INDIANAPOLIS — During its second-quarter earnings call on Monday, Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) said it is “capitalizing on various value-creating opportunities.” Sparc Group, a joint venture between Simon and Authentic Brands Group, made bids to acquire bankrupt retailers Brooks Brothers and Lucky Brand. Brooks Brothers has selected Sparc as the winning bidder with a $325 million offer. Since Sparc is buying the brands out of bankruptcy, it is acquiring the inventory at or below cost, according to David Simon, CEO and president. In its second quarter that ended June 30, the Indianapolis-based mall giant reported that net income fell to $254.2 million compared with $495.3 million in 2019. As of June 30, occupancy at Simon’s U.S. malls and outlet centers was 92.9 percent. Base minimum rent per square foot was $56.02, an increase of 2.8 percent year over year. Due to COVID-19, Simon closed all of its properties on March 18 and began reopening them on May 1. As of Aug. 7, some 91 percent of the tenants across Simon’s portfolio were open and operating. Simon collected approximately 51 percent of its contractual rent billed for April and May combined, 69 percent for June and 73 percent for July. …
BERKELEY, MO. — Provender Partners has sold a 232,556-square-foot distribution center leased to Dollar General in Berkeley near St. Louis. Provender also sold a separate Dollar General-occupied distribution center in San Antonio along with the Berkeley facility for a total of nearly $64 million. Provender acquired both facilities in 2019 and invested more than $6 million in improvements and renovations before securing 10-year leases with Dollar General for both properties. With freezer, cooler and dry storage space, the properties are part of Dollar General’s new DG Fresh initiative to bring logistics capabilities in-house. Guy Ponticello and Robert Gibson of CBRE and Scott Delphey of Food Properties Group represented Provender in the sale. The buyer was undisclosed.
SHAKOPEE, MINN. — The Opus Group has broken ground on a 131,000-square-foot industrial build-to-suit for Cherne Industries in Shakopee, a southwestern suburb of the Twin Cities. Cherne, which produces pneumatic plugs, mechanical plugs, gauges and testing equipment, will use the building as its new headquarters and manufacturing facility. The project will feature a clear height of 32 feet, eight dock doors, three drive-in doors and 177 car parking stalls. The company’s 115-person workforce will have access to amenities such as a fitness center, locker room and prayer room. Opus is the developer, design-builder, interior designer, architect and engineer. Cabot Properties will own the building. Colliers International represented Opus, while AREA Commercial Real Estate Advisors represented Cherne. CBRE facilitated financing for the project. Completion is slated for early 2021.
BLOOMINGTON, MINN. — Avtex, a full-service customer experience consulting firm, has renewed its 26,000-square-foot office lease at Northland Center in Bloomington within metro Minneapolis. Northland Center is a two-building, 492,514-square-foot office property. Amenities include a fitness center, hair salon, farmer’s market, café, outdoor lounge area, laundry service, covered parking, bike storage and conference rooms. Bill Rothstein of Cushman & Wakefield provides leasing services for the property. KBS is the landlord. “There has been a lot of discussion as to whether or not companies will continue to lease space as a result of COVID-19 and the shift to remote working models,” says Rod Richerson, regional president with KBS. “This is not something we are seeing across our portfolio. In fact, we are continuing to see companies renew and sign new leases at several of our assets across our portfolio of more than 23 million square feet.”
VINELAND, N.J. — Boston-based investment firm High Street Logistics Properties has acquired a 432,000-square-foot industrial facility located within the 2.7 million-square-foot Vineland Industrial Park, about 40 miles south of Philadelphia. The sales price was $23.2 million. Built in 1989 and expanded in 1997, the cross-dock property is fully leased to Ardagh Glass Inc., a provider of sustainable packing solutions. Building features include 28- to 34-foot clear heights, 24 dock doors, 18 trailer parking spaces, 54 automobile parking spaces and 110- to 120-foot truck court depths. Michael Hines, Brad Ruppel, Brian Fiumara and Lauren Dawicki of CBRE represented the seller, Vineland Construction, in the transaction. CBRE local market advisors Ken Zirk, Robert Zwengler, Dan McGovern, Paul Touhey and Andrew Green also assisted on the sale.
PHILADELPHIA — Rittenhouse Realty Advisors has brokered the sale of LVL 4125, a 141-unit apartment community located at 4125 Chestnut St. in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia. Alterra Property Group developed the community, which features proximity to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, in 2019. Units offer stainless steel appliances and individual washers and dryers, and amenities include a roof deck, fitness center, clubroom and a dog run. The buyer was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — CBRE has committed to an additional 44,612 square feet of office space at 200 Park Avenue in Manhattan. The expansion gives the real estate firm a total footprint of more than 215,000 square feet at the 58-story, Class A property, which is known as the MetLife Building. In addition, CBRE will be leaving its 140 Broadway location to occupy space at the new Hana coworking space at 3 World Trade Center, which will open later this year. Craig Reicher of CBRE handled the lease negotiations with Gus Field and Megan Sheehan of Tishman Speyer, the owner of the building.
NEW YORK CITY — Sour Patch Kids has opened a 3,300-square-foot flagship store for children at the corner of Bond Street and Broadway near the SoHo shopping district in New York City. IT’SUGAR, a retailer specializing in candy and similar confections and subsidiary of BBX Sweet Holdings LLC, will operate the store. In addition to offering a range of merchandise, the store will also feature entertainment activities for children, including the making of candy mix, posing for photos with Sour Patch Kids characters and enjoying reimagined sweets such as smoothies, cookies and ice cream.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Gebroe-Hammer Associates has arranged the $9.7 million sale of a 57-unit multifamily portfolio in Jersey City. The sales price equates to roughly $171,000 per unit. The portfolio consists of two buildings that were both constructed around the turn of the 20th century. Niko Nicolaou of Gebroe-Hammer represented the seller, Kevelson Family LLC, in the transaction. Brad Domenico of Progress Capital provided acquisition financing on behalf of the undisclosed buyer.
By Taylor Williams Decreased acquisition activity across virtually all asset classes is among the most visible impacts that COVID-19 has had on commercial real estate, but capital markets professionals say there’s reason to believe deal volume will rebound sharply toward the end of the year. According to data from Real Capital Analytics (RCA), the total sales volume of commercial properties in the country was approximately $44.7 billion during the second quarter. This figure represents a staggering year-over-year decrease of 68 percent and the lowest quarterly total in more than a decade. In terms of income streams, some asset classes are faring much better than others. Social distancing mandates and stay-at-home orders, while disastrous for retail and hotel properties, have elevated demand for e-commerce, as well as manufacturing of essential goods and services. The latter trend ensures that for many industrial owners, rent collection is not a major concern. But current and future economic uncertainty are causing investors across the board to pause new acquisitions. “We saw a significant decline in demand for acquisition financing when the pandemic began,” says Jeff Erxleben, executive vice president and regional managing director of NorthMarq’s Dallas office. “There were major unknown factors coming in all …