NEW YORK CITY — RTW Retailwinds Inc. (RTW), parent company of women’s apparel chains New York & Co., Fashion to Figure and Happy x Nature, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection along with its subsidiaries. The filing came Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. The company expects to close a significant portion, if not all, of its 378 brick-and-mortar stores and has launched a store closing and liquidation process. In the near term, however, New York City-based RTW will continue to operate its business and reopen stores that were previously temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of July 13, 92 percent of its brick-and-mortar retail and outlet locations across 32 states had reopened. RTW, which was first incorporated in 1918, says that the bankruptcy will enable it to maintain operations in the ordinary course of business, including the payment of employee wages and benefits, payment of suppliers and vendors and the use of cash collateral.
Property Type
PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS — Amazon has announced plans to open an 820,000-square-foot fulfillment center in the northern Austin suburb of Pflugerville, a move that is expected to bring about 1,000 full-time jobs to the area. The facility is expected to open some time in 2021. Pflugerville has long been rumored to be a landing spot for the Seattle-based e-commerce giant. But only recently did the Pflugerville City Council approve an agreement authorizing the city’s economic development department to offer up to $3.8 million in incentives to Amazon. These funds will be earmarked for offsite road infrastructure improvements and for other capital investment and job creation measures.
ALLEN, TEXAS — Locally based developer JaRyCo has partnered with the Johnson family to develop its farmland at the southeast corner of the Sam Rayburn Tollway and Alma Drive in Allen, located northeast of Dallas, into a 135-acre mixed-use destination. Current plans for the development, which will be branded The Farm at Allen, call for 1.6 million square feet of office space, 142,000 square feet of retail space, a 150-room hotel, 60,000 square feet of restaurant space and 2,400 urban residential units, including townhomes. Additional features include a 2.5-acre lake with boardwalk restaurants, two miles of hiking and biking trails, a 16-acre greenbelt along Watters Creek and four additional park areas. Infrastructure work at the site is scheduled to begin in late 2020. Omniplan is the project architect, and TBG is the landscape architect. Dynamic Engineering is the civil engineer.
EL PASO, TEXAS — Developer VanTrust Real Estate has launched a 994,639-square-foot speculative industrial project in El Paso. The site spans 59 acres and is located within five miles of the Zaragoza Bridge, an international port of entry. Phase I of the project will consist of four buildings totaling 514,135 square feet and is expected to be complete in early 2021. Phase II, which will commence upon completion of Phase I, will consist of two buildings totaling 480,504 square feet. The project is one of several major speculative industrial developments to be announced in El Paso in recent weeks, along with Hunt Southwest’s 370,000-square-foot Rojas East Distribution Center and Equity Industrial and Raith Capital’s 123,966-square-foot project at 9541 Joe Rodriguez Drive.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — New York-based investment firm Castle Lanterra Properties has acquired The Triangle, a 529-unit apartment community in downtown Austin for $129 million, or roughly $244,000 per unit. The property, which was built between 2006 and 2008, is part of a mixed-use development that offers retail and restaurant space and proximity to the city’s education and technology hubs. Units come in studio, loft, one-, two- and three-bedroom formats and are equipped with stainless steel appliances, granite or quartz countertops, individual washers and dryers and private balconies. Residential amenities include three pools, a fitness center, communal kitchen, conference center, coffee bar, dog park and fire pits. The seller was not disclosed.
HOUSTON — A joint venture between Avid Realty Partners and preferred equity partner Electra Capital and has acquired The Pines at Woodcreek, a 330-unit apartment community in north Houston. Built in 2015, the property offers studio, one and two-bedroom units and amenities such as a pool, coffee lounge, business center, fitness center, entertainment room, outdoor grilling stations, package locker system and a dog park. Newmark Knight Frank brokered the transaction, the seller in which was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Holt Construction Corp. has completed the $4 billion redevelopment of Terminal B at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport. The project to redesign and build-out the arrivals and departures hall began in June 2016. The new, 850,000-square-foot facility includes a new ground transportation center on the first floor; a new arrivals hall on the second floor; airline check-in areas on the third floor; and retail and restaurant outlets on the fourth floor. The structure also offers check-in kiosks and security checkpoints, as well as a new lighted water display to welcome travelers. Holt Construction worked alongside LaGuardia Gateway Partners and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey to complete the project.
BLUE ANCHOR, N.J. — Innovative Industrial Properties (IIP), a publicly traded investment firm focused on the cannabis industry, has acquired a 111,000-square-foot facility in Blue Anchor for cultivation and processing. The sales price was $5.5 million. IIP has signed operator and grower Curaleaf to a long-term, triple-net lease at the property, which is located south of Philadelphia. New Jersey has taken steps in recent years to expand access to medical cannabis, such as introducing oil-based formulations and adding qualifying conditions. In addition, the prospective legalization of adult-use cannabis is on the ballot for residents via the New Jersey Marijuana Legalization Amendment in November.
UNION, N.J. — Connecticut-based developer RMS Cos. has acquired 6.4 acres for the construction of a 153-unit apartment community in the Northern New Jersey town of Union. Specific floor plans and amenities were not disclosed, but according to development team, the community will feature “generous-sized apartments, designer finishes and luxury amenities.” Jeffrey Dunne, Gene Pride, Jeremy Neuer, Eric Apfel, Zach McHale, Nat Gambuzza and Trevor Fiebel of CBRE represented Sherwood Group Associates in its sale of the land. The team also procured RMS Cos. as the buyer.
NASHUA, N.H. — Matthews Real Estate Investment Services has brokered the $7.7 million sale of an 83,500-square-foot retail property that is leased to Ashley Furniture Homestore in Nashua, a city located near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border. The property was built in 2015. Chuck Evans of Matthews represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Additional terms of sale were not disclosed.