SAN DIEGO — Pacific Coast Commercial has arranged a retail lease for San Diego-based Furniture & Accessory Retail Group at 8650 Villa La Jolla Drive in La Jolla. The company will open a Bassett Home Furnishings location at the 12,440-square-foot space at La Jolla Square. Total consideration of the lease is $3.9 million. Shirley Kanamu of Pacific Coast Commercial represented the tenant, while Reg Kobzi of CBRE represented the landlord, Florida-based 8650 Villa La Jolla Inc., in the deal.
FREMONT, CALIF. — Sephora has opened a new location at Vestar’s Pacific Commons, a 1.1 million-square-foot shopping center located at 43484 Boscelli Road in Fremont. The store will feature an assortment of makeup, skin care and fragrance. Additional tenants at the center include Nordstrom Rack, Old Navy, Kohl’s, Century Theatres, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Claim Jumper and Dickey’s Barbecue Pit.
The terms “experiential retail” and “mixed-use development” are both thrown around heavily in the context of 21st century commercial real estate. As buzzwords for the changing landscape of retail real estate and encapsulations of the preferences of millennials, the terms are as popular in their usage as they are arbitrary in their application. Is an apartment building with a ground-floor restaurant or coffee shop really considered mixed-use? Is it actually legitimate to think of buying shoes or jewelry as an experience? The answer varies depending on who’s asked. But the fact remains that dividing lines between certain property classes are beginning to blur. Increasingly, office and multifamily projects are designed to include food, drink and entertainment options, which have become the only real common denominators among mixed-use projects. Given that those three facets of retail involve spending on one-time, consumable products and services, they have become the face of experiential shopping and spending. Integrating retail development into mixed-use projects, as opposed to standalone shopping centers or pad sites, comes with its own unique challenges: parking, noise restrictions and sourcing contractors that specialize in build-outs for multiple property types, to name a few. But developers realize that no matter how much …
LEWISVILLE, TEXAS — Disney Investment Group (DIG) has closed the sale of Lakepointe Towne Crossing, a 196,630-square-foot retail power center located at 709-735 Hebron Parkway in the Dallas metro of Lewisville. Anchored by Ross Dress for Less and Party City and shadow-anchored by Super Target, the property was 62 percent leased at the time of sale. DIG represented the seller, Retail Properties of America, in the transaction and procured the undisclosed buyer.
SHENANDOAH, TEXAS — Baker Katz has negotiated a 41,500-square-foot lease in Shenandoah, about 30 miles north of Houston, on behalf of AMC Theatres. The new, 10-screen theater will anchor the 69-acre MetroPark Square development, which is situated along Interstate 45 Frontage Road south of State Highway 242. Steve Greenberg of The Retail Connection represented the landlord in the lease negotiations. The theater is scheduled to open in early 2018.
CHICAGO — CBRE has arranged the sale of Block Y in Chicago for $13.6 million. The 24,863-square-foot retail property is located at 1301 W. Madison St. The property is 100 percent leased to three tenants. Keely Polczynski of CBRE represented the seller, 1940 Y Century Associates LLC, which is an entity controlled by Los Angeles-based Blatteis & Schnur Inc. An affiliate of Renaissance Capital LLC purchased the asset.
The greater Kansas City area retail market remains solid as a rock, despite CoStar Group’s mid-year report showing a slight decline in the average asking rental rate and a slight increase in vacancy. The retail vacancy rate in the second quarter of 2017 stood at 5.7 percent, up slightly from the previous quarter’s 5.5 percent. The average asking rental rate for retail is $13.05 per square foot, down from $13.07 in the previous quarter. Local, regional and national restaurant chains continue to expand with strong success throughout all areas of the Kansas City market, and “new-to-market” users continue to open their doors. Currently, there is approximately 570,000 square feet of retail space under construction in the Kansas City area and various mixed-use projects under development. Additionally, several new shopping center projects have recently been announced and are quickly gaining traction with restaurant and retail users. One of the major catalysts for the widespread retail and mixed-use boom throughout greater Kansas City is the various incentives that have been made available to developers including tax increment financing, community improvement districts, transportation development districts, tax abatement and other incentives. On both sides of the state line, as sites become more expensive and …
SAN ANTONIO — German discount grocery chain Lidl has purchased a 5.2-acre site at the intersection of Alamo Ranch and Lone Star parkways in San Antonio for the development of a 30,000-square-foot location. Construction of the property is expected to begin during the fourth quarter and wrap up during the third quarter of 2018. Gene Williams of CBRE represented the seller, Abiso Development, in the land sale. Gensler will serve as the project architect and Metropolitan Contracting as the general contractor.
ST. PETERS, MO. — Knoebel Construction has broken ground on a new Fresh Thyme Farmers Market in St. Peters, about 30 miles west of St. Louis. The $5 million project is slated for completion in winter 2018. Approximately 95 people will work at the 28,720-square-foot store. InSite Real Estate is developing the property. NORR is providing architectural services. Fresh Thyme is a specialty grocer rapidly expanding in the Midwest with other St. Louis-area stores in Kirkwood, Ballwin and O’Fallon, Mo.
BOSTON — Cornerstone Realty Capital has arranged $38.5 million in financing for Mount Vernon Co.’s development of a mixed-use building, located at the intersection of Western Avenue and Leo M Birmingham Parkway in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood. Cornerstone secured the fixed-rate financing structure, including an interest-only period during construction followed by a 30-year amortization schedule. The six-story building will feature parking for 108 vehicles; three on-street retail spaces totaling 4,578 square feet; residential amenity space, including a rooftop multipurpose room and fitness center; storage for 132 bicycles; 115 market-rate apartments; and 17 affordable apartments. The unit mix includes 53 studios, 43 one-bedroom/one-bath units, 16 one-bedroom/one-bath units with a den and 20 two-bedroom/two-bath units. Ranging from 520 square feet to 906 square feet, the units will feature vinyl plank and tile flooring, Silestone countertops, tile backsplashes, stainless steel appliances and in-unit washers and dryers.
