtors represented the landlord, BB St. Joe LLC, in the lease transaction. FFO Home, originally known as Furniture Factory Outlet, has nearly 50 stores in seven states.
CRYSTAL CITY, MO. — McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. has completed a three-story, 120,000-square-foot patient building on the campus of Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City, 35 miles south of St. Louis. The new development features 90 private patient rooms. McCarthy also renovated the hospital’s main entrance as part of the $73 million project. New corridors help connect the emergency department, imaging, surgical services and admitting areas. Further interior renovations included the construction of a new emergency department waiting area, additional cardiology facilities and MRI suites. The new childbirth center on the third floor of the existing tower includes new labor and delivery suites, remodeled postpartum rooms and two dedicated surgical units. Bates Architects designed the new patient tower, and Heideman Associates served as MEP engineer.
ST. PETERS, MO. — Amazon Inc. has unveiled plans for its first Missouri fulfillment center that will be located in St. Peters, a northwestern suburb of St. Louis. The 800,000-square-foot center will create more than 1,500 full-time jobs for picking, packing and shipping small items such as books, electronics and toys. Amazon currently operates a sortation center in Hazelwood, Mo. A timeline for development was not disclosed.