FOOTHILL RANCH, CALIF. — CalBay Development LLC has acquired, via an off-market transaction, the STNL Outback Steakhouse in Foothill Ranch for $1.85 million. The site sits within the Foothill Ranch Town Center, a 130-acre retail project with tenants including Target, Regal Cinemas, Walmart, CVS, Ralphs, Hobby Lobby, Michaels and Old Navy. Hon Development, part of the original property developer partnership of Foothill Ranch Town Center, was the seller.
SAN DIEGO — West Elm will open a store in the Cedros Avenue Design District in San Diego this fall. West Elm, a member of Williams–Sonoma portfolio of brands, will be the anchor retailer located at 212 S. Cedros Ave., a soon-to-be-renovated street-front retail project. West Elm will occupy nearly 11,000 square feet, with additional available retail spaces totaling 5,575 square feet. This will be West Elm’s second store in San Diego. West Elm’s first San Diego location is located in Westfield’s Mission Valley Center East. CBRE’s Dave Hagglund and Robert Gunness represented the owner of the property, Brixton Capital, and CBRE’s Carrie Bobb and Scott Muller represented the tenant.
ALDEN, MEDINA & NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has secured $19.5 million in CMBS financing for a retail portfolio consisting of three Tops grocery-anchored shopping centers. The properties are located in Alden, Medina and Niagara Falls, and total 250,174 square feet. William Cassidy of Key’s commercial mortgage group arranged the financing with a 10-year term and 30-year amortization schedule. The non-recourse first mortgage loan was used to refinance existing debt.
CHICAGO — Federal Realty Investment Trust has acquired Riverpoint Center in Chicago’s Lincoln Park for $107 million. The 211,000-square-foot grocery anchored shopping center sits on 17 acres at the corner of West Fullerton and North Clybourn avenues. Riverpoint Center is currently 97 percent occupied and is anchored by Jewel-Osco, Marshalls and Old Navy. Federal Realty anticipates increasing the value of the property over time through the re-leasing of space currently leased at below market rents and the potential to increase density at the infill site, according to a news release.
MIAMI — ESJ Capital Partners has purchased Jungle Island, an 18-acre zoological park located on Watson Island along the MacArthur Causeway in Miami. The $60 million transaction includes transfer of the existing lease on the City of Miami-owned Watson Island to ESJ Capital, along with assuming existing park debt to the City of Miami, Miami-Dade County and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). ESJ Capital will renovate and expand the park in three phases and add a private beach club. The initial phase of the two-year, multimillion-dollar renovation will debut this summer and feature zip lines, children adventure areas, water slides and a crystal lagoon. Enhancements will also be made to the park’s banquet facilities. Jungle Island will continue to be managed by John Dunlap of Iconic Attractions Group, the San Diego-based company currently responsible for the park’s operations and day-to-day administrations.
MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — FirstBank has provided a $22.3 million construction loan for a Michaels-anchored retail center located at 1824 Alton Road in Miami Beach. The borrower, Saber 1800 Alton LLC, will use the loan to develop the 32,491-square-foot property, which was formerly the site of a gas station. The borrower purchased the site in 2015 and signed Michaels to anchor the center with a 22,492-square-foot store. Mahesh Pattabhiraman and Elsie Alvarez of FirstBank closed the financing.
MADISONVILLE, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the sale of Corral Plaza, a 12,169-square-foot retail property situated on 2.6 acres at 3303 E. Main St. in Madisonville, approximately halfway between Houston and Dallas. Philip Levy and Chris Gainey of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a private investor, in the transaction, and procured the buyer, a limited liability company. At the time of sale, the center was 100 percent leased to tenants such as Subway, Shipley’s Donuts and Electric Vape.
HOUSTON — Baker Katz, a Houston-based brokerage firm, has completed the sale of 30,000 square feet of land, on which resides a 7,000-square-foot retail building occupied by Advance Auto Parts. The property lies at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 1960 and Aldine Westfield Road on Houston’s north side. Baker Katz purchased the land in 2016 and constructed the freestanding store on behalf of Advance Auto Parts. Bob Moorhead of Trivanta represented Baker Katz in the transaction. The name and representative of the buyer, a private investor, were not released.
ST. LOUIS — JAB Holding Co., the private investment firm that purchased Krispy Kreme Doughnuts last year, has agreed to purchase Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) in a transaction valued at approximately $7.5 billion. JAB will acquire Panera Bread for $315 per share in cash and will assume approximately $340 million of net debt. Panera Bread’s board of directors has unanimously approved the purchase agreement, which is expected to close in the third quarter of this year. “We strongly support Panera’s vision for the future, strategic initiatives, culture of innovation and balanced company versus franchise store mix,” says Olivier Goudet, partner and CEO of JAB. “We are excited to invest in, and work together with, Panera’s management team and franchisees to continue to lead the industry.” As of Dec. 27, 2016, there were 2,036 bakery-cafes in 46 states and in Ontario, Canada operating under the Panera Bread, Saint Louis Bread Co. or Paradise Bakery & Café names. Information about whether or not the transaction will affect Panera Bread’s restaurant locations was not disclosed. After 25 years operating as a publicly traded company, Panera Bread will become private and continue to be operated independently by its management team. Speaking to The …
Retail sales vaulted 4.4 percent in 2016, driven by consistent job growth, wage growth and high consumer confidence, according to a research brief from Marcus & Millichap. These three trends have fostered a strong retail consumption environment that will continue to support retail center performance. Consistent job growth saw the addition of 2.4 million workers in 2016. Wage growth has averaged 2.3 percent annually and consumer confidence has remained near decade highs. Obscuring the positive performance in local community retail establishments was the department store closures from Sears, Macy’s and JC Penney, as well as the bankruptcy of hhgregg. In 2016, sales fell 5.6 percent in the department store segment and 6 percent for electronics retailers. Other specialty stores, such as Ulta Beauty and Dick’s Sporting Goods, have reported strong sales growth and opportunity for expansion. Ulta Beauty unveiled plans for 100 new locations over the coming year. Sales in the health and personal care sector grew 6.1 percent last year. Dick’s Sporting Goods plans to open 43 new stores this year. Sporting goods sales rose 4.6 percent. Vigorous grocery demand continues in local communities. Grocery chains will anchor and open more than 280 local neighborhood centers this year. As …
