SIGNAL HILL, CALIF. — Tova Capital has purchased East Willow Village, an inline shop and pad space in Signal Hill, for $6.7 million in an off-market transaction. Signal Hill is approximately 20 miles south of Los Angeles. Located at 2201 E. Willow St., East Willow Village features 18,600 square feet of retail space. Turner’s Outdoorsman anchors the center on a 5,600-square-foot pad. Additional tenants include food, health, wellness and community-serving retail users. Kelly Hawkshaw, Luc Hawkshaw and Eric Mandell of Ally Commercial Real Estate represented Tova Capital in the deal. The seller was not disclosed.
Retail
By Taylor Williams Industry professionals who hail from and work in San Antonio often describe the city’s economy and real estate scene as steady and healthy in a sort of unspectacular way. Rarely does any commercial sector in San Antonio achieve the high highs and low lows of gateway coastal markets. Further, the market’s quiet consistency has come to stand out as its neighbor up the road, Austin, has exploded as a tech hub in the past decade, bringing with it fervent building booms that still can’t put a dent in the skyrocketing cost of living. Yet this same quality that in years past caused major retailers and restaurants — and investors — to pass on San Antonio is now a primary force that attracts them to the Alamo City, at least according to some local industry experts. Some of these individuals elaborated on the trend at the inaugural InterFace San Antonio retail conference, which took place on April 4 at the Hilton Palacio Del Rio hotel. Bethany Babcock, principal and co-owner of full-service firm Foresite Commercial Real Estate, was the first industry expert who addressed the market’s evolution in the post-COVID era. “We noticed at the last couple trade …
CULVER CITY, CALIF. AND AUSTIN, TEXAS — Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema from Altamont Capital Partners, Fortress Investment Group and founder Tim League for an undisclosed price. Alamo Drafthouse was founded in 1997 in Austin, and has grown from a single mom-and-pop location to 35 cinemas across 25 metropolitan areas. The company is the seventh-largest theater chain in North America and was one of the pioneers of the in-theater elevated food and drink concept. Alamo Drafthouse will maintain its headquarters in Austin and will continue to operate all of its locations, as well as the company’s Fantastic Fest film festival, which was included in the acquisition. Sony will manage these entities under a newly established division, Sony Pictures Experiences, led by Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kustermann. The acquisition is groundbreaking, as it was recently made possible through the Department of Justice’s decision in 2020 to rescind the Paramount Decrees. Put into place by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1948, the Decrees mandated a separation between film distribution and exhibition, requiring major motion picture studios to divest of any theater holdings. “We are excited to make history with Sony Pictures Entertainment and have found the right home …
HOUSTON — Lone Star PACE has provided $15 million in C-PACE financing for a 53,000-square-foot retail property located within The Allen mixed-use development near downtown Houston. Lone Star PACE partnered with lender Nuveen Green Capital to administer the financing. Locally based developer DC Partners owns The Allen. C-PACE (commercial property-assessed clean energy) financing allows commercial borrowers to obtain favorable loan terms in exchange for implementing eco-friendly devices and initiatives at their properties.
TOMBALL, TEXAS — Black Bear Diner will open a 5,250-square-foot restaurant at the intersection of State Highway 249 and the Grand Parkway in the northwestern Houston suburb of Tomball. Andrew Alvis represented the landlord, NewQuest Properties, in the lease negotiations on an internal basis. Matt Parsons of JLL represented the tenant. A tentative opening date was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Room 11 Hospitality has signed a 23,000-square-foot retail lease in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg district. The space at 25 Kent, a 511,000-square-foot mixed-use building, will be an event and catering venue for Room 11 affiliate La Sirena Events. Sam Seiler and Joe Whitten Morris of JLL represented the landlord, Rubenstein Partners, in the lease negotiations. Seiler also represented the tenant in conjunction with Joseph Sipala of JLL. The venue is scheduled to open next spring.
RICHMOND, CALIF. — Primestor Development has acquired Hilltop Plaza, a 245,921-square-foot retail center situated on 59 acres in Richmond, roughly 18 miles outside San Francisco. An undisclosed seller sold the property for $36.5 million. Tenants at the center, which was 88 percent occupied at the time of sale, include Ross Dress for Less, City Sports Club, dd’s Discounts and Century Theatres. Geoff Tranchina, Eric Kathrein, Gleb Lvovich and Warren McClean of JLL represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction.
SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — Kennedy Wilson Brokerage, a division of Kennedy-Wilson Properties Ltd., has arranged the sale of a retail property at 2031-2037 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica. Auerbach Realty Holdings sold the asset to Cypress Equity Investments for $7 million, or $2,222 per square foot. Situated on a 6,970-square-foot parcel, the shopping center offers 3,149 square feet of retail space. CEI owns the adjacent properties at 2025 Wilshire Blvd. and 1152 21st St., and this purchase will create a 25,457-square-foot assemblage. As part of the sale process, and in anticipation of the parcel’s imminent redevelopment, the Kennedy Wilson Brokerage team also assisted in the future relocation of Noma Sushi, a neighborhood restaurant that opened at the property in 1982. Ed Sachse and Christine Deschaine of Kennedy Wilson Brokerage represented the seller in the off-market transaction.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Seattle-based specialty outdoor retailer REI Co-op will open its first store in Kentucky this fall in Louisville. The new 31,100-square-foot store will be located at Paddock Shops, a 353,665-square-foot open-air shopping center owned by CBRE Investment Management and Fairbourne Properties. Situated in the city’s northeast corridor just off I-265 and I-71, the store will offer a wide assortment of outdoor gear and apparel and feature a full-service bike shop, buy online-pickup in store (BOPIS) options and curbside pickup service. The closest REI stores are in Cincinnati (95 miles away, opened 2012); Castleton, Ind. (130 miles away, opened 2012); Beavercreek, Ohio (150 miles away, opened 2024); Brentwood, Tenn. (196 miles, opened 1999); and Knoxville, Tenn. (243 miles away, opened 2014).
SOMERSET, KY. — NAI Isaac has signed Ace Hardware to a 14,000-square-foot lease at Tradewinds Shopping Center, a retail property located at 370 S. Highway 27 in Somerset, about 75 miles south of Lexington, Ky. According to LoopNet Inc., the 144,000-square-foot shopping center was built in 1966 and is located on a 15-acre site. Paul Ray Smith Jr. and Zach Smith of NAI Isaac represented Ace Hardware in the lease negotiations. The landlord was not disclosed.