FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS — AA Gymnastics Academy has signed a 10,355-square-foot retail lease at Baywood Plaza Shopping Center in Friendswood, a southwestern suburb of Houston. The tenant is backfilling a space formerly occupied by CVS. Kelly Hutchinson of Colliers represented the landlord, MDDS Properties, in the lease negotiations. The tenant was self-represented.
BLOOMINGTON, IND. — Faris Lee Investments has arranged the sale of a Hardee’s-occupied restaurant property in Bloomington for $2.4 million. The sales price represents a cap rate of 5.95 percent. The deal included a long-term triple net lease with Hardee’s, a subsidiary of CKE Restaurant Holdings Inc. Nick Miller of Faris Lee represented the buyer, a California-based 1031 exchange investor. The transaction closed simultaneously with a Longhorn Steakhouse-occupied property in Marietta, Ga.
NEW YORK CITY — Rooftop Hospitality Group has signed a 12-year retail lease extension at 230 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan. The tenant occupies the roof of the New York Market Center building, where it operates the 230 Fifth Avenue Rooftop Bar concept. The bar originally opened in 2006 and comprises 32,050 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. Jane Gural-Senders, David Kaye and Harvey Richer internally represented the landlord, GFP Real Estate, which has owned the building since 1958, in the lease negotiations.
CHICAGO — Bally’s Corp. (NYSE: BALY) has released an updated permanent site plan for its $1.7 billion casino project in Chicago, a redevelopment of the former Chicago Tribune printing plant that will now be developed in a single phase. The property is located at 777 W. Chicago Ave. in the city’s River West neighborhood. Project plans now include a 34-story, 500-room hotel tower situated at the southern end of the 30-acre gaming and entertainment destination. The hotel — which was initially expected to be located elsewhere in the development — will feature a pool, spa, fitness center, sundeck and rooftop restaurant and bar. In addition to the hotel, the Bally’s Chicago Casino will include a 3,000-seat theater, six restaurants, a food hall and a two-acre public park. The casino will comprise 3,300 slot machines, 173 table games and VIP gaming areas. Additionally, a 2,000-foot extension of the riverwalk will connect the property to the riverbank. Design firm HKS prepared the new renderings. In May 2022, Bally’s was selected over competitors including Hard Rock International and Rush Street Gaming as the preferred developer of the project. Bally’s took possession of the land last week, and Brandenburg Industrial Service Co. is now preparing the …
EL PASO, TEXAS — The El Paso City Council has approved a proposal to develop an $80 million concert venue and has formed a public-private partnership with the operator, Colorado-based hospitality firm Venu (formerly known as Notes Live). The site spans 17 acres of city-owned land and will anchor the Cohen Entertainment District on the city’s northeast side. The venue will be known as Sunset Amphitheater and will have a seating capacity of 12,500. The City of El Paso is providing $30.6 million in performance-based incentives under the terms of the partnership deal. Construction is set to begin this fall and to be complete in 2026. Venu is also planning to open a $220 million concert venue in the northern Dallas suburb of McKinney.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Four new food-and-beverage (F&B) operators have signed leases at apartment buildings in Jersey City’s Bergen-Lafayette neighborhood. Breakfast café Eggs Up will open a restaurant in the 24-story Atlas high-rise building. MochiDough and BoberTea, both of which are Japanese concepts, have committed to Starling, a rental building with 39 units. Cheeky’s, a concept known for New Orleans-style sandwiches, will open at The Hazel, a 201-unit building. All openings are slated to occur before the end of the year. A partnership between between locally based developer Fields Grade and New York City-based Alpine Residential owns the buildings.
CHESTERFIELD, MO. — Keystone Construction Co. will build the new $60 million CarShield Sportsplex AAA Hockey & Futbol facility in the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield. The development will accommodate the growing CarShield AAA Hockey & Futbol clubs, which serve more than 500 children and 45 teams in metro St. Louis. The 325,000-square-foot facility will offer four indoor turf soccer fields, two indoor ice rinks, team locker rooms, a pro shop, training and fitness spaces, a restaurant, bar, concessions and classrooms. Outside, there will be three turf soccer fields, concessions, a dining patio and children’s playground. Construction is scheduled to begin in October and wrap up in January 2026. The project team includes civil engineer Stock & Associates and architect Gray Design Group.
MISSOULA, MONT. — Benderson Development has purchased a freestanding retail building, located at 2527 N. Reserve St. in Missoula, located along the Clark Fork River near the Idaho border. Terms of the transaction were not released. Walgreens occupies the retail building. With this acquisition, Benderson expanded its national footprint to 40 states.
NEW YORK CITY — Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) has arranged the $148 million refinancing for The Victoria, a mixed-use property in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan. At 30 stories, the property is the tallest building in Harlem. The Victoria is built around the neighborhood’s historic Victoria Theater and offers 191 luxury apartments, a 211-room Marriott-branded hotel and 23,000 square feet of retail space. The project was completed in the third quarter of 2023 and also features 52 below-grade parking spaces. Aaron Appel, Keith Kurland, Jonathan Schwartz, Adam Schwartz, Ari Hirt and William Herring of Walker & Dunlop’s New York capital markets team acted as exclusive advisors to the borrowers, Lam Group and Exact Capital. Aareal Capital provided the financing, which will support ongoing operations and future enhancements to the project. “This transaction underscores the project’s significance as a transformative development in Upper Manhattan, combining luxury living, hospitality excellence and cultural preservation,” says Appel. Bethesda, Md.-based Walker & Dunlop is one of the largest commercial real estate finance and advisory firms in the United States. — Katie Sloan
STAMFORD, CONN. — Three retailers have signed leases at Atlantic Station, a mixed-use development located in Stamford. Lovesac, Golf Lounge 18 and Fresh & Co. will occupy 28,000, 9,000 and 3,000 square feet, respectively. RXR owns the property, which features 650 residences and 82,000 square feet of retail space. Brian Scruton of Cushman & Wakefield represented Lovesac in the lease negotiations; Tim Rorick and Janey Steinmetz of Newmark represented the landlord in conjunction with internal agents. Tyler Lyman of True Commercial represented both parties in the Golf Lounge 18 deal. Lyman also represented the landlord in lease negotiations with Fresh & Co., with Sabre representing the tenant.