FAIRBORN, OHIO — NorthMarq has secured a $6.1 million loan for the refinancing of Wright Executive Center in Fairborn near Dayton. The 119,473-square-foot office building is located on Presidential Drive. Susan Branscome of NorthMarq arranged the 10-year, fixed-rate loan with a life insurance company. The borrower was undisclosed.
INNER GROVE HEIGHTS, MINN. — The Cooper Commercial Investment Group has brokered the $2.1 million sale of Inner Grove Market II, an 8,955-square-foot retail property in Inner Grove Heights, about 20 miles southeast of Minneapolis. Caribou Coffee anchors the building, constructed in 2005. Bob Havasi and Dan Cooper of Cooper Group represented the seller, an East Coast-based private investment group. A North Dakota-based private investment group purchased the asset at a cap rate of 7.28 percent.
Southern California’s Inland Empire region has enjoyed a sustained period of growth in the retail real estate sector. Good spaces in quality centers are leasing quickly. Although new developments have slowed, there is still about 1.2 million square feet of new space under construction. These are all top-tier projects that will very much enhance the communities where they are being built. Projects include a Sprouts-anchored center in Eastvale, a Grocery Outlet/Planet Fitness center in Beaumont, an Aldi-anchored center in Hesperia, a Stater Bros. center in Calimesa, AMC Theaters at Montclair Place in Montclair and a Cardenas grocery market center in Montclair. Conversely, apart from the Inland Empire, there are likely few other areas that were as impacted by the recent store closure announcements from Sears and Forever 21. Closings will occur in Montclair, San Bernardino, Victorville, Moreno Valley, Palm Desert, Riverside, Temecula and Rancho Mirage. All told, more than 900,000 square feet of big box space just hit the market. The Inland Center Mall in San Bernardino, which has been a very healthy property over the past few years, is dealing with both a Sears and Forever 21 closure. Macy’s and JC Penney (opened in 2016) still remain at the …
BUFORD, GA. — Atlanta-based Ackerman & Co. has brokered the sale of 65 acres across Interstate 85 from the Mall of Georgia in Buford, approximately 30 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. The Orkin family, of Orkin pest control, sold the parcel to Atlanta-based Fuqua Development for $18 million. The space will accommodate Phase I of Fuqua’s The Exchange at Gwinnett, a $320 million mixed-used development that will feature office space, a hotel, apartments and 500,000 square feet of retail space, including a food hall, “fashion hall,” and a Cinebistro movie theater, according to local media reports. Ackerman & Co.’s John Speros and Larry Wood brokered the sale of the property, located at the intersection of I-85 and Georgia Highway 20. Wood and Speros also represented Rooms To Go in the acquisition of a 4.5-acre site within the development for construction of a 52,000-square-foot store to replace its 24,000-square-foot store fronting the Mall of Georgia.
BURLINGTON, N.C. — The Morgan Cos. has purchased a former Sears department store at 309 Huffman Mill Road within Holly Hill Mall. Morgan Cos. intends to develop the 9.6-acre site into a shopping center anchored by a 48,387-square-foot Publix grocery store and 13,400 square feet of inline retail space. Prego’s Trattoria restaurant, located on an outparcel, is also part of the purchased property. Morgan Cos. will also develop the former Sears Auto Center outparcel next to Prego’s into a multi-tenant retail building as part of the project. Morgan Cos. plans to begin demolition of the Sears building next year and expects the new shopping center to be completed in 2021. Morgan Cos. currently owns a second Triad Publix and developed and owns Peace Haven Village shopping center in Clemmons, N.C.. Morgan Cos. is currently developing another Publix-anchored shopping center in Clayton, N.C. that is expected to open in 2021.
TUSCALOOSA, ALA. — Capstone Real Estate Investments (CREI) has acquired Parker 301, a student housing community located near the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The community has been rebranded The Preserve at Tuscaloosa and is set to undergo substantial renovations and repositioning within the market. Renovations will include updates to all units and the addition of one- and two-bedroom floor plans; updates to the community’s clubhouse; an expansion of the property’s business center to include private study rooms; the addition of a new dog park; and a refresh of the swimming pool area. A timeline for renovations and terms of the acquisition were undisclosed.
RANSON, W.VA. — Heidenberg Properties Group and Strategic Real Estate Partners have opened the 22,000-square-foot Marshalls at The Potomac Marketplace in Ranson. In March, the two companies announced they reached a leasing agreement with The TJX Cos., the parent company of Marshalls, and would need to immediately expand the center between Kohl’s and Petco. The center now spans 379,000 square feet following the expansion. Marshalls joins other retail tenants such as AT&T, Weis Markets, Kohl’s, Petco and The Home Depot.
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — CBL Properties (NYSE: CBL) will suspend its stock dividends for 2019 and possibly through year-end 2020 in the face of retail bankruptcies, store closures and corporate restructurings of tenants within its portfolio. The Chattanooga-based shopping center and mall owner’s board of directors will review the suspension quarterly but doesn’t expect the dividends to resume in 2020. CBL announced the decision following a review of current taxable income projections for 2019 and 2020. Unpaid dividends on CBL’s preferred stock shall accrue without interest. The suspension includes CBL’s common stock, 7.375% Series D Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock and 6.625% Series E Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock. CBL’s stock price fell in the wake of the announcement, going from $1.36 per share Monday afternoon to 93 cents per share Tuesday morning, then steadily rose to $1.03 for Thursday’s opening. Stephen Lebovitz, CBL’s CEO, says that the REIT has tried to shore up operating costs the past 18 months through reducing executive compensation and capital expenditures, as well as bringing on joint venture partners. Lebovitz expects the company’s net operating income to decline in 2020.
LORDSTOWN, OHIO — General Motors and LG Chem have teamed up to invest up to $2.3 billion through a new, equally owned joint venture company. The partnership plans to establish a battery cell assembly plant for electric vehicles on a greenfield manufacturing site in northeast Ohio’s Lordstown. The plant is expected to create more than 1,100 new jobs. Groundbreaking is slated for mid-2020. Coinciding with the news is GM’s sale of its manufacturing complex in Lordstown to Lordstown Motors Corp. for the production of battery-electric trucks. This investment builds on GM’s previously announced $28 million investment in its Warren, Mich. battery lab.
OMAHA, NEB. — Access Commercial LLC has purchased an 11-acre redevelopment site in Omaha with plans to develop a mixed-use project known as Regency Landing. The site comprises the former Regency Lodge hotel and Shaker Place shopping center. Plans call for office, retail and restaurant space in addition to a hotel. Approximately 66,000 square feet of the east building at Shaker Place will be redeveloped, with the complete replacement of lobbies, mechanical systems, elevators and common areas. Some tenants such as Twisted Cork Bistro will remain in the redeveloped space. Regency Lodge, which closed in 2018, operated on the land for more than 40 years. It will be demolished by the end of this year.
