SANTA ANA, CALIF. — Five new stores are set to open at MainPlace Mall by fall 2017: Paradis Ice Cream, Squiz Up, Miniso, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and Destination XL. Paradis Ice Cream offers low fat desserts. Squiz Up will open in spring 2017 in a 500-square-foot space in the food court. The company offers juices, smoothies and iced beverages. Miniso will open in summer 2017 in a 1,400-square-foot space. Miniso is a Japanese fast-fashion designer selling homeware, bags and electronics. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory sells handmade chocolates and confections. The chocolate shop will be located in a 1,100-square-foot space and opens in summer 2017. Destination XL opens in fall 2017 in a 4,800-square-foot store. The company is a men’s retailer offering brands, styles and sizes starting at waist size 38.
MIAMI — Thor Equities has inked leases with fashion footware retailer Steve Madden and international ice cream shop Häagen-Dazs along Lincoln Road, Miami’s high-street retail district. Steve Madden will occupy 2,300 square feet at 663 Lincoln Road, and Häagen-Dazs will occupy 1,000 square feet at 665 Lincoln Road. Thor Equities owns the 5,000 square feet of space at 663-667 Lincoln Road, which also features a 1,700-square-foot space leased to Pizza Rustica. Fiorella Perez of Rovira Realty represented Häagen-Dazs in the lease transaction, and Steve Madden was represented internally. George Stanchfield represented Thor Equities internally in both lease deals.
SUNRISE, FLA. — Franklin Street has arranged the sale of and secured financing for Sunset Apartments, a 54-unit multifamily community located at 2340-2350 N.W. 72nd Ave. in Sunrise, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. Tony Gannacone, Greg Matus and Dan Dratch of Franklin Street represented the Canada-based seller, RonJack Properties LP, in the transaction, and procured the unspecified buyer. The 10-year, nonrecourse acquisition loan features a fixed 3.5 percent interest rate. Franklin Street’s Evan Seacat and Ryan Cassidy provided insurance services for the asset.
LOS ANGELES — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital has hired 22 new employees for its West Coast platform. The employees will join the newly formed Los Angeles and San Diego offices, as well as the already existent Irvine office. Bellwether’s West Coast expansion is expected to add more than $1 billion in annual loan volume, bringing the total anticipated loan volume to $6 billion in 2017. The expansion includes nine additional producers, four servicing staff and nine support staff. Bellwether Enterprise also has a Northern California office located in San Francisco.
POMPTON PLAINS, N.J. — HFF has arranged the $51 million sale of Plaza 23, a 161,000-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center located in Pompton Plains. HFF marketed the property on behalf of the unnamed seller. Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II purchased the asset free and clear of existing debt. Anchored by Stop & Shop, Plaza 23 is the only grocery-anchored shopping center in Pompton Plains. Other tenants include T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, GNC, Moe’s Southwest Grill and Sally Beauty Supply. Smashburger will also be opening soon. The property has a potential pad development site on its 18.8 acres. Each day, more than 54,000 vehicles pass by the development, which is located at 500 Route 23 N.,. The HFF investment sales team representing the seller included Jose Cruz, Thomas Didio, Kevin O’Hearn, Stephen Simonelli, Michael Oliver and Robert Borny.
SOMERVILLE, MASS. — NGKF Capital Markets has completed the recapitalization of 200 Inner Belt Road, a four-story office asset in Somerville. The NGKF Capital Markets Boston team of Robert Griffin, Edward Maher and Matthew Pullen oversaw the recapitalization of the property with North Colony Asset Management on behalf of North River Co. Totaling 190,096 square feet, 200 Inner Belt Road is 97 percent leased to tenants including Harvard University’s Somerville research facility, which includes the Harvard Art Museums Archives, the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis and the museum’s communications division.
CHICAGO — The Park at Wrigley is set to open next week in Chicago. Hickory Street Capital, a real estate development company owned by the Ricketts family, designed and built the Park at Wrigley as well as the office and retail building adjacent to Wrigley Field to provide a year-round, family-friendly gathering place for neighbors, Cubs fans and visitors. Slated as Wrigleyville’s true town square, the area will play host to community festivals, farmers markets, music and dining throughout the year. Several retail tenants will anchor the Park at Wrigley development, including a Starbucks store with a Reserve coffee bar, a two-story tavern-style restaurant, a new flagship Cubs Store, a Jostens retail jewelry concept and a viewing area presented by Motorola for the Chicago Cubs’ 2016 World Championship Trophy. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place on Monday, April 10. The Ricketts family owns the Chicago Cubs.
FLAT ROCK, ROMEO AND WAYNE, MICH. — The Michigan Strategic Fund board has approved performance-based grants and State Essential Services Assessment Exemptions to support Ford Motor Co.’s investment of approximately $2 billion in the automaker’s Flat Rock, Wayne and Romeo assembly plants. As part of the agreement, Ford will create approximately 700 new jobs at its Flat Rock Assembly Plant and approximately 100 new jobs at the Romeo Engine Plant. Ford plans to invest approximately $1 billion at its Flat Rock plant to build a data center and transform the plant into a manufacturing innovation center capable of producing electrified and autonomous vehicles, in addition to the Ford Mustang and Lincoln Continental. Ford expects to begin producing the first of these vehicles in 2020, including an all-new fully electric small SUV engineered to deliver an estimated range of at least 300 miles and its first fully autonomous hybrid vehicle for commercial application. The company will invest $1 billion in its Romeo and Wayne facilities, primarily to support Ford Ranger and Ford Bronco production.
DETROIT — Bernard Financial Group has arranged a $5.2 million loan for the construction of Baltimore Station in Detroit. The 22-unit luxury apartment complex will also feature 8,100 square feet of retail space. TCF Bank provided the loan. Dennis Bernard and Kevin Kovachevich of Bernard arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, Baltimore Station LLC.
ST. LOUIS — Dougherty Mortgage LLC has arranged a $5.2 million HUD loan for the refinancing of the Downtowner Apartments in St. Louis. Originally constructed as a hotel in 1963, the 95-unit affordable housing property was renovated and converted into apartment units in 2007. In addition to the rental units, there is approximately 5,652 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the first floor. Dougherty’s Minneapolis office arranged the loan, which includes a 35-year amortization schedule. Washington Avenue Apartments LP was the borrower.