CALEXICO, CALIF. — CBRE Group has brokered the sale of Calexico Commons, a shopping center located at 2300 Imperial Ave. in Calexico. B.H. Properties LLC sold the 145,378-square-foot property to an affiliate of Pacific Properties Group Inc. for $5.3 million. Built in 1982 and situated on 10.7 acres, Dollar Tree and Fallas Paredes anchor the center. Reg Kobzi, Brad Jones and Joel Wilson of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.
RANCHO SANTA FE, CALIF. — Grand Restaurant Group has signed a seven-year lease for 5,808 square feet of restaurant space at 6106 Paseo Delicias within Rancho Santa Fe Village in Rancho Santa Fe. The company plans to open Ponsaty’s, a restaurant led by Chef Patrick Ponsaty, in June at the space, which was the former Delicias site. Bill Shrader and David Maxwell of Colliers International represented the landlord, Millar Properties, while Michelle Bothof of Brush Real Estate and Financial Services represented the tenant in the transaction.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA. — GBT Realty Corp. has acquired 30 acres in Oklahoma City to develop the first phase of a $50 million development known as The Market at Czech Hall. The project is a 450,000-square-foot regional neighborhood center. Phase one includes the construction of 180,000 square feet of retail, along with seven available outparcels, with the first tenant expected to open fall 2016. GBT purchased the property on Jan. 11 for $3 million. The development team includes engineering firm Crafton Tull and MJM Architects.
HOUSTON — Ten-X, formerly known as Auction.com, has brokered the sale of Lighthouse Plaza, a 10,600-square-foot retail strip center in Houston that sold on the Auction.com platform for $2.2 million. A local individual investor purchased the 2013-built, 100-percent occupied center. A local LLC was the seller. Saqib Ali of Champions Real Estate, who worked with Alexander Lavell of Ten-X, brokered the transaction. Located at 8245 Mills Road, Lighthouse Plaza is a single-building structure.
CHICAGO — Chicago-based Cohen Financial has arranged $28.2 million in acquisition financing for LLJ Ventures LLC. The California-based buyer has purchased several properties in the state of Illinois and Wisconsin. In the first transaction, Dan Rosenberg of Cohen Financial arranged an $11 million loan with a 10-year term for The Armitage Collection, a portfolio of five retail buildings in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. The buildings in the portfolio are 100 percent leased. In the second transaction, Rosenberg arranged a $17.2 million, 10-year CMBS loan for a 57,000-square-foot medical office, Racine Dental, in Racine, Wis.
Dallas is on a hot streak. This is the best market Dallas has seen in years. Companies are expanding and corporate relocations are driving new development in office, industrial and retail. Based on the healthy, active market of 2015, the momentum should carry over and remain strong through the first half of 2016. Office Dallas has become a headquarters hub in the past few years with companies like Toyota and Liberty Mutual putting down roots in the Metroplex. Companies are doing well financially and are growing, which is great news for the office sector. Leasing activity is at an all-time high with all sizes of companies experiencing growth. Office expansions and mid-term lease extensions are becoming the norm. In November, GEICO’s regional headquarters relocated to a larger facility with the goal of hiring nearly 200 employees before year’s end. The insurance company leased 224,000 square feet at 2280 Greenville Ave. in Dallas, brokered by Tom Lynn and Nick Lee, CCIM, of NAI Robert Lynn and Griff Bandy of NAI Partners in Houston. GEICO’s former headquarters building in the North Dallas area is now on the market. We’re also seeing the employment industry shift from focusing solely on clients to employee …
STATE COLLEGE, PA. — RSR EB-5 Regional Centers (RSR), an affiliate of Switzenbaum & Associates, has funded a $15.5 million loan for the financing of a ground-up construction mixed-use property in State College, through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) EB-5 immigrant investor program. The interest-only loan is in conjunction with a $26.5 million senior construction loan from Fulton Bank, which provided the remainder of the required debt for the project. Originally structured for 30 investors, the project opened an additional spot due to increased demand. While USCIS requirements for EB-5 stipulate that a minimum of 10 new jobs must be created for every investor, this project’s construction and operation will create an estimated 521 jobs. The borrower, Fraser Partners, an affiliate of Real Estate Capital Management and Brickbox Enterprises, will use the funds to construct The Fraser Centre, a 265,000-square-foot mixed-use project on the crest of Pennsylvania State University’s main campus. Slated for completion this fall, the development will feature 50,000 square feet of retail space, a 165-room Hyatt Place Hotel and 26 residential condominiums.
ATLANTA — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $6.5 million sale of Tilly Mill Plaza, a 113,000-square-foot shopping center located at the intersection of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard and Tilly Mill Road in Atlanta. The property is situated one mile north of I-285 and across from a Home Depot. Kaufman Realty Group purchased the asset from a Tennessee-based developer. Kaufman plans to remerchandise the center. Zach Taylor and Don McMinn of Marcus & Millichap’s Taylor McMinn Group in Atlanta represented the seller in the transaction.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — San Diego-based Moonshine Flats has entered the final stages of lease negotiations for a new 38,000-square-foot “honky tonk” music venue and bar in downtown Nashville. The venue will be a country rock-themed establishment with four levels of bars, live music and DJs, barbecue, amusement rides, an open-air rooftop and floor-to-ceiling LED screens. Owner Ty Hauter expects to open the new Moonshine Flats in 2016.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — CBL & Associates Properties Inc. has added home retailer West Elm and Pieology Pizzeria to Friendly Center, an upscale shopping center in Greensboro. Existing tenants at Friendly Center include lululemon athletica, Anthropologie, Altar’d State and Whole Foods Market. West Elm and Pieology are part of the center’s new 12,709-square-foot expansion, which will be situated between Anthropologie and Whole Foods facing West Friendly Avenue. Construction on the expansion is underway, and CBL expects the two new retailers to open this fall. A third soon-to-be-named retailer will also occupy space in the center’s expansion.