CHAMBERSBURG, PA. — Bennett Williams Commercial has brokered the sale of Gateway Center, a shopping center located at 400-498 Gateway Ave. in Chambersburg. Gateway Ventures Inc. sold the 49,882-square-foot property to 400 Gateway Associates Inc. for $7.4 million. Chad Stine and Brad Rohrbaugh of Bennett Williams Commercial represented the seller in the transaction.
DECATUR, GA. — Whole Foods Market has selected Decatur as one of the first cities to introduce its new 365 by Whole Foods Market concept. Set to open at North Decatur Square in spring 2018, the new grocery store will feature affordable and convenient groceries that still meet the Austin-based grocer’s high standard of quality. Fairburn, Ga.-based S.J. Collins Enterprises is developing North Decatur Square, a new 90,000-square-foot shopping plaza underway at North Decatur Road and Church Street. The first 365 by Whole Foods will open in Silver Lake, Calif., on May 25, 2016, followed by about 10 more over the next year in cities including Lake Oswego, Ore.; Bellevue, Wash.; Santa Monica, Calif.; Evergreen Park, Ill.; Sycamore Township, Ohio and Gainesville, Fla.
MIAMI — Meridian Capital has arranged an $11 million loan to refinance Village Portico, a 28,700-square-foot retail center located at 201-299 S.W. Eighth St. in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. The property is anchored by a CVS/pharmacy, McDonald’s and Subway and is zoned for an additional 600,000 square feet of air rights. Eric Trombly of Meridian Capital’s Boca Raton, Fla., office arranged the seven-year loan through a regional balance sheet lender. The financing features a fixed interest rate and flexible prepayment terms.
FRISCO, TEXAS — The Dallas Cowboys have unveiled plans for a 200,000-square-foot retail block at The Star in Frisco, a $1.5 billion, 91-acre mixed-use development that will include the NFL team’s new headquarters. In addition to the retail space and corporate headquarters, The Star in Frisco will feature the Cowboys’ training complex, a 12,000-seat multi-use event center and an Omni hotel. “The retail area will allow visitors to enjoy The Star whether there’s an event happening or simply a Friday night out with friends and family,” says Jerry Jones Jr., executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer for the Dallas Cowboys. Storefronts will line The Star Boulevard, Winning Drive and Cowboys Way at The Star, and will provide shoppers and diners with a Dallas Cowboys brand experience. The restaurants that will be opening locations at The Star include City Works, Dee Lincoln Prime, Liberty Burger, Mi Cocina, Neighborhood Services, Nestlé Toll House Café by Chip and Tupelo Honey Café. The retail space will be located south of the Cowboys’ headquarters and The Ford Center, which will house the event center and the team’s training complex. Neighborhood Services will be located inside the Omni hotel. Next Step Dance, a …
TOLEDO, OHIO — The Cooper Commercial Investment Group has negotiated the sale of Great Eastern Shopping Center, a 335,000-square-foot retail center in Toledo for an undisclosed price. Super Dollar Tree, Dollar General and McDonald’s anchor the retail property. A New York-based private investment group acquired the property from a large institutional seller out of New York. Bob Havasi and Dan Cooper of Cooper Commercial Investment Group represented the seller in the transaction.
The battle between physical stores and online retail rages on, but the recent explosion in smartphone usage is blurring the battle lines. Using smartphones, consumers in a store now can simultaneously shop and compare pricing and product availability at competing stores or online. The practice is sometimes referred to as “showrooming.” Increasingly, retailers must simultaneously invest in a combination of brick-and-mortar stores, websites, digital marketing and merchandise delivery to sell goods. Only the real estate component of that infrastructure is subject to property tax. If property owners identify the portion of store sales attributable at least partially to online shopping, they can argue for taxable property values more accurately based on the remaining sales volume attributable to a store’s physical location and condition. Retailers that think mobile is a channel use the wrong metrics to measure the smartphone’s impact on retail. Smart retailers focus on the impact on overall business rather than trying to measure only app downloads or channel sales. Extrapolating a retail property’s value from base rent is relatively easy, but what happens when rent is based on sales? How do sales that take place in the store via smartphone, or online transactions that stem from a store …
BELLEVUE, WASH. — Vulcan Real Estate has acquired Bellevue Plaza, a 60,000-square-foot shopping center located in Bellevue, roughly 10 miles outside of Seattle, for $45.5 million. The center was approximately 75 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Hot Yoga Inc., Pogacha, Jimmy John’s and Toy’s Café. Situated along Main Street between 106th and 105th avenues in the heart of downtown Bellevue, the center is blocks away from Bellevue Downtown Park, Bellevue Square and Lincoln Square. Vulcan has no immediate redevelopment plans for the property, but aims to create a long-term vision for the site that will likely include new residential and retail uses. CBRE led the transaction with a team that included Jon Hallgrimson, Frank Bosl and Eli Hanacek.
GROVE, OKLAHOMA — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the sale of a 9,196-square-foot Family Dollar in Grove. Tom Mann of Marcus & Millichap’s Tulsa office marketed the property on behalf of the seller, an individual/personal trust. Family Dollar was built in 2005 and is located at 1638 N. U.S. Hwy 59. Grove serves a portion of northeastern Oklahoma and derives business from its location extending from a portion of the east shore of Grand Lake, a major area of lake recreation serving Tulsa and surrounding towns.
CHICAGO — Mid-America Real Estate Corp. has arranged the $46.5 million sale of The Heritage Shops at Millennium Park, a 98,547-square-foot street retail property located in Chicago. Joe Girardi and Stan Nitzberg of Mid-America represented the seller, Acadia Realty Trust, in the sale of the property to Texas-based Hunt Investment Management. The asset is located at the southeast corner of Randolph Street and Wabash Avenue. Tenants at the property include LA Fitness Signature Club, McDonald’s, Fifth Third Bank, Ann Taylor LOFT, Lane Bryant/Cacique, Fannie May Candies, Intelligentsia Coffee and Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique.
COLONIAL HEIGHTS, VA. — Armada Hoffler Properties Inc. has closed on the acquisition of Southgate Square, a 220,000-square-foot retail center located in Colonial Heights, roughly 23 miles south of Richmond. The center was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Burlington Coat Factory, Michaels, Staples, PetSmart, Sleepy’s and Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores. Southgate Square is located in close proximity to Southpark Mall, a Walmart Supercenter and Dimmock Square, a 100,000-square-foot retail center that Armada Hoffler purchased in 2014. The Virginia Beach, Va.-based REIT purchased Southgate Square in exchange for approximately $21.1 million of debt and the issuance of roughly 1.6 million units of limited partnership interest in Armada Hoffler’s operating partnership.