The retail market in Southern Maine remains strong through mid-year 2015. Retail vacancy rates are low, investment sales are up, new retail projects are actively under construction, and plans for new retail developments are on the horizon. Positive trends in Maine’s retail sector have been evident for several years now, indicating that the market has stabilized and there is strong potential for further commercial growth over the next several years. According to Malone Commercial Brokers’ 2014 State of the Market Retail Survey, the Greater Portland retail vacancy rate for 2014 was 3.68 percent, compared to 10.8 percent in 2009. The vacancy rate has consistently dropped every year since 2009, with 2014 marking the lowest vacancy rate in Greater Portland in six years. Initially, annual retail vacancy rate declines in Southern Maine were related to the absorption of empty big boxes and retail centers located in the Maine Mall District in South Portland, as well as the newly created retail hubs built along the Maine Turnpike corridor during the construction boom in the early 2000s. By 2012, one of these new retail hubs located in the City of Biddeford saw Lowe’s, Linen ’N Things, Old Navy, and Best Buy close their …
ST. PAUL, MINN. — Colliers International has brokered the sale of the River Park Plaza office building in St. Paul to Cohen Equities, a New-York based real estate firm. Cohen Equities acquired the 343,000-square-foot building at auction. The building sale closed on Friday, July 24. The property is located at 10 River Park Plaza along the Mississippi River. Comcast’s regional office is a main tenant of River Park. Bob Pounds of Colliers’ Minneapolis-St. Paul office represented LNR Property LLC, the seller of the building. In addition to managing the leasing for the building, Colliers has also been selected by Cohen Equities to manage the property. According to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, the final bidding price on 10 River Park Plaza before the time of sale was $20.1 million
WAUWATOSA, WIS. — A joint real estate fund formed by Innovative Capital Advisors (ICA) and HSA Commercial Real Estate has closed on the acquisition of the 114,000-square-foot Wauwatosa Business Plaza. The industrial building is located at 3031 N. 114 St. in Wauwatosa, seven miles west of Milwaukee. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The industrial plaza shares a lighted intersection with The Mayfair Collection, a 270,000-square-foot retail shopping center. The plaza is currently 50 percent occupied by warehousing tenants including a Habitat for Humanity ReStore donation center and resale shop. ICA and HSA do not have any immediate redevelopment plans for the property. James Barry, Kevin Barry and David Barry of DTZ Barry represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
LANSING, ILL. — Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. has brokered the sale of a 47,158-square-foot multi-tenant retail center for $2.9 million located at 17030 S. Torrence Ave. in Lansing, about 27 miles south of Chicago. A Dollar General anchors the property. The retail center was 75 percent occupied at the time of sale. A local real estate investor based in Schaumburg, Ill., sold the property. The buyer was a private real estate investor based in Milwaukee. Chad Firsel and Daniel Waszak of Quantum were the sole brokers in the transaction.
BRIDGETON, MO. — HREC has arranged the sale of a 163-room, full-service Embassy Suites St. Louis Airport Hotel in Bridgeton, located about 20 miles northwest of St. Louis. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The hotel is situated immediately off I-70 and is less than two miles from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, a major hub for Southwest Airlines. Monty Levy, Jeff Preston and Scott Stephens of HREC represented the seller, Fairwood Capital LLC, in the transaction. The property was purchased by an institutional buyer and will be managed by Schulte Hospitality Group.
HILLIARD, OHIO — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 6,100-square-foot retail center to an undisclosed buyer for $3.6 million in Hilliard. The center is located at 1593 Hilliard Rome Road, about 14 miles northwest of Columbus. A Starbucks and Mattress Firm occupy the property. Construction on the retail center was completed this summer. Lisa Sickinger of Marcus & Millichap’s Cincinnati office represented the seller, a limited liability company.
HOUSTON — Texas Children’s Pediatrics has agreed to open a new pediatric center in The Boardwalk at Towne Lake in Houston. Texas Children’s Pediatrics will occupy the top floor of one of the four Boardwalk buildings. Located off Highway 290 and Barker Cypress Road, the mixed-use waterfront development offers retail and restaurant spaces, as well as a central green area for events and boat slips for lake access. The Boardwalk at Towne Lake serves as an amenity the 3,000 residents of Towne Lake, a 2,400-acre master planned community connected by a 300-acre recreational lake. Texas Children’s Pediatrics is the largest pediatric primary care network in the country with 50 practices throughout the Houston area. Boardwalk at Towne Lake’s four buildings feature 40,000 square feet of waterfront office space and 60,000 square feet of retail space.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Brandywine Realty Trust has acquired the remaining interest in the Broadmoor campus located at 11501 Burnet Road in Austin. The acquisition provides full ownership of the seven-building, 66-acre, 1.1 million-square-foot office campus located directly adjacent to The Domain. The Broadmoor campus was developed for IBM, which has been the sole occupant and a joint venture partner with Brandywine and its predecessor company since the campus was developed in 1991. Brandywine has started developing a master plan to ensure an accelerated transition to a mixed-use, multi-tenant destination that will offer new amenities for workers in and around the campus. Brandywine has also launched the marketing campaign for two established buildings that will be available for lease by April 2016, providing 345,000 square feet of Class A office space for Austin’s new and expanding businesses.
RICHARDSON, TEXAS — Henry S. Miller Brokerage’s urban multifamily team has arranged the sale of Parkside Towns. Lew Wood, Andrew Doster and Darden Orand of Henry S. Miller Brokerage represented the townhome community in the transaction. Balynally LLC purchased the 135-unit community located at 2300 Hibiscus Ave. in Richardson. Built in 2014 through a joint effort by the Henry S. Miller Cos., Atticus Real Estate and their partners, the community contains 135 units in 41 total buildings with an average unit size of 1,346 square feet. The community is located in the northeast quadrant of Coit Road and Campbell Road in west Richardson. Humphreys & Partners Architects was the architect.
DALLAS — HFF has arranged the sale of and arranged financing for Energy Square, a 948,678-square-foot, Class A office project in Dallas. HFF marketed the property on behalf of the sellers, Lincoln Property Co., Champion Partners and Long Wharf Real Estate Partners. Energy Square was purchased by a partnership between GlenStar Properties and USAA Real Estate Co. The new owner was also assisted in securing floating-rate financing through Wells Fargo Bank by HFF. Energy Square consists of a 10.3-acre site containing three buildings, plus a one-acre development site zoned for a mixed-use development. The properties feature a fitness center, three conference centers, multiple food service options, Grub Burger Bar restaurant, an outdoor plaza and direct access to the DART Light Rail. Energy Square is 82 percent leased to tenants including New York Life Insurance Co., Davaco and Advanced Homecare. Located at 4925 and 4849 Greenville Ave. and 6688 N. Central Expressway, respectively, Energy Square is situated just off the North Central Expressway near Southern Methodist University north of downtown Dallas.