LAKE FOREST, CALIF. — Faris Lee Investments has arranged the $2.5 million sale of a 1,800-square-foot, single-tenant property occupied by Starbucks Coffee in Lake Forest. The triple-net-leased building features a drive-thru, and is located at 20451 Alton Parkway. Patrick Toomey, Thomas Chichester, Matt Brooks and Joseph Chichester with Faris Lee Investments represented the seller, Irvine-based Shea Homes. Feirstein Law Firm represented the buyer, a private investor from Vietnam.
VANCOUVER, WASH. — Subway is rolling out its new Subway Fresh Forward design. Currently, 12 pilot locations are now open, including two in the Pacific Northwest and one in California. FRCH Design Worldwide designed the space using a new color palette inspired by fresh vegetables. Highlights include: • Self-order kiosks in select locations, digital menu boards and Apple and Samsung Pay options. • Fresh vegetable display with whole tomatoes, green peppers, onions and cucumbers that are sliced daily, plus new bread and cookie displays on the front of the line. The new restaurants also include exclusive menu items, starting with pico de gallo, new sauces, house-made pickles and made-without-gluten bread. • Bright décor, curated music and comfortable seating with USB charging ports and complimentary Wi-Fi. The pilot locations include Hillsboro, Ore.; Vancouver, Wash.; and Chula Vista, Calif., among others. Subway Restaurants has more than 44,800 franchised locations.
SMITHTOWN, N.Y. — American Investment Properties has arranged the sale of Smithwest Plaza, a retail strip center located at 1041 W. Jericho Turnpike in Smithtown. Smith West Plaza LLC sold the property to Summit Blossom LLC for $2.1 million, or $205 per square foot. The 7,200-square-foot property was constructed in 1987. Ron Koenigsberg of American Investment Properties represented the seller and buyer in the 1031-exchange transaction.
CAMP HILL, PA. — PREIT is repositioning Capital City Mall near Harrisburg with multiple new tenants, including the Dick’s Sporting Goods to replace Sears. The company has executed leases with Fine Wine & Good Spirits, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Dave & Buster’s to remerchandise the 614,000-square-foot mall, located at 3506 Capital City Mall Drive in Camp Hill. The 11,500-square-foot Fine Wine & Good Spirits will be adjacent to the Dick’s Sporting Goods space, which is already under construction. Both tenants are slated to open this fall. Additionally, Dave & Buster’s will open a 28,000-square-foot location — its first in the region — at the property in fall 2018. Current tenants at the property include JCPenney, Macy’s, DSW, Old Navy, Field & Stream, Forever 21, Victoria’s Secret, Kay Jewelers, Bath & Body Works, Buckle, H&M and Build-A-Bear Workshop.
NEW YORK CITY — RKF has arranged two leases for new locations for Bonobos and Lush Cosmetics in New York City. Bonobos has leased 2,500 square feet of space at 173 Court St. in Brooklyn’s Cobble Hill neighborhood. The men’s clothing store is slated to open this month. The retail space consists of 1,700 square feet on the ground floor and 800 square feet in the lower level of a four-story brick townhouse. Justin Fantasia of RKF represented the tenant, while Ike Bibi, also of RKF, represented the landlord, Industrie Capital Partners. In the second transaction, Lush Cosmetics leased 2,600 square feet of retail space within Hotel Belleclaire at 2175 Broadway in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The store, known for its fresh, handmade and ethical bath, body, hair and skincare products, is slated to open this fall. The location features 1,600 square feet of retail on the ground floor and 1,000 square feet of space on the lower level. David Abrams of RKF represented the landlord, Triumph Hotels, while Matthew Krell of Newmark Knight Frank represented Lush Cosmetics in the deal.
SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Commercial Advisors (SACA) has brokered the sale of Oak Grove Square Shopping Center, an 8,890-square-foot shopping center located at 3203 Nacogdoches Road in San Antonio. The property was 75 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Lefty’s Barbers, Primo Tax and Mobilex USA. Bradley Suttle of SACA represented the buyer, a California-based investor, in the transaction. Other terms of sale were not released.
CHICAGO — The Missner Group has been selected to renovate the Berman Mid City Subaru car dealership, located at 4330 and 4444 Irving Park Road in Chicago. Renovations will be made to two buildings, and include improvements to both the office and service areas of the dealership. The project will encompass 40,000 square feet, and include a new, 22,000-square-foot service area. This new space will feature a customer lounge, café and service bays. The Missner Group will also install a new HVAC system. Robert Papineau will lead the project on behalf of The Missner Group with Steve Bulger serving as project superintendent. Becker Architects is providing the architectural services. The project is slated for completion late this fall.
The recent announcement that online retail giant Amazon plans to acquire upscale grocery chain Whole Foods for $13.7 billion sent ripples through the commercial real estate industry when it was announced in June. The move signals a lot of trends and changes within the retail sector, according to a newly released report by real estate brokerage firm Marcus & Millichap. “The purchase highlights the importance of omnichannel platforms, which incorporate a blend of brick-and-mortar establishments with an online footprint to drive traffic and sales,” states the report. “In addition, grocery stores are typically retail center anchors, underscoring the importance of strip and neighborhood centers in the retail landscape.” The 11 largest grocery chains in the country all plan to expand this year, with many doing so aggressively. Discount grocer Aldi, which already has more than 1,600 locations, expects to open 900 new stores by 2022. This expansion within the grocery sector is snapping up a lot of available real estate. Combined with a low rate of new retail construction over the past seven years since the Great Recession, retail vacancy has reached a 16-year low of 5.4 percent. The flip side is that existing space is extremely constrained, and increased …
WARWICK, R.I. — Colliers International has arranged $31 million in refinancing for a parking asset and adjacent retail site located at 1960 Post Road at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick. The borrower was New England Parking LLC. Patrick Boyle and Kevin Phelan of Colliers secured the financing through Blue Hills Bank for the borrower. The 1,536-space parking asset, known as Garage C, offers long-term parking for T.F. Green travelers, and Bertucci’s occupies the 6,000-square-foot retail building.
NEW YORK CITY — Savanna has purchased a 12-story, 144,500-square-foot office and retail building located at 31 W. 27th St. in Manhattan’s NoMad District for an undisclosed price. Originally constructed in 1910, the building features 11,578-square-foot open floorplates, 12-foot to 16-foot barrel-arched ceilings and abundant natural light. Savanna plans to implement a comprehensive capital improvement plan at the property. The scope of the plan includes renovations of the lobby, building systems, façade, roofs and sidewalk vault, as well as the reposition and renovation of the retail storefront. Will Silverman, Paul Gillen and Daniel Parker of Hodges Ward Elliott represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Aareal Capital Corp., a subsidiary of Germany-based Aareal Bank AG, provided acquisition financing. Lawrence Britvan, Matt Jacobs and Michael Straw, also of Hodges Ward Elliott, arranged the financing for Savanna.
