LONG BEACH, CALIF. – A 24,278-square-foot office building in Long Beach has sold to 2H Construction for $3.3 million. The vacant, four-story building is located at 2165 E. Spring Street. The buyer plans to refurbish the property as a build-to-suit. 2H Construction was represented by Matt Stringfellow and Courtney Bell of The Klabin Company/CORFAC International. The sellers, the Lawrence Shields Trust, was also represented by Stringfellow and Bell, along with Kimball Wassick of Cushman & Wakefield.
Walking the floor at yesterday’s ICSC Western Division Conference in San Diego, one gets a strong sense of industry-wide optimism as the economy continues to incrementally improve. Many more retailers are actively leasing, tons of new startups are in the market and some regions are even seeing an uptick in infill, ground-up development. While the industry may not see the heyday that occurred before the Lehman Brothers’ collapse for some time, widely publicized low interest rates have generated large volumes of refinancing. This has resulted in a slow but steady sector growth of 4 percent to 5 percent over the past five years. Of course, larger retail developers (many of which are REITs) realized a tremendous boon by refinancing portions of their portfolios at historically low interest rates. In addition, the housing market’s rebound over the past 12 to 18 months, coupled with near-historically low interest rates, has driven some shop tenants back into the market. As key indicators continue to point toward a cautious growth trajectory for housing – median home values are up and homebuilders are acquiring more land to develop – ICSC attendees have taken a positive outlook on the market. Naturally, that outlook is tempered by …
GLENDALE, CALIF. – Construction has commenced on the 303-unit Glendale Triangle residential mixed-use project. The 315,391-square-foot project will be located at 3900 San Fernando Road in Glendale near animation studios like Disney and DreamWorks. It is being developed by Camden USA, which conceived and designed the project to attract Gen-Y renters.Lifestyle amenities include a pool and spa, two roof decks, four courtyards, a barbecue area and a fitness center with yoga rooms. The project includes 16 live-work units and six ground-floor retail spaces. It is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2015. Bernardswill serve as general contractor.
SAN DIEGO – A joint venture between Clarion Partners and HP Investors has acquired an interest in the retail and commercial parking portion of the Gaslamp City Square condominium project. The purchase price was not disclosed. The property is located at 450 J Street in Downtown San Diego’s historic Gaslamp District. The property’s 54,773-square-foot retail component contains a mix of national and regional tenants like Quicksilver, Oceanaire and GStar. The acquisition also includes more than 250 dedicated parking stalls. Gaslamp City Square was developed in 2004. This is HP’s sixth Downtown San Diego acquisition in the past 18 months.
DOUGLASVILLE, GA. — Industrial parts supplier McMaster-Carr has acquired 112 acres at Riverside at Sweetwater Creek, a 309-acre business park in Douglasville. The company, which currently operates buildings in northwest Atlanta, will consolidate its operations in a new 700,000-square-foot facility. The property will serve as an e-commerce fulfillment center for the products the company supplies to manufacturing plants and additional commercial facilities. McMaster-Carr has received city approval to expand the building to 1 million square feet. General contractor Holder Construction Co. will begin construction before the end of the month, with development expected to take 18 months. Marks Hawks and Scott McGregor with CBRE represented Riverside at Sweetwater Creek's owner, NMR&G LLC, in the land acquisition. Sim Doughtie of King Industrial Realty Inc. represented McMaster-Carr. The business park's development partners include Charles Brewer, Sam Hatcher and Ron Orr.
DELRAY BEACH, FLA. — HFF has arranged $46 million in financing for The Plaza at Delray, a 328,989-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center in Delray Beach. Eric Tupler, Chris Drew, Kristian Lichtenfels and Leon McBroom of HFF arranged the 10-year loan through Allianz Real Estate Of Americas on behalf of the borrower, Heitman and Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust. The center is nearly 98 percent leased to tenants such as Publix, Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less, T.J. Maxx, CVS/pharmacy, Michaels, Anna's Linens and Ulta Salon.
KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Crossman & Co., an Orlando-based real estate services firm, has arranged the sale of Northshore Town Center, a 78,306-square-foot, grocery-anchored retail development in Knoxville. Publix anchors the development, which was built in 2012. A private group purchased the property from the original developer, Knoxville-based CHM LLC. John Zielinski and Brian Carolan of Crossman & Co. handled the transaction.
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Whole Foods Market has signed a lease at Northcross Commons, a 56,120-square-foot shopping center in Huntersville, about 14 miles north of Charlotte. The shopping center is located on the northwest corner of the Interstate 77 and Sam Furr Road intersection. This will be Whole Foods' second store in the Charlotte MSA. Ryan Preston of Hawthorne Retail Partners Inc. represented the owner, Hawthorne Northcross LLC, in the lease deal. Bill Moseley of Moseley Retail Advisors represented Whole Foods. The Austin-based specialty grocer will occupy the space formerly housing Food Lion.
NORFOLK, VA. — CBRE | Hampton Roads has arranged the sale of Woodmere Trace Apartments, located at 6741 E. Tanners Creek Drive in Norfolk. An affiliate of Harbor Group International LLC sold the 300-unit, garden-style multifamily community to Washington, D.C.-based CPDC. Woodmere Trace is the buyer's first multifamily investment in the Hampton Roads area. The buyer plans to renovate the interiors of the apartment community, which was built in 1975. Dan Johnson and Hank Hankins of CBRE | Hampton Roads represented the seller in the transaction.
ST. LOUIS, MO. — BMC Capital has provided $3.9 million in acquisition financing for a single-tenant property at 8583 St. Charles Rock Road in St. Louis. The borrower was an out-of-state buyer. The 10-year loan includes a 5 percent fixed interest rate and a 25-year amortization schedule. QuikTrip occupies the property.