Consumers are loosening their wallets in St. Louis, and the thaw in spending has given the local retail market a much-needed shot of adrenaline. The discount retailer is still king, but new concepts and developments are gaining ground. With positive absorption of space on the rise, investment sales are increasing. St. Louis is poised to see a major development in the central trade area at the former Hadley Township site. After several failed attempts at development in the past 10 years, Hadley seems destined for redevelopment at last. The 40-acre site is located on I-64 in the central suburb of Richmond Heights and will consist of an assemblage of 150-plus commercial and residential parcels. In the southern half of the development, Menards was selected by the city over Costco and will open one of its first St. Louis locations in early 2014. The site plan includes a 240,000-square-foot store with additional out parcels for retail and restaurant users. In the northern half, Pace Properties has received approval to develop a two-story, 400,000-square-foot, big-box store for an as yet unnamed retailer. This development will further enhance the desirability of the Richmond Heights/Brentwood area as a retail destination and will boost asking …
LOVES PARK, ILL. — Woodward Inc., an energy and aerospace company, plans to build a $200 million manufacturing campus in Loves Park, just north of Rockford, Ill. The campus will include a 300,000-square-foot production plant and office center on 60 acres. The site will house Woodward's aircraft turbine systems business, and the facility is expected to create 660 jobs over the next five years. Woodward is expected to break ground later this year.
ALSIP, ILL. — Plastipak Packaging has renewed its lease for 204,586 square feet in Alsip, located 19 miles south of Chicago. The facility, located at 12301-12325 South Laramie Ave., includes 4,500 square feet of office space and 24 exterior docks with rail service. Steve Connolly of Nai Hiffman represented the landlord, DCT Industrial Trust, in the transaction.
FORT WAYNE, IND. — Dollar General has signed a lease for 9,240 square feet of retail space at 6414 E. State Blvd. in Fort Wayne. Russ Jehl and Stan Phillips of NAI Harding Dahm represented the landlord, Georgetown Members, in the transaction.
PHILLIPS, NEB. — Darland Construction is building a 141,000-square-foot warehouse as part of Syngenta's $63 million expansion at its seed corn production facility near Phillips. The warehouse is slated for completion in early 2013 with the full expansion to be complete in time for the 2013 harvest. The warehouse is a 400-by-326 foot metal building with two finished offices and a covered connecting ramp to an existing building. Darland project manager John Maderak is supervising the project. The planned expansion will support contracting as many as 5,500 additional acres of seed corn.
CHICAGO — MWD Logistics has renewed its lease for 90,624 square feet at 1500 East 97th St. in Chicago. The space is part of Calumet Business Center, a 2 million-square-foot industrial complex made up of 12 buildings south of downtown Chicago. The site is served by rail and is within one-quarter mile of I-94. The Chicago Tribune, Del Monte, MeadWestvaco and Cargil anchor the development. Chris Gary of NAI Hiffman represented the landlord, Ashley Capital, in the transaction. Adam Haefner of Darwin Realty represented the tenant.
UTICA, MICH. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $2.3 million sale of a 5,538-square-foot Applebee's property in Utica. The restaurant is located at 45211 Park Ave. and Applebee's has 16 years remaining on its lease. The property is situated next to a La Quinta Inn & Suites. Ray Turchi and Christopher Travis of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer, a private investor in the transaction.
URBANCREST, OHIO — UPS Supply Chain Solutions has signed a long-term lease for 248,145 square feet at Opus I at Big Run in Urbancrest, bringing the building to full occupancy. UPS Supply will occupy just over 50 percent of the space in the 491,000-square-foot facility, which is owned by an affiliate of The Opus Group. The balance of the building is occupied by McKesson. The industrial building is located at I-270 and Route 62. Mike Hurd, Rick Trott and Kevin McGrath of Cassidy Turley represented the building owners in the transaction.
MIDDLETOWN, OHIO — RZ Auto Parts has purchased a 7,600-square-foot industrial property situated on 3 acres at 2410 Oxford State Road in Middletown. The new location will support existing automobile-related operations at adjacent facilities and will repair and sell used auto parts. Craig Hughes of Industrial Property Brokers represented both parties in the transaction.
CHICAGO — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $600,000 sale of 5434-36 North Clark St., a 6,900-square-foot retail property in Chicago. The asset is a vacant auto shop built in 1919. The lot is zoned B3-2, which provides for a variety of uses, ranging from renovation to a total redevelopment of the site. Stephen Rachman and Kyle Stengle of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a private investor. They also represented the buyer, a developer.