NEW YORK CITY — Brooklyn Fare Kitchen & Market has opened a 25,500-square-foot store within the One Manhattan Square residential tower on the Lower East Side. The deal marks the largest New York City store to date for the grocer, which offers prepared foods, sushi, a deli, produce, frozen foods and organic products. The store also features a coffee bar. Other locations in the city include Brooklyn, The West Village and Lincoln Square.
HILLSBOROUGH, N.J. — Bluestar Direct has signed a 13,500-square-foot industrial lease expansion in the Northern New Jersey community of Hillsborough. The wholesaler of various food products is expanding from a 5,000-square-foot space at the 596,315-square-foot Hillsborough Business Center, where it has been a tenant since 2020. Victor Kelly represented the landlord, Larken Associates, in the lease negotiations on an internal basis.
GENEVA, ILL. — Lamar Cos., in conjunction with Real Capital Solutions, has acquired Geneva Commons, a 440,370-square-foot open-air shopping center in the western Chicago suburb of Geneva. The purchase price and seller were undisclosed. Dick’s Sporting Goods and Barnes & Noble are the anchor tenants, while The Fresh Market, Binny’s, DSW and HomeGoods are shadow anchors. Additional tenants include Sephora, Athleta, Lovesac, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Bath & Body Works, J. Crew Factory and First Watch. Lamar plans to make some capital improvements to the property.
DES MOINES, IOWA — CBRE has arranged the sale of Cityville on 9th, a 312-unit apartment complex in Des Moines. The sales price was undisclosed. The property is located at 550 SW 9th St. near Principal Park, Gray’s Lake and the historic Court District. Built in 2015 to 2018, the apartment community features a range of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units along with 48,000 square feet of commercial space. Amenities include an outdoor pool and sundeck, fitness center, outdoor fire pit, theater room, business center, dog park, coffee bar and heated parking. Cy Fox, Ray Hamilton and Matt Bukshstaber of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller. ARTISAN Capital Group and Eastham Capital were the buyers.
CREVE COEUR, MO. — Brinkmann Constructors has completed an 87,000-square-foot headquarters for First Bank in Creve Coeur, a suburb of St. Louis. The four-story building features multiple outdoor workspaces and a multipurpose “innovation hub” for team collaboration and social events. In addition to the headquarters building, the project includes a two-story, 82,000-square-foot parking garage for employee and visitor use.
SCHAUMBURG, ILL. — Matthews Real Estate Investment Services has brokered the $7.8 million sale of a cannabis dispensary occupied by Enlightened Dispensary in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg. Located at 820 E. Golf Road, the property features a gross leasable area of 9,296 square feet. Enlightened Dispensary, a corporate-backed, multi-state cannabis operator, has 12 years remaining on its lease with two additional five-year options. Alexander Machado, Daniel Gonzalez, Robert Goldberg and Ben Snyder of Matthews brokered the sale. Buyer and seller information was not provided.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Reynolds Asset Management has purchased Hyde Park Townhomes, a 176-unit multifamily rental property in Columbus. The purchase price and seller were undisclosed. Built in 1974 and located at 5650 Knighthood Lane, the property consists of three-story townhomes and flats that vary between one- and three-bedroom layouts. Joni Sweetwood and Rob Holland of Kislak Co. brokered the sale. Matt Pizzalato, Tom Diddio, Max Custer, Sal Buzzerio and Mike Mataras of JLL arranged acquisition financing through Fannie Mae.
RICHMOND, TEXAS — Meristem Communities has broken ground on The Filling Station, the first building at the Indigo Commons mixed-use development in Richmond, approximately 35 miles southwest of Houston. The 3,000-square-foot Filling Station property will serve as a welcome center and general store, selling fresh produce from Indigo Farm. Indigo Commons is the 12-acre, mixed-use portion of the larger project, Indigo. Upon completion, the 235-acre property will feature approximately 800 residential units, 42 acres devoted to agriculture, and a 12-acre, mixed-use town center. Borrowing inspiration from classic gas stations of the 1930s, Meristem plans for The Filling Station to be a vibrant social hub in Indigo Commons. DAHLIN Architecture | Planning | Interiors designed the building, which is scheduled for completion before the end of the year. “The start of construction at The Filling Station signifies a major milestone in Indigo’s narrative,” says Clayton Garrett, partner at Meristem Communities. “The neighborhood we originally envisioned is taking shape and the small businesses we’re looking to come to Indigo Commons will play a pivotal role in the development of Indigo’s identity, creating new energy and engagement. There is much more to come too, as Indigo is expected to be a home for …
— By John Williams, president, CIO and COO of Avanath Capital Management — It’s no secret that the dire shortage of affordable housing is an ongoing issue throughout the nation. The National Multifamily Housing Council reported in 2022 that the United States would need to build 4.3 million new apartments by 2035 to meet demand. The report also stated that the nation’s number of affordable housing units declined by 4.7 million from 2015 to 2020. Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the problem. Both local and federal governments are taking steps to address the lack of supply in the market. President Biden’s 2024 Economic Report to Congress, for instance, prominently featured plans to increase the supply of and access to affordable housing. In the meantime, however, stakeholders must think outside the box to identify innovative ways to provide attainable housing. One effective way to do this, beyond the standard avenues, is through public-private partnerships. Public-private partnerships are a strategy that can benefit a wide range of stakeholders — including investors, developers, institutional owners, operators, property managers, service providers and leaders in nonprofit and government entities. In addition to serving renters with lower incomes and other specialized needs, actively pursuing these partnerships …
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Pinnacle Bank has taken back the keys at Burnett Plaza, a 40-story office tower in Fort Worth, via a $12.3 million auction sale, according to reports from multiple news outlets including the Dallas Business Journal and Fox Business. The former publication reports that the previous owner, an affiliate of New York-based investment firm Opal Holdings, bought the building for $137.5 million in 2021 and recently defaulted on a $13 million loan. Fox Business reports that Burnett Plaza, which spans more than 1 million square feet and was originally built in 1983, had a 22 percent vacancy rate as of the first quarter of this year.