JACINTO CITY, TEXAS — Flaming Grill & Supreme Buffet has leased the remaining space in the 217,004-square-foot Market at Hunting Bayou as its first location in metro Houston. The restaurant chain is planning to invest $2 million into the interior of a 21,164-square-foot space in the retail center, located at 11900 E. Freeway in Jacinto City. Construction on the junior anchor space is expected to take five months. The chain has restaurants in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. The daily menu features more than 250 items of American, Italian, Japanese and Mexican dishes alongside traditional Chinese cuisine. Flaming Grill’s lease will bring Market at Hunting Bayou to 100 percent occupancy. Brad Elmore of Houston-based NewQuest Properties represented the landlord, JBL Asset Management of Miami, in the transaction. Drew Huggins of Huggins Realty Group represented the restaurateur, which also has a location in Dallas.
ST. LOUIS — HDA Architects has completed a 27,000-square-foot renovation forMungenast St. Louis Honda. The $4.7 million project includes a new open concept floor plan, additional customer waiting area, a training room and a corporate conference room. Josh Goodman served as the project manager, Kim Murray was the interior designer, and David George and Leah McClendon were the architects of record. Holland Construction Services was the general contractor.
The retail sector in Southern Maine’s commercial real estate market remained strong through year-end 2015 with all signs indicating continued improvement through 2016. While the national average retail vacancy rate increased to 12.6 percent in 2015, the retail vacancy dropped to 3.6 percent in Greater Portland, according to Malone Commercial Brokers’ annual retail survey. Greater Portland is a major market in Southern Maine consisting of 6.46 million square feet of retail space. 2015 marked the sixth consecutive year of declining vacancy rates in the market since its 10-year high of 10.8 percent in 2009. Meanwhile, the national retail vacancy rate rose in 2015 over year prior, marking the first vacancy increase in five years and nearly matching the 2011 national vacancy rate of 12.9 percent. Heading into the third quarter of 2016, Southern Maine’s retail sector remains extremely healthy. Short-term forecasts for Portland predict continued absorption of existing space, new retail construction, and strong market competition. Significant Developments and Redevelopments Thompson’s Point, Portland — Represented by Drew Sigfridson of CBRE / The Boulos Company, this 29-acre redevelopment offers up to 220,000 square feet of retail, office, hospitality, and recreational space off of Interstate 295. Final renovations of the 34,000-square-foot Brick …
ROSEVILLE, MINN. — VANTive Group, a franchise company based in Chicago, has signed a 2,000-square-foot lease at 2425 Rice St. in Roseville for a new Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant. It is the first lease in Minnesota for the VANTive Group, which owns five existing Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the Chicago area. Roseville is located eight miles northeast of Minneapolis. The restaurant site, owned by Hempel, is under construction and the restaurant is scheduled to open this fall.
NOVI, MICH. — Children’s clothing retailer Hanna Andersson and American Girl are set to open new locations at Twelve Oaks Mall, a 550,000-square-foot center located in the Detroit suburb of Novi. Both retailers are slated to open in early August on the mall’s upper level near Nordstrom. The American Girl store will be the retailer’s first in Michigan, and will be a temporary boutique, according to reports by Crain’s Detroit Business.
SAN FRANCISCO — SRS Real Estate Partners has secured a ground lease on a 58,040-square-foot property located at 1501 Harrison St. in San Francisco’s South of Market district. The tenant plans to construct a new BMW Service center on the site. Matt Alexander and Andrew Lindsey of SRS Real Estate Partners, along with Chris Hamey of HC&M Commercial Properties, brokered the transaction. The names of the tenant and landlord were not released.
FRESNO AND MADERA, CALIF. — Retail California has arranged three leases totaling 39,144 square feet of retail space in Fresno and Madera. In the first deal, Lumber Liquidators Inc. leased 8,144 square feet of retail space at 5091 N. Fresno St. in Fresno from 5561 Sultana LLC. Nick Frechou and Mike Arfsten of Retail California worked with Doug Cords and Shane Anderson of Commercial Retail Associates to arrange the transaction. In the second transaction, Dollar Tree leased 10,000 square feet of retail space at 333 W. Olive Ave. within Bethard Square Center in Madera from First Priority Funding. Arfsten along with Cords and Anderson brokered the deal. In the final deal, PF Madera LLC leased 21,000 square feet of retail space at 313 W. Olive Ave. within Bethard Square Center in Madera from First Priority Funding. Arfsten and Anderson arranged the transaction.
HOUSTON — A year after first announcing long-term plans for the redevelopment of the former ExxonMobil Chemical headquarters campus in Houston, Third Palm Capital is repurposing existing buildings on the 35-acre energy corridor site. The planned mixed-use district is located at 13501 Katy Freeway and is being renamed Republic Square. Houston-based Boxer Property has been awarded the leasing and management assignment. Preparations are underway to open Republic Square’s grounds with a central lake. Existing amenities include The Event Center at Republic Square, a 20,000-square-foot event and conference facility, plus Republic Square I, a three-story, 320,000-square-foot office building. Improvements include increasing visibility and accessibility off I-10 and Memorial Drive, adding a surface parking lot along Memorial and landscaping.
CUMMING, GA. — Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. (PAC) has purchased Lakeland Plaza, a 301,711-square-foot shopping center located at the intersection of Georgia 400 and Highway 20 in Cumming. The shopping center is anchored by a 29,855-square-foot Sprouts Farmers Market and an 86,479-square-foot Belk. PAC acquired Lakeland Plaza through its wholly owned subsidiary New Market Properties LLC. Protective Life Insurance Co. provided a 10-year acquisition loan on behalf of PAC that features a fixed 3.85 interest rate. The seller and sales price were not disclosed.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. AND STONE MOUNTAIN, GA. — Ready Capital Structured Finance has closed two non-recourse bridge loans totaling $31 million for shopping centers in Jacksonville and metro Atlanta. Ready Capital closed a $19.7 million loan for the acquisition and renovation of Highland Square Shopping Center, a 277,553-square-foot retail center located on Dunn Avenue in Jacksonville. Situated a quarter-mile west of I-95, the asset was 73 percent leased at the time of financing to tenants such as Publix and CVS/pharmacy. The loan features a 42-month term with two one-year extension options and includes a facility for future tenant re-leasing reserves and future funding for tenant improvements, leasing commissions and capital expenditures. The other transaction was an $11.3 million loan for the acquisition and renovation of a 335,000-square-foot retail center leased to tenants such as Marshalls, Big Lots, Ross Dress for Less and Stone Mountain Community Center, an activity and fitness center serving the Stone Mountain community. The asset is situated at the intersection of Stone Mountain Highway 78 and Rockbridge Road S.W., roughly 20 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. The undisclosed borrower purchased the REO asset from a special servicer. The short-term loan features a facility for future tenant improvements, leasing …