THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — The Howard Hughes Corp. (NYSE: HHC) has broken ground on Lake Woodlands Crossing, a 62,565-square-foot retail center in the northern Houston suburb of The Woodlands. The property is 65 percent preleased to tenants such as Ulta Beauty, Main Squeeze Juice Co. and Stickhouse, a gelato shop. Completion of the center, which will be located at the intersection of Lake Woodlands Drive and Grogan’s Mill Road, is slated for the fourth quarter.
KINGWOOD, TEXAS — German discount grocer Aldi and Virginia-based Dollar Tree have opened stores at Shoppes at Kingsgate, a 156,000-square-foot retail center in the northern Houston suburb of Kingwood. Aldi will occupy approximately 19,000 square feet and Dollar Tree will occupy 9,500 square feet. A building that formerly housed Sears was demolished to make way for the construction of both retailers’ spaces. Shawn Ackerman of Henry S. Miller Co. Inc. (HSM) represented the landlord, Chestnut Ridge Associates, in the lease negotiations. Chris Pitts and Joe Silver of Streetwise Retail Advisors represented Aldi and Perry Zieben of Zieben Realty represented Dollar Tree.
SCHAUMBURG, ILL. — Associated Bank has provided a $14.5 million refinancing and construction loan for a multi-tenant retail project in Schaumburg. Known as Woodfield Gatherings, the three-building project is located near Woodfield Mall. The 30,074-square-foot retail property was formerly home to a parking lot for a J.C. Penney store. Chuy’s, Naf Naf Grill, Mod Pizza and Honey Grow have all signed leases at the new development. Chuy’s is currently open for business, while the remaining tenants will open in April. Daniel Barrins of Associated Bank originated the loan on behalf of the borrower, Shorewood Development Group.
ST. CLOUD, MINN. — Novak Construction has completed the remodeling of a 180,000-square-foot retail store occupied by Sam’s Club in St. Cloud in central Minnesota. The property is located at 207 County Road 120. The interior now features a new grocery wing with deli, bakery, produce, meat and dairy departments. The remodeling also features new offices, a training room, pharmacy and Subway sandwich shop. The project also included the installation of new electrical, mechanical, refrigeration systems, flooring, wall finishes and landscaping. Paul Bergin, John Rudd, Sean Raby, Kelsey Green and Dave Baniewicz led the project team for Novak.
ARNOLD, MO. — Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors has arranged the sale of a 3,500-square-foot retail building occupied by Aspen Dental in Arnold, a southern suburb of St. Louis, for $2.4 million. The newly constructed building is situated on slightly less than one-half acre at 1200 Big Bill Road. An 80-foot billboard enhances the property’s visibility from the highway. Jeff Lefko and Bill Asher of Hanley represented the seller, DLJ Properties LLC. Robert Gamzeh of Triple Net Investment Group represented the buyer, a Chicago-based private investor.
ATLANTA — Avison Young has brokered the $35 million sale of a four-property retail portfolio in metro Atlanta. Theresa Johnson, David Krasnoff and Grant Linderman of Avison Young’s Atlanta office arranged the transaction on behalf of the seller, Ginsburg Development Cos. Harbour Retail Partners acquired the portfolio. The transaction included Dacula Village, a 69,300-square-foot shopping center in Dacula, roughly 25 miles northeast of Atlanta in Gwinnett County; Publix at Mt. Zion, a 79,000-square-foot center in Morrow, roughly 15 miles south of Atlanta in Clayton County; and Stockbridge Lanes, a 78,600-square-foot retail center in Stockbridge, roughly 20 miles south of Atlanta in Henry County. Publix anchors all three of the centers. In addition, Harbour Retail Partners acquired an 80,700-square-foot, Planet Fitness-anchored center — McDonough West — in the south Atlanta metro of McDonough in Henry County. At the time of sale, the four properties had a combined occupancy of 92.5 percent.
MOUNT JULIET, TENN. — HFF has arranged the $28.2 million sale of Providence Commons, a 110,137-square-foot shopping center located at 631 S. Mt. Juliet Road in Mount Juliet, an eastern suburb of Nashville. Jim Hamilton and Richard Reid of HFF arranged the transaction on behalf of the seller, Boyle Investment Co. Boyle will continue to provide development, leasing and management services for the property. The name of the buyer was not disclosed. Publix anchors Providence Commons, which was fully leased at the time of sale to additional tenants including Tuesday Morning, Anytime Fitness, Pizza Hut, Subway, Edible Arrangements, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Salons by JC, Precision Eye Care and PostalAnnex, an authorized UPS shipping outlet. The property also includes seven acres of developable land.
CINCINNATI — United Kingdom-based EG Group has agreed to acquire Kroger’s (NYSE: KR) convenience store business for $2.1 billion. Kroger’s convenience store arm employs 11,000 workers in 18 states across 66 franchise operations. The stores operate under the brands Turkey Hill, Loaf ‘N Jug, Kwik Shop, Tom Thumb and Quik Stop. Kroger’s convenience store business generated $4 billion in revenue, including the sale of 1.2 billion gallons of fuel, in 2016. EG Group will establish its North American headquarters in Cincinnati and continue to operate the stores under their established brand names. It is the company’s first venture in the United States. Kroger’s supermarket fuel centers and its Turkey Hill Dairy are not included in the sale. Kroger plans to use net proceeds from the sale to repurchase shares and to lower its ratio of net total debt to adjusted EBITDA. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Kroger, with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP acting as legal advisor. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays are acting as financial advisors to EG Group, while Allen & Overy is acting as legal advisor. EG Group was founded in 2001 by brothers Zuber and …
VICTORVILLE, CALIF. — Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has opened its newest location in Victorville, which is the first Cracker Barrel store to open in the Golden State. The restaurant combines dining and shopping. Each Cracker Barrel location is decorated with authentic artifacts, memorabilia and signage collected by a team of Americana experts. In Victorville, Cracker Barrel’s new store celebrates the history and culture of the local area through decorative walls that pay homage to the famous Route 66, the area’s contributions to the film industry and to California’s Gold Rush era. Guests can also shop in the old country store for toys, games, food items, apparel, accessories and other items. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. was established in 1969 in Lebanon, Tenn. Cracker Barrel and its affiliates operate 649 company-owned Cracker Barrel Old Country Store locations in 45 states and own the fast-casual Holler and Dash restaurants.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Encore Capital Management has unveiled the first retailers to join the 200,000-square-foot SunsetWalk at Margaritaville Resort Orlando. SunsetWalk will anchor the $750 million, 300-acre Margaritaville Resort development. At full build-out, the project will feature a 187-room Margaritaville hotel, 900 resort rental homes, 300 timeshare units and a 12-acre waterpark. The project is currently under construction near U.S. Highway 192 and State Road 429, across the street from Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The largest tenant to join SunsetWalk is Studio Movie Grill, a 40,000-square-foot theater that will feature 12 screens and more than 1,000 recliners. GameTime will also join the development, opening a 24,000-square-foot entertainment center that will include a restaurant, sports bar, video arcade games, prize machines and more than 60 TVs. Country band Rascal Flatts will open a themed restaurant at the development that will feature a full-service bar, live entertainment and retail space. In addition, Rock & Brews — a restaurant associated with musicians Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley — will join SunsetWalk. Other confirmed tenants at the development include Skechers, Bahama Bucks, Avalon Day Spa, Café Rio, Cold Stone Creamery, Paradise Spirits and Wine and BugerFi. The first phase of SunsetWalk is expected to open in November.
