LEANDER, TEXAS — Randalls Food Markets and Cypress Equities will host a ground breaking ceremony for Crystal Falls Town Center, a 94,000-square-foot shopping center, on Thursday, Oct. 15. The center will be anchored by a new Randalls grocery store in the master-planned community of Crystal Falls in Leander, and is projected to open in fall 2016. Randalls president Sidney Hopper, Cypress Equities senior vice president Stephen Schmidt, Leander Mayor Chris Fielder and Leander Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Bridget Brandt will be on hand at the ceremony. The center will be located at 3501 N. Lakeline Blvd.
The retail market in Los Angeles is demonstrating exponential growth. Rents are going up, cap rates are going down and occupancy is soaring. Naturally, as lease prices rise, so do sale prices. As such, it is becoming increasingly difficult for investors to find opportunities where substantial rent growth is possible. Tenant competition is also fierce, and landlords are benefitting from extremely high demand throughout the market. Competition Abounds It’s only natural that retailers are competing over space as occupancy rises. One trend that has emerged in Los Angeles is competition among not only direct competitors, but indirect competitors as well. For example, a small grocer might compete with a Ross Dress 4 Less for the same location. Fueling this competition is an increase in large national retailers seeking out smaller urban spaces in downtown areas. Target, for example, is opening a store in LA’s Koreatown on Vermont and 6th streets at the base of a high-rise apartment building. When national soft goods chains open in urban hubs, there will be an evolution of retail surrounding those stores. Smaller discount stores and mom-and-pop retailers will likely suffer, which will lead to vacancies that tend to open the doors for new specialty …
SIERRA VISTA, ARIZ. — Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions, in a joint venture with its institutional equity partner, has acquired Plaza Vista Mall, a 227,110-square-foot retail power center located in Sierra Vista. The center is 95.8 percent occupied by tenants including Cal Ranch, Hobby Lobby, Marshalls, Dollar Tree, Cato, Payless ShoeSource, Ross Dress for Less and Sally Beauty.
LAKE FOREST, CALIF. — Lake Forest-based Del Taco is set to develop 27 new locations with three groups in central California. Three new locations are set to open within the next six months. Mike Sater, one of BP/Tesoro ARCO and AM/PM’s largest west coast franchisees, has signed a 20-store development agreement for six counties in the central valley. Sater’s first two Del Taco stores will open in Fresno and Clovis, with a third planned for Merced.
HOUSTON — HighStreet Net Lease Group, a Texas-based company specializing in the sale and acquisition of net leased investment properties, represented a Houston-based investor in the acquisition of a three-story office complex with retail on the ground floor. The 14,400-square-foot mixed-use building is located at 1305 Prairie St. in downtown Houston. Matt Moake of HighStreet represented the buyer. Fred Ghabriel of Bejjani & Associates represented the seller, a local partnership that owned the property for 30 years. The historic building was constructed in 1920 and was once the site of General Sam Houston’s home. The new owner plans to renovate the interior and exterior of the property. The property includes a surface parking lot.
SAN ANTONIO — Hunington Properties has arranged the sale-leaseback of a 2,500-square-foot Burger King restaurant located at 7997 Bandera Road in San Antonio. The property is located on the hard corner of Bandera Road and Mainland Drive. The tenant, a franchisee and 30-year veteran of the Burger King system, leased the property back on a long-term, triple net basis. Edward Benton and Todd Carlson with Hunington Properties represented the seller.
LINCOLN, NEB. — Q10 | Daisley Ruff Financial Corp. has arranged a $2.5 million refinancing loan for Meadowlane Shopping Center in Lincoln. The property consists of a 34,600-square-foot retail strip center, a 6,000-square-foot freestanding retail building and a 27,389-square-foot mixed-use building. Ace Hardware anchors the strip center. Other tenants of the strip center include Honest Abe’s, Great Wall, The Fit Canine and Slideware Electronics. Subway and One More Bar are the tenants in the freestanding building. Steve Ruff and Eric Petersen of Q10 | Daisley Ruff Financial Corp. arranged the transaction. The long-term, fixed-rate loan is fully amortizing. The lender, borrower and all other details of the transaction were undisclosed.
MIDLOTHIAN, ILL. — Cooper Commercial Investment Group has brokered the sale of a 60,392-square-foot retail center located in Midlothian, a suburb 20 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. The multi-tenant Mid Oak Shopping Center sold for $5.1 million. The facility is anchored by Charter Fitness and shadow anchored by Walgreens. Dan Cooper of Cooper Commercial Investment represented the undisclosed seller. The buyer was also undisclosed. Mid Oak Shopping Center was 74 percent occupied at the time of sale.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the sale of a mixed-use loft building located at 9 E. 16th St. in the Ladies’ Mile Historic District of Manhattan. The seven-story, elevator-serviced building sold for $30 million, or $978 per square foot. The 30,680-square-foot property features 15 large loft units, of which 12 are fair market and three are rent stabilized, and one ground-floor commercial unit, which is currently occupied by a restaurant. Paul Smadbeck, John Ciraulo, Rob Stufano and Craig Waggner of Cushman & Wakefield brokered the all-cash transaction. The names of the seller and buyer were not released.
DELRAY BEACH, FLA. — On behalf of Tremont Realty Capital, Avison Young has secured a joint venture operating partner for the existing ownership of Delray Square II, a 150,157-square-foot retail center. The new ownership is a joint venture between Tremont and Isram Realty Group. John Crotty and Joshua Ladle of Avison Young secured Isram, which will soon begin to lease up the property. Located at 14530-14590 Military Trail in Delray Beach, the value-add property was 40 percent leased at the time of the arrangement to tenants such as Planet Fitness, H&R Block, Subway and Express Docs Urgent Care. Built in 1987 on a 15.1-acre lot, Delray Square II features 700 parking spaces and is in a position to accommodate big-box tenants.