IRVINE, CALIF. — Wesco Properties Inc. has acquired a two-building retail site located in Irvine for $13.7 million. The buildings total 12,577 square feet, and are leased to Mimi’s Café and Islands Restaurant. Jeff Conover of Faris Lee represented the seller, VR Irvine Pad LLC, and Tony Dorn of Beitler Commercial Realty Services represented the buyer in the 1031 exchange transaction.
LOS ANGELES — Burgerim, a better-burger concept, has opened its second U.S. location in Montclair, Calif. Burgerim is set to open 33 franchised restaurants in the next year across the country, including in Memphis, Tenn.; Boca Raton, Fla.; and Houston, Texas. Burgerim currently operates in over 200 locations in 16 countries. Burgerim’s first U.S. location is at 5001 Melrose Ave., in Los Angeles.
MAPLE SHADE, N.J. — CBRE has arranged the sale of a retail property located at 131 E. Kings Highway in Maple Shade. Apex Financial Advisors acquired the property from SIN Ventures Maple Shade for $15.6 million. The 109,841-square-foot, free-standing property is occupied by BJ’s Wholesale Club. Brad Nathanson of CBRE represented the seller and procured the buyer in the deal.
LINDEN, N.J. — Milbrook Properties has signed three new tenants to Aviation Marketplace, its 644,565-square-foot shopping center located at 601-901 W. Edgar Road in Linden. In the first deal, Massage Envy Spa inked a 10-year lease for 2,598 square feet of space. Jeffrey Realty and RJ Brunelli Real Estate co-brokered the transaction. In the second lease, European Wax Center signed a 10-year deal for 1,522 square feet of space. Jeffrey Realty and RJ Brunelli Real Estate also co-brokered this lease. In the final transaction, Source Plasma Manufacturing leased 3,661 square feet of space for 11 years. Jeffrey Realty co-brokered the deal. Additional tenants at the center include Shop Rite, The Home Depot, Marshalls, Old Navy, AC Moore, The Avenue, Applebee’s, Ten Spot, GNC, Allstate and GameStop.
CEDAR HILL, TEXAS — Guitar Center has leased 13,349 square feet of junior anchor space at Cedar Hill Pointe, a retail center located at the northwest corner of Pleasant Run Road and U.S. Highway 67 in Cedar Hill. Steve Gray and Phillip Hooks of The Weitzman Group handled negotiations as leasing agents for the shopping center’s owner, along with Cole Burdette and Rob Franks of JLL. The new Guitar Center location is scheduled to open this fall. Other tenants in the shopping center include Jason’s Deli, Sherwin Williams, Sleep Number, FedEx Kinko’s, SAS Shoes and Fantastic Sams.
LAGUNA PARK, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a 9,100-square-foot retail building in Laguna Park net-leased to Dollar General. Thomas Costello of Marcus & Millichap’s office in The Woodlands secured the buyer, a private partnership. The property is located at Secunda Street and Highway 22.
LADY LAKE, FLA. — CBRE has brokered the $37.8 million sale of Rolling Acres, a 189,390-square-foot shopping center located along U.S. Highway 441 in Lady Lake. The property is anchored by TJ Maxx, Ross Dress for Less, Petco, Staples, Beall’s Outlet and Michaels. Outparcel tenants include Chick-fil-A, Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill. Cole Credit Property Trust IV Inc. purchased Rolling Acres from an affiliate of Sterling Global Financial Ltd. Dennis Carson and Casey Rosen of CBRE’s national retail investment group’s Florida team represented the seller in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — American Finance Trust Inc. (AFIN) has acquired all of the outstanding common stock of American Realty Capital – Retail Centers of America Inc. (RCA) for approximately $1.4 billion, including the assumption or repayment of $432 million in debt. The merger of the two New York-based, non-traded REITs creates a retail REIT with an enterprise value of approximately $3.9 billion. The combined company will retain the AFIN name and continue to be led by AFIN’s management team, with the addition of Kase Abusharkh from RCA, who will serve as AFIN’s chief investment officer of the multi-tenant portfolio. Members of both boards of directors will continue to serve on the board of the combined company. “The combination of AFIN and RCA will help the company achieve critical scale, afford improved access to capital markets, result in significant cost savings for shareholders and increase coverage of our distributions,” said Michael Weil, CEO of AFIN. “For AFIN, today’s announcement is a key step forward in our plan to grow earnings.” AFIN, formerly known as American Realty Capital Trust V Inc., was formed in January 2013 to acquire mostly freestanding, single-tenant retail properties leased to investment grade or other creditworthy tenants. …
For real estate developers and investors, a time of transition and evolution within the retail world presents abundant opportunities to capitalize by acquiring and investing in underperforming spaces. With an infusion of capital, some strategic restructuring and re-tenanting with regional and national brands, a moribund center or underwhelming site can be transformed. Understanding the strategies deployed to effectively identify, acquire, reposition and re-tenant retail is an essential prerequisite for any commercial real estate professional looking to get involved in the process. The big picture The most critical step in the process is selecting the right opportunities to pursue in the first place. Identifying existing retail assets that are underperforming is one thing. Finding those that can be successfully reinvigorated and repositioned through an infusion of capital and the application of some expertise is a little trickier. It is a best practice to confine your search to well-established trade areas because you generally do not want a project on the fringe. The overall goal is to identify markets and trade areas where there is more demand than quality supply, and then work to find a creative and cost-effective way to deliver that supply. Once you identify those areas, familiarize yourself with …
LONG BEACH, CALIF. — CBC Advisors Orange County has arranged the $3.5 million sale of Orange Plaza, a 19,840-square-foot retail strip center located in Long Beach. Daniel Tyner and Scott Hook of CBC represented the undisclosed seller in the sale of the property to a private, all-cash buyer. Tenants at the center include Subway and Domino’s Pizza.
