OAK CREEK, WIS. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $5.9 million sale of the La Quinta Inn Milwaukee Airport, a 99-room hotel in Oak Creek, about 15 miles south of Milwaukee. The property is located at 7141 S. 13th St. near the General Mitchell International Airport. The three-story hotel was built in 1989. Ebrahim Valliani, Allan Miller and Chris Gomes of Marcus & Millichap marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a limited liability company. The team also secured and represented the buyer, a limited liability company.
By Ray Balfanz, Outlook Management Group What does Milwaukee bring to mind? Beer? Cheese? TV’s “Happy Days?” Perhaps the city chosen as the site for the 2020 Democratic National Convention? Yes, that’s us — being recognized and happy about it. But since I began penning this piece in March, we’ve experienced a world of change in the realities of group gatherings: we can hardly have 10 people in a group now, let alone thousands of delegates filling our new Fiserv Forum. It’s anybody’s guess how long the multi-trillion-dollar brick-and-mortar retail industry will be effectively shuttered and how the industry will have changed when it’s over. So without a crystal ball, I’m sharing Milwaukee’s story of how our retail developments have kept relevant for our consumers, while hoping for the best possible outcome once we’re on the other side of this coronavirus pandemic. “A great place on a great lake” our tourism slogan once proclaimed — and indeed it is. Milwaukee is a largely undiscovered gem with excellent quality of life and endless spots at which to spend your hard-earned cash: a prolific culinary scene, first-rate arts offerings and vibrant retail. From the reimagined Drexel Town Square, to redeveloped Bayshore, to …
INDIANA AND OHIO — Canada-based Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (NYSE: GRP.U) has acquired eight U.S. industrial properties totaling approximately 4 million square feet for $246.1 million. The buildings are fully leased to various tenants. The Midwest properties include: 445 Airtech Parkway in Indianapolis; 5415 Centerpoint Parkway in Obetz, Ohio; 6201 Green Pointe Drive South in Groveport, Ohio; 8779 Le Saint Drive in Hamilton, Ohio; and 8754 Trade Port Drive in West Chester, Ohio. Granite also acquired three properties in the Southeast. These include: 4460 E. Holmes Road in Memphis, Tenn.; 4995 Citation Drive in Memphis, Tenn.; and 8650 Commerce Drive in Southaven, Miss. The acquisitions are expected to close in the second quarter. Granite expects to fund the purchases using a combination of net proceeds from its recent equity offering and cash on hand. Granite’s portfolio consists of more than 90 properties totaling approximately 40.3 million square feet of leasable area.
LEAWOOD, KAN. — AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) plans to reopen almost all of its U.S. and U.K. theaters in July. The Leawood, Kan.-based movie theater chain has already reopened 10 theaters in Norway, Germany, Spain and Portugal, and expects to be fully open globally in July ahead of the release of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet on July 17 and Disney’s Mulan on July 24. AMC is working closely with local, national and international officials to coordinate timing and requirements of reopening. It is consulting with the Harvard University School of Public Health on how to best create a safe environment for guests and associates. This includes personal protection equipment, cleaning protocols, limited theater capacity and blocked seating. AMC has also partnered with The Clorox Co. for advice on making theater environments as safe as possible. Last week, AMC said it had “substantial doubt” about staying in business if it was forced to keep theaters closed for a longer period. AMC operates 1,000 theaters and 11,000 screens across the globe. Its stock price closed at $5.98 per share on Tuesday, June 9, down from $10.94 one year ago.
BLUE ASH, OHIO — The Chicago office of United Kingdom-based 90 North Real Estate Partners, acting as the investment advisor to Kuwait-based Rasameel Investment Co., has purchased a 400,296-square-foot office property in Blue Ash. The campus serves as the new headquarters of Ensemble Health Partners. 90 North acquired the property from a local developer for an undisclosed price. The campus, situated at 11311 Reed Hartman Highway in suburban Cincinnati, formerly served as the Procter & Gamble Sharon Woods Technical Center. Over the last year, the campus has been redeveloped for Ensemble, which is a medical billing management company. The property consists of a 390,096-square-foot main building, a newly constructed 75,554-square-foot addition and a separate 10,200-square-foot building that is being converted into a conference center. The campus also includes 2,262 car parking spots and sits on 51.3 acres. Ensemble expects to be operational in the facility by September. The company is expected to bring approximately 2,000 employees to the property.
NAPERVILLE, ILL. — McShane Construction Co. has completed the construction of Avenida Naperville, a 146-unit senior living community in Naperville. Reserved for adults age 62 and older, the six-building property is geared toward residents who want to maintain an active lifestyle. Residents have access to 13,000 square feet of amenity space, including a clubhouse with a bistro, fitness and yoga studios, a theater, library, private dining room and arts studio. Outdoor amenities include a pool, game lawn and barbecue areas. Meeks + Partners designed the community. Avenida Partners is the developer and owner.
CHICAGO —BlockPoint, a project development and general contracting company, has acquired Pacific Construction, a general contractor, construction management and development services firm. The purchase price was undisclosed. Both companies are based in Chicago. Pacific, which will continue to operate under its same name, has built projects such as the Fermilab R&D building in Batavia, the Adler Planetarium in Chicago and military bases around the state such as the Army Reserve Center in Fort Sheridan. Pacific works in the institutional and public works, healthcare, retail, restaurants and multifamily sectors.
INDIANAPOLIS — Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) has terminated its Feb. 9 merger agreement with Taubman Centers Inc. (NYSE: TCO). Simon also filed an action today in Michigan’s Oakland County Circuit Court saying Taubman breached the covenants in the merger agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Simon was to acquire an 80 percent interest in Taubman for approximately $3.6 billion. Indianapolis-based Simon says its termination of the merger agreement is based on two separate grounds. “First, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a uniquely material and disproportionate effect on Taubman compared with other participants in the retail real estate industry,” according to a statement from Simon. “Second, in the wake of the pandemic, Taubman has breached its obligations, which are conditions to closing, relating to the operation of its business.” Taubman failed to take steps to mitigate the impact of the pandemic as others in the industry have, such as not making essential cuts in operating expenses and capital expenditures, according to Simon. The merger agreement specifically gave Simon the right to terminate the transaction in the event that a pandemic disproportionately hurt Taubman. Simon says that Taubman’s significant proportion of enclosed retail properties in densely populated metropolitan areas — …
ST. LOUIS — Midas Hospitality has opened the St. Louis region’s first Aloft hotel in the heart of the 200-acre Cortex Innovation Community. The Aloft by Marriott hotel is located at 4245 Duncan Ave. and offers 129 rooms. Amenities include a fitness center, indoor pool, bar and two meeting rooms. The fitness center is closed until June 15 per St. Louis guidelines for the coronavirus. The five-story hotel is the 12th hotel Midas will manage in the greater St. Louis region, bringing its total hotel count nationwide to 40. The Aloft brand “caters to today’s modern traveler who craves jet-setting style and a vibrant social scene at an affordable price,” says Midas. The Cortex Innovation Community is a technology and science-driven district in the Midtown neighborhood of St. Louis. It serves as the main location for many of the city’s technology startups.
CHICAGO — Chicago-based Frontline Real Estate Partners LLC, Four Corners Advisors Inc. and Aries Capital LLC have formed a joint venture known as Frontline Real Estate Partners: Hospitality Division. The venture will provide competitive marketplace analysis, broker valuations, financing services, receivership management and disposition services aimed at hotel, luxury resort and gaming properties valued at $5 million to more than $100 million. “The hotel market is facing a downturn unlike any we’ve experienced in recent history owing to the global pandemic,” says Michael Schindler, president and CEO of Four Corners Advisors. “Hotel owners are finding it necessary to defer loan payments or enter forbearance agreements, all of which are likely to expire before the market can fully recover. This is creating an unprecedented need for financing and receivership analysis, as well as expert guidance on how to best generate maximum recovery for lien holders.”