HOUSTON — Houston-based Baker Katz has acquired a 2.1-acre property with an existing 13,000-square-foot office building located near the cross streets of U.S. Highway 59 North and West Little York Road in Houston. Located at 10810 Eastex Freeway, the initial plans for the property include the addition of a 7,000-square-foot retail space and pad site for a restaurant. Construction on the new building is slated to begin in 2016.
Job growth in New York City is expected to reach a new high in 2015 with the addition of 92,500 jobs. This spike in employment will bode well for retail owners. Drawn by the strong economy, several retailers are expanding in the city, including Lowe’s, which already has two locations in Brooklyn and one in Queens. In the second half of 2015, Lowe’s will open its first two stores in Manhattan. Apple plans to open shop in Brooklyn; they’ve signed a long-term lease for a 20,000-square-foot store at 247 Bedford Avenue at the corner of North Third Street in Williamsburg. As retailers ramp up their presence in the five boroughs, the vacancy rate is going to reach a new multi-year low. Vacancy for retail properties in 2015 will fall to 3.9 percent on net absorption in excess of 2.8 million square feet. Tightening vacancy will allow for operators to increase asking rents for the fourth consecutive year and will encourage builders to start new projects. Currently, builders are on track to deliver 2.5 million square feet of retail space in 2015, increasing stock by 1.2 percent. The most notable project scheduled for delivery is the Westfield World Trade Center, a …
DIAMOND BAR, CALIF. — Foremost Companies has acquired two adjacent shopping centers in Diamond Bar totaling more than 120,000 square feet of leasable commercial space for $23 million. The Ranch Center and Oak Tree Plaza cover 10.4 acres of property with a tenant roster including restaurants, medical offices, a bowling alley and retail. Foremost acquired The Ranch Center in an off-market acquisition from Preferred Bank, which foreclosed on the center in October 2014. Foremost acquired and consolidated the interest of a long-term ground-lease tenant at Oak Tree Plaza while restructuring a new lease with the anchor tenant. Preferred Bank provided acquisition financing, and Stonewood Properties will act as property manager for both centers.
NOVATO, CALIF. — Buchanan Street Partners has acquired Rowland Plaza, a 143,444-square-foot office project in Novato for $24.9 million. The two-building development is located at 75 and 88 Rowland Way. The plaza is 73 percent occupied. The tenant mix includes public accounting, technology, healthcare, professional services, and governmental and social services firms. Buchanan plans to make improvements to the plaza’s common areas and landscaping. This will include a complete lobby renovation, with redesigned landscaping to increase the curb appeal of the project. Renovations are scheduled to be complete by mid-2016. This is Buchanan Street’s second acquisition in the San Francisco Bay area this quarter. Buchanan Street represented itself in this transaction, while Grant Lammersen and George Eckard from Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, a joint venture between Barker Pacific Group and Rockwood Capital.
LOS ANGELES — The Village at Westfield Topanga, an over 1 million-square-foot addition to the power shopping center Westfield Topanga, is set to open mid-September in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Woodland Hills. The center will include retailers new to the Los Angeles area including Fabletics, an athletic apparel brand co-founded by actress Kate Hudson, DAVIDsTEA, Rain and ConfeXion, a champion bakery on Food Network’s television show “Cupcake Wars.” The Crate & Barrel store at The Village is already open, and will remain so throughout construction.
SAN BRUNO, CALIF. — Sears has announced the opening of a 4,000-square-foot flagship Connected Solutions location at The Shops at Tanforan in San Bruno. Designed as rooms of a home, the store will feature a living room, kitchen, nursery, workout room, garage and outdoor area where customers can experience Sears smart technology offerings first hand. Sears Connected Solutions currently has three 2,000-square-foot locations in the Chicago area, and is looking to expand to hundreds of locations nationwide.
PALM BAY, FLA. — Calkain Cos. has brokered the sale of a freestanding Verizon Wireless store located at 1109 Malabar Road N.E. in Palm Bay. Verizon Wireless has seven years remaining on its initial lease, which is guaranteed by Cellular Sales of Knoxville. Coast Realty represented the unnamed buyer that purchased the asset in cash at a 6.67 percent cap rate.
SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — Three new restaurants are scheduled to open this summer at Ocean Avenue South, a $350-million, mixed-use residential development located on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. Joan’s on Third will open this month; Herringbone, featuring celebrity chef Brian Malarkey, will open in July; and eLOVate, featuring celebrity chef Roberto Martin, will open in August. Zachary Card and Casey Jahn of CBRE leased the space for the owner, Related California.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a freestanding retail property located on Guy R. Brewer Boulevard in Queens. The 10,500-square-foot asset sold for $15.6 million, or $1,494 per square foot. Built in 2010, the property is occupied by Walgreens. Steven Siegel and Michael Kook of Marcus & Millichap’s Manhattan office represented the seller and buyer in the transaction. The names of the buyer and seller were not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of a mixed-use property located at 309 Amsterdam Ave. in Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The four-story property sold for $6.6 million, or $1,630 per square foot. The 4,800-square-foot property features a 1,200-square-foot retail space and three one-bedroom apartments. The property was delivered vacant. The undisclosed buyer plans to reposition the property for rental. Paul Smadbeck and Robert Stufano of Cushman & Wakefield represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.