NEW YORK CITY — Foot Locker will close more than 400 underperforming stores as part of its “Lace Up” plan, which was announced during a recent call with investors. According to Tony Aversa, senior vice president of global store development, the move is part of a strategy to manage portfolio risk by way of strategic closures. The New York City-based shoe retailer currently operates 2,700 stores, which will be reduced to approximately 2,400 by 2026, a number that also reflects the planned addition of stores in new formats. Despite the closures, Foot Locker intends to increase its aggregate brick-and-mortar footprint by roughly 10 percent to 14.5 million square feet by 2026. Foot Locker will also shift to a focus on off-mall stores, with the goal of having off-mall locations comprise more than 50 percent of its real estate portfolio by 2026.
HOPEWELL, N.J. — A development team that includes Philadelphia-based architecture firm Meyer and IPS Integrated Project Services has topped out a 400,000-square-foot life sciences project in Hopewell, a suburb of Trenton. The manufacturing and research facility is a build-to-suit for BeiGene, a global biotech firm that develops cancer medicines. The site spans 42 acres within the Princeton West Innovation Campus. Full completion is slated for 2024.
NEW YORK CITY — Northmarq has arranged a $26 million loan for the refinancing of an 11-story, 90-unit apartment complex in East Harlem. Chuck Cotsalas and Robert Delitsky of Northmarq arranged the financing though Nationwide Life Insurance Co. on behalf of the undisclosed borrower. The loan carried a 20-year term, 25-year amortization schedule and a fixed interest rate of 5.4 percent.
PHILADELPHIA — Newmark has brokered the $13.1 million sale of a portfolio of two industrial buildings totaling 32,435 square feet in Philadelphia. At the time of sale, the portfolio, which spans 6.7 acres, was fully leased to logistics company GSR Global. Ryan Guittare of Newmark represented the seller, New York City-based investment firm IG Logistics, and procured the undisclosed buyer in the transaction.
BOSTON — Global architecture and design firm Sasaki has opened its new 64,000-square-foot office headquarters at 110 Chauncy St. in downtown Boston. The space spans seven of the building’s eight floors. Sasaki, which signed a 16-year lease in 2021 to relocate from the western suburb of Watertown, also redesigned the building’s lobby, retail space and entrance. MC Real Estate Partners owns 110 Chauncy Street, which was originally constructed in the 1890s.
NEW YORK CITY — Walker & Dunlop’s capital markets team has arranged $94 million in construction financing for the development of College Point Logistics Center in the College Point neighborhood of Queens, just across Flushing Bay from LaGuardia International Airport. A joint venture between Wildflower Ltd. and Drake Real Estate Partners is developing the project, with construction costs estimated at $146 million. College Point Logistics Center will be a ground-up warehouse and structured parking facility. The property will feature 81,000 square feet of rentable industrial space, as well as 160,000 square feet of enclosed parking across two floors and 68,000 square feet of surface-level parking. Wildflower designed the project with ground-floor warehouse space and multi-story parking to maximize the project’s efficiency and meet the needs of modern industrial and logistics tenants. College Point Logistics Center is located alongside the Whitestone Expressway, making it accessible to LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airports, the New York and Atlantic Railways and the Red Hook Container Terminal. Development of the facility is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2024. Jonathan Schwartz, Aaron Appel, Mo Beler, Ari Hirt and Triston Stegall led the Walker & Dunlop team in securing the floating-rate loan on behalf of …
WINCHESTER, MASS. — General contractor Seaman DiCarlo has completed the renovation of the radiology oncology department at Winchester Hospital, a 229-bed facility located on the northwestern outskirts of Boston. The hospital is part of the Beth Israel Lahey healthcare system. Locally based design firm Margulies Perruzzi served as the project architect and has now completed 28 collaborations with Beth Israel Lahey, including eight at Winchester Hospital.
RAHWAY, N.J. — A partnership between developers Fields Grade and The Slokker Group has begun leasing a 109-unit apartment building in the Northern New Jersey community of Rahway. The building is the second at The Mint, a development in the downtown area, the first phase of which consisted of 116 units that were completed in 2020. The new building rises six stories and offers studio, one- and two-bedroom units, as well as Class A amenities. Rents start at $2,095 per month for a studio apartment.
BRIGHTON, N.Y. — Whole Foods Market will open a 50,000-square-foot store in the upstate New York community of Brighton on April 12. The location at 2740 Monroe Ave. will be the first in the Rochester area for the Texas-based grocer. The store will offer more than 500 locally sourced items and will feature full-service meat and seafood counters, a bakery, prepared foods section, a selection of more than 200 craft beers.
SHORT HILLS, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $7 million sale of a 10,070-square-foot retail strip center in the Northern New Jersey community of Short Hills. Morris Turnpike Strip Center was built in 1959 and is home to tenants such as T-Mobile, Mattress Firm and Alpha Fit Club. Alan Cafiero, David Cafiero and Dean Matuszewicz of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction. Both parties were regionally based limited liability companies that requested anonymity.