WARRENDALE, PA. — Teen apparel retailer Rue21 filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, May 15 with plans to reorganize and restructure its assets and debts. In April, the company began to close approximately 400 underperforming stores of the 1,179 stores that it operates. The company stated Monday that it may evaluate further store closures as it continues to manage its real estate lease portfolio. The company expects to emerge from Chapter 11 in fall 2017 with a significantly deleveraged balance sheet. The company has obtained $125 million in debtor-in-possession financing, enabling it to continue day-to-day operations, including payment of employee wages, payment of vendors and honoring customer programs, such as gift cards. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is Rue21’s legal advisor, Rothschild Inc., as its investment banker and financial advisor and Berkeley Research Group as its restructuring advisor.
NEW YORK CITY — Strategic Capital has made a $140 million equity investment for a multifamily development in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manhattan. Strategic’s investment consists of equity and mezzanine components invested in a joint venture with Cape Advisors and Forum Absolute Capital Partners (FACP). Strategic Capital will co-develop the property with Cape Advisors. Strategic Capital is the investment arm of China Construction America (CCA), which is the American subsidiary of China State Construction and Engineering Company (CSCEC). The site is located at 110 Charlton St. and 537 Greenwich St. When complete, the project will span 280,000 square feet with 170 residential units, ground-floor retail and parking. Plaza Construction, an affiliate of Strategic Capital is the general contractor for the project. Construction will begin in June and sales for the condominiums will begin in spring 2018.
LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. — A $15 million, 21,000-square-foot expansion of the LaGuardia Community College library is now complete. The college, part of the City University of New York (CUNY), has an enrollment of more than 50,000. The expansion converted a section of the second floor of the college’s E-Building into additional space for the library. The work makes the library 58 percent larger and doubles its capacity to 732 seats. The expansion also includes media rooms, 11 group study rooms, reading rooms, a media lab, faculty suites, archive space and 50 offices.
FORT LEE, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $4.5 million sale of 201 Main St., a 9,500-square-foot retail property located Fort Lee. Greg Babaian, Michael Lombardi and Steven Schiavello of Marcus & Millichap’s New Jersey office marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The team also secured and represented the buyer, another private investor.
NEW YORK CITY — Eastern Consolidated has arranged a lease for Viand Cafe at 517 Columbus Ave. in Manhattan. The restaurant has operated a location in the Hotel Beacon at 2130 Broadway for more than 15 years. The restaurant is taking a 1,856-square-foot space at the corner of 85th Street and Columbus Avenue previously occupied by Jackson Hole restaurant, which closed last year. Eastern Consolidated’s Ben Biberaj and Harris Bulow represented Viand Café in negotiating a 15-year lease for the retail space, which includes 70 feet of frontage and a 490-square-foot basement. Rafe Evans and Eric Fisher of Walker Malloy & Co. represented the landlord, Shared Equities LLC.
The news is rife with stories regarding retail bankruptcies, store closures, challenges facing conventional shopping centers, and consolidations by department and specialty stores. Although not immune to some of these challenges, the Manhattan retail environment has enjoyed much activity during the second half of 2016 and the first part of 2017. To be sure, some submarkets and certain retail corridors have seen an increase in vacancies and a corresponding fall in asking rents. However, a number of new retailers have entered the market and certain strong retail brands have right-sized or repositioned themselves in the market. One high-profile shopping center opened its doors, and there is considerable retail development underway. It’s a big story but here are some highlights. Lower Manhattan There has been considerable focus on Lower Manhattan in the past several years, and this continues. On the grand scale, the opening in August 2016 of Westfield’s World Trade Center was the culmination of years in planning, constructing and leasing this $1.4 billion development. This multi-level project contains an assortment of national and international tenants, including fast fashion and better retail stores, such as Victoria’s Secret, Sephora, H&M, John Varvatos and London Jewelers. A 60,000-square-foot Eataly is the principal …
WALPOLE, MASS. — A joint venture between Benchmark Senior Living and Farallon Capital Management has acquired New Pond Village, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in the Boston suburb of Walpole. BH Brightview New Pond Village LLC sold the property for an undisclosed price. The community offers 167 independent living units and 32 supportive living units. The three-story, 259,000-square-foot building was built in 1990 on 19.4 acres. New Pond is Massachusetts-based Benchmark’s 54th community and fourth CCRC. Allen McMurtry, Paul Carr, David Kliewer and Megan Fetter of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.
NORTHBOROUGH, MASS. — Transwestern Consulting Group (TCG) has arranged the sale of One Beeman Road in Northborough on behalf of Stockbridge Capital Group. According to public records, the sale price was $33 million. TH Real Estate purchased the 342,900-square-foot, high-bay industrial facility. TH Real Estate is an affiliate of Nuveen, the investment management arm of TIAA. The facility is 100 percent leased to FedEx SmartPost, serving as the company’s sole New England hub. TCG’s Chris Skeffington, John Lashar and Joe Olin represented the seller and sourced the buyer in the transaction. The firm has been retained by the new ownership to provide leasing and property management services for the building. One Beeman Road features 104 tailboard doors with cross-dock capability and building clear height up to 33 feet. A tenant since 2001, FedEx recently extended its term through 2023.
FREEHOLD, N.J. — Bussel Realty Corp. (BRC) has arranged the $7.5 million sale of Fairfield Industrial Park, a nine-building park totaling 165,000 square feet located at 912 Route 33 in Freehold. Jordan Metz and Eduard Skutelsky of BRC represented an unnamed seller in the transaction. Imperial Real Estate represented the buyer, Fairfield Industrial Park LLC. The property includes 20 tenants and the new owners plan capital improvements at the industrial park.
MOOSUP, CONN. — KeyBank’s community development lending and investment team has financed a $6 million bridge-to-HUD loan for Vesta Corp. for the acquisition of Moosup Apartments. The property is an 89-unit multifamily complex consisting of nine two-story buildings in the rural community of Moosup. Moosup Apartments includes one-, two- and three- bedroom townhomes. Of the 89 units, 27 are covered by a Section 8 HAP contract. KeyBank’s Kelly Frank arranged the financing.