Ecommerce and generational shifts in spending patterns have spawned discussions regarding the health and future of retail. However, Phoenix has proven to be one of the most resilient and dynamic retail markets in the country. This resilience is a product of corporate and residential migration from gateway markets due to increasing regulation and costs of living. Maricopa County has been named the fastest-growing county in the country for three years straight by the U.S. Census Bureau, and is forecasted to add another 500,000 people by 2023. This population and income influx has the Phoenix retail market bucking national trends. Consumer sentiment remains at peak 2006 levels despite political uncertainty, without the artificial run-up in home values we experienced leading up to the financial crisis. Average vacancy rates have lingered in the high 6 percent range with active retail construction remaining tempered at around 1 million square feet. This is compared to more than 11 million square feet in 2006. Vacancy may fall into the mid- to high 5 percent range over the next two years — where it was in 2006 — barring any extreme economic events. Triple-net rents have averaged $16.30 per square foot in 2019 and have grown …
The declining affordability of housing has become a worsening problem in many areas throughout the country, and Texas is no exception. Despite talk of a cooling housing market, home prices in both North and Central Texas are hitting high-water marks, making the dream of homeownership less likely to become a reality for many people. According to the Austin Board of Realtors, median home prices in Austin hit an all-time high in May, topping $400,000. As for North Texas, a report from ATTOM Data reveals that as of the third quarter, the median home price in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) was 73 percent above the market’s pre-recession peak. As home prices skyrocket in the these markets, apartment rental rates are also experiencing upward pressure. The Austin Affordable Housing Corp., a nonprofit subsidiary of the Housing Authority of the City of Austin, reports that Austin is now the most expensive rental market in Texas. In addition, The Dallas Morning News reported in August that while Dallas-area apartment rents are growing at a slower rate than the national average, these figures rose 3 percent from a year earlier. Rising apartment rental rates in these markets are resulting in a greater percentage of cost-burdened renters …
With the rise of e-commerce, declining foot traffic in malls and shuttering department stores, retail landlords and brick-and-mortar tenants have faced a wave of challenges in recent years. As a result, both landlords and tenants are constantly searching for new and unique ways to improve their bottom-line figures. One recent area where this has become an issue concerns in-person returns from online sales, and how they affect a retail tenant’s percentage rent calculation. Many retail leases contain a percentage rent provision in which a tenant pays a portion of its gross sales above a certain threshold to the landlord in addition to the tenant’s other rental obligations. These provisions often include numerous exclusions that can be deducted from a tenant’s gross sales calculation, including employee discounts, gift certificates prior to redemption and fees paid to credit card companies. Many leases also contain language allowing retailers to deduct the sales price of items that have been returned by customers. As a result of the rising popularity of online shopping, disputes have arisen between retail landlords and tenants as to whether tenants can deduct the sales price of items bought online and subsequently returned in store from the gross sales calculation in …
ANNAPOLIS, MD. — Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), the owner of Westfield Annapolis mall, has unveiled plans to renovate and improve the mall, while adding new tenants. URW will convert the mall’s 110,000-square-foot former Lord & Taylor department store into a new shopping district composed of boutiques, home design stores and experience-driven offerings. The new section of the mall is slated to open to the public in 2021. URW’s mall-wide renovation program will include a new pedestrian gallery connecting the property’s Macy’s store and its Pottery Barn and Nordstrom wings. The gallery is expected to open by this September. The renovation will also create a new 40-foot architectural exterior entrance. The renovations to Westfield Annapolis come alongside new tenants arriving, including Rodizio Grill and Retro Fitness. In February of this year, Anne Arundel County’s Discoveries: The Library at the Mall, a dedicated learning space for teens and young children, is expected to open a permanent, expanded location at the mall. Shops and restaurants at Westfield Annapolis will remain open throughout the renovation process.
MIAMI — Greenwich, Conn.-based Ivy Realty has sold the Waterford Centre at Blue Lagoon office building in Miami for $30.4 million. An affiliate of Coral Gables-based Patton Real Estate Group bought the six-story property for $332 per square foot. The 91,431-square-foot office building is located on four acres at 6205 Blue Lagoon Drive. Miguel Alcivar, Dominic Montazemi, Scott O’Donnell and Mike Davis of Cushman & Wakefield’ s Capital Markets team represented Ivy Realty in the sale, while Stuart Kapp of Kapp Morrison LLP provided the seller with legal counsel during negotiations. Ivy Realty originally acquired Waterford Centre for $21.9 million in an entity sale in 2014. Developed in 1999, Waterford Centre is situated in Miami’s Waterford Business District, a 250-acre master-planned, mixed-use park located directly across the Dolphin Expressway (Fla. State Road 836) from Miami International Airport. The park is composed of 22 office buildings totaling more than 3.3 million square feet, as well as four hotels, numerous restaurants, banking facilities, a day care center and a United States Postal Service branch. The building was 88.8 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including The Parker Co., CheckAlt LLC, Travel Traders LLC and Cardinia Real Estate LLC of Omnicom Group.
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — Atlanta-based Coro Realty Advisors LLC has acquired Signal Mill, a 44,764-square-foot office and retail building situated on three acres in the NorthShore district of Chattanooga. An affiliate of Woodberry Group LLC sold the renovated property, which is a former textile mill, for an undisclosed amount. Colliers International’s Hayes Swann, Joe Montgomery and Tony D’Ambrosio brokered the sale. Signal Mill was built in 1916 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The two-story brick building at 205 Manufacturers Road was originally used for making clothing until it closed in 1986. Developers renovated the former mill in 2017. Food Works, Genevieve Bond Gifts, Edley’s Bar-B-Que, Mean Mug Coffee and Pigtails & Crewcuts are among the retail and dining tenants occupying Signal Mill’s first floor. Covenant Transport Service, a trucking and logistics company, occupies the entire second floor. Located across the street from the 23-acre Renaissance Park, Signal Mill is within walking distance of the historic Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge, which connects the NorthShore area to downtown Chattanooga.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Phillips Realty Capital Corp. (PRC) has structured $27.8 million in joint venture equity financing on behalf of Woodfield Development for the construction of Morrison Yard in Charleston. The 380-unit multifamily community will be built in Charleston’s North of Morrison (NoMo) neighborhood within a qualified opportunity zone. PRC’s Adam Bieber structured the equity financing through investor Argosy Real Estate Partners. PCCP recently provided a $100.6 million construction loan to a joint venture between Woodfield and Argosy to finance the development of Morrison Yard. Construction has commenced on the site, which will consist of a 10-story, concrete building and a six-story, wood-framed building, each featuring studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. The complex will offer ground-floor retail, a two-story parking structure, clubhouse, courtyard spaces and water features. Woodfield plans to have Morrison Yards’ first units delivered in the fourth quarter of 2021, with the entire project slated for delivery in late 2022.
KNIGHTDALE, N.C. — Transpacific Suppliers Alliance Inc. has signed a 120,000-square-foot lease in Hinton Oaks Industrial Park with owner and developer Wake Stone Corp. The park is located at 520 Hinton Oaks Blvd. in Knightdale, roughly nine miles east of Raleigh. KW Commercial’s Brian Donnelley represented the tenant in the lease negotiations. Foundry Commercial, led by Alexis Lambeth, leases the park on behalf of Wake Stone. The 48-acre industrial park is master-planned for five buildings totaling 524,000 square feet. The property is now fully leased, with the fifth and final building slated for delivery in April. Hinton Oaks is adjacent to Interstate 540 and to Wake Stone’s current quarry operation and headquarters in Knightdale. The industrial park currently has 10 tenants, including granite supplier AG&M. Williams Realty & Building Co. Inc. is the general contractor for the entire Hinton Oaks project.
MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Accounting firm Deloitte has preleased a 110,000-square-foot office space at M Station, an office redevelopment project in Morristown. SJP Properties and Scotto Properties plan to convert the Midtown Shopping Center strip in downtown Morristown into two office buildings totaling 400,000 square feet. Deloitte’s lease is contingent on SJP and Scotto receiving full municipal approvals for the project. The company plans to relocate from its previous office in Parsippany and will occupy floors two through six of M Station East. The building will also include 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail. M Station West is planned to be seven stories and approximately 253,000 square feet, which will include approximately 230,000 square feet of office space and 23,000 square feet of retail space. David Stefancic, Lexis Livengood, Ben Brenner and Josh Cohen of Cushman & Wakefield represented Deloitte in the lease negotiations. Robert Donnelly, Robert Donnelly Jr. and Brian Decillis of Cushman & Wakefield represented SJP and Scotto. Gensler designed the project.
PARSIPPANY, N.J. — The Birch Group has purchased a 191,249-square-foot office complex in Parsippany, located approximately 30 miles west of New York City. The complex comprises two buildings located at 99 and 119 Cherry Hill Road that were 88 percent leased at the time of sale. Jeffrey Dunne, Jeremy Neuer and Steve Bardsley led a CBRE team that represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The team also procured the Birch Group as the buyer. The sales price was undisclosed.