LOS ANGELES – The Government of the United States (GSA) has renewed its lease for 21,961 square feet of office space in the Los Angeles submarket of Brentwood. The GSA leases the entire fourth floor of a Class A building at 12121 Wilshire Blvd. The space is situated on the northwest corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Bundy Drive. The GSA has occupied the building for 10 years. It has now signed on for an additional 10 years. The landlord, Douglas Emmett, was represented by Mitchell Stokes and Bob Safai of Madison Partners.
Retail
SAN FRANCISCO – Singapore-based specialty restaurant VeganBurg has announced plans to open its first U.S. restaurant in San Francisco. The plant-based burger restaurant will open at 1466 Haight Street this summer. The space was previously vacated by All You Knead. The company is evaluating plans for future sites across the country. VeganBurg was represented by John Polyzoides and Andrew Lindsey of SRS Real Estate Partners.
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICH. — A. Alfred Taubman, the founder of Taubman Centers Inc., has died at the age of 91. Robert S. Taubman, president and CEO of Taubman Centers, shared in an email message to Taubman employees on Saturday, April 18, that his father passed away of a heart attack at his home in Bloomfield Hills. Recognized as a pioneer in America’s retailing and shopping center industries, Alfred Taubman founded Taubman Centers, a real estate developer and operator of upscale regional malls, 65 years ago. Taubman, a life-long resident of the Detroit area, was active in numerous businesses, philanthropic and civic initiatives.
WOODSTOCK, GA. — CBL & Associates Properties Inc. and Horizon Group Properties Inc. have begun construction on the second phase of The Outlet Shoppes at Atlanta, an outlet mall in Woodstock that features 93 retailers. The 33,000-square-foot expansion is scheduled to open before the 2015 holiday season and will bring retailers GAP Outlet and Banana Republic to the outlet mall, which opened in July 2013 at the intersection of I-575 and Ridgewalk Parkway. Existing retailers at The Outlet Shoppes include Nike, Coach, Michael Kors, Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH, Carter’s, Kate Spade, Vineyard Vines and Johnny Rockets. Horizon and CBL are co-developers of the project; Horizon is responsible for leasing and managing the center.
CARY, N.C. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged the $4.2 million refinance of Lochmere Pavilion, a 32,236-square-foot retail property located at 2425 Kildaire Farm Road in Cary, part of the Raleigh-Durham metro area. David Vinson and Mark Dodson of NorthMarq Capital’s Raleigh and Los Angeles offices, respectively, arranged the financing through a local North Carolina bank on behalf of the borrower, a California-based entity.
Attention retailers — Baton Rouge is the place to be. For the first time in the area’s history, the Baton Rouge MSA is expected to exceed 400,000 overall jobs in 2015 according to economists Loren Scott and James Richardson. The surge in employment is being fueled by numerous projects including $16 billion in industrial construction projects in the Baton Rouge MSA, along with $1 billion in public construction. Construction is underway downtown on a $55 million office tower and residential complex, which will be the home of the new IBM Technology Center where 800 highly skilled computer savvy individuals will be employed. Construction is also underway on a state-of-the-art water research facility in downtown Baton Rouge. The “Water Campus” situated on 30 acres next to the Mississippi River will initially consist of three buildings totaling $45 million in construction costs. This research park will provide an opportunity for academics and private-sector scientists and engineers to collaborate in producing the best available science on water management and coastal issues. For a state heavily weighted in the energy and petrochemical sectors, this will be a catalyst for economic diversification. Newsworthy Projects Juban Crossing: The most significant new mixed-use project to come on …
TORRANCE, CALIF. – Village Center, a 31,153-square-foot retail center in Torrance, has sold to a local private investor for $11 million. The center is located at 4170 Pacific Coast Highway. It is adjacent to a Walgreens-anchored shopping center. The unnamed seller was represented by Simon Mattox of Marcus & Millichap’s National Retail Group.
GARDEN GROVE, CALIF. – A 30,000-square-foot retail building in Garden Grove that was formerly occupied by Office Depot has sold to Red Mountain Retail Group for $4.6 million. The building is located at 11100 Garden Grove Blvd. It was built in 1996. The building sits adjacent to Costco, across from Home Depot. Two new tenants have leased the space. Office Depot, meanwhile, downsized to a 15,800-square-foot space. Keith Kropfl and Michael Ganz of Avison Young represented both the buyer and seller, Gallinas Properties, in this transaction.
CEDAR HILL, TEXAS — H&M, a fashion retailer, will open a new location in Cedar Hill. Spanning 21,000 square feet, the new location at Uptown Village at Cedar Hill is set to open in the fall of 2015. The store will be the company’s 15th location in Texas. The store is expected to employ 25 people.
DENTON, TEXAS — Lumber Liquidators, a retailer of hardwood flooring, has leased 7,168 square feet of retail space in Colorado Square, a shopping center in Denton. The property is located at 2305-2311 Colorado Blvd., just north of its intersection with Loop 288. Blake Shipp of The Weitzman Group arranged the lease and is the leasing agent for Colorado Square in cooperation with Metro Commercial Real Estate Services, which represented the retailer. Lumber Liquidators joins tenants including Dollar Tree and Movie Trading Co. The flooring retailer will open in May.