The retail market in Utah continues to build steam and has expanded over the past 12 months. With these gains, tenants are in abundance and new construction is on the rise. Vacancy continued to improve through 2014, as the overall vacancy rate declined by 0.7 percentage points on a year-over-year basis to end at 6.2 percent. This represents the lowest vacancy rate of the past decade. With supply constrained and demand improving, average asking lease rates jumped by 9 percent on a year-over-year basis, to $18.98 per square foot. New construction continued across the valley, with 548,577 square feet of space added to the market. The local housing market drives retail development in Utah. About 18,573 building permits have been issued throughout the state in the past two years, including multifamily projects. This construction pushed many retailers into expansion mode, looking to take up shop in locations that cut off the competition. This is particularly true in one segment of the market that now stands supreme in the Utah retail ecosystem: grocery. Grocers have expanded at a breakneck rate. Sprout’s Farmers Market opened new stores in Holladay and South Jordan. A Smith’s Marketplace opened its doors in West Jordan at …
THORNTON, COLO. – Lambertson Lakes Shopping Center, a 13,465-square-foot retail center in the Denver submarket of Thornton, has received $2.1 million in financing. Phase I of the center is located at 871-887 Thornton Parkway. The property is shadow anchored by a 55,000-square-foot Safeway grocery store that was not part of the transaction. The permanent, 10-year, CMBS loan allowed the borrower to obtain a 30-year amortization on a non-recourse basis. The refinance was arranged by Steve Bye and Brian Fisher of NorthMarq Capital’s Denver office.
NEW YORK CITY — RKF has arranged the sale of a retail and office property located at 497 Broome St. in New York City’s SoHo district. John Dee Corp. sold the 5,700-square-foot property to an undisclosed buyer for $18.75 million. The former home of The Original Teddy Bear factory, the property features 1,200 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 4,500 square feet of office space. Brian Segall and Chris Masi of RKF represented both parties in the 1031 exchange transaction.
POTTSTOWN, PA. — CBRE has brokered the sale of Pottstown Plaza, a shopping center located in Pottstown. The Cotswold Group purchased the 159,327-square-foot center from Hudson Advisors for an undisclosed price. Current tenants include Tractor Supply, Applebee’s and Fulton Bank. Kevin McClernon and Peter Stevens of CBRE represented both the buyer and the seller in the transaction.
VIENNA, VA. — Benderson Development has purchased a 55,695-square-foot Bed Bath & Beyond store located at 2051 Chain Bridge Road in Vienna, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Benderson’s $29 million acquisition of Bed Bath & Beyond is the company’s entry into Tysons Corner, a super-regional retail destination in the greater D.C. area. Sarasota, Fla.-based Benderson has a portfolio that comprises more than 40 million square feet in 38 states.
DESTIN, FLA. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $3.3 million sale of a 2,960-square-foot Starbucks Coffee located at 10410 US Highway 98 West in Destin. Mike Marzinske, Adam Prins and Matt Hazelton of Marcus & Millichap’s Minneapolis office represented the seller, a private investor, in the transaction. Kirk Felici of the firm’s Miami office assisted in the transaction. Starbucks has seven years remaining on the lease.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Equity Investment Services (EIS) has brokered the $1.9 million sale of Village West, an unanchored retail center located at 6404 W. Colonial Drive in Orlando. The 18,000-square-foot center is leased to tenants such as Cosmo Prof and Coast Dental. Kevin Yaryan and Derek Francis of EIS represented both the buyer and seller in the transaction. EIS also arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the sale of the Vanguard Retail Portfolio, a three-building portfolio in Queens. The properties, which total 44,858 square feet, were sold in all-cash transactions totaling $23.8 million, or $530 per square foot. The 18-unit, 33,698-square-foot property at 221-02/50 Horace Harding Expressway sold for $17 million. The seven-unit, 8,970-square-foot property, located at 137-67/79 Queens Blvd./138-09 84th Dr., sold for $5.6 million. The third property, located at 138-07/11 Queens Blvd., sold for $1.2 million. Thomas Donovan, Stephen Preuss and Brian Sarath of Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the transaction. The buyer was an undisclosed local investor.
WEST ORANGE, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a retail property located at 640-642 Eagle Rock Ave. in West Orange. The 11,348-square-foot property sold for $2.7 million. Michael Lombardi of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a private investor, and Michael Rothstein, also of Marcus & Millichap, represented the buyer, a private investor, in the all-cash 1031 exchange.
SEATTLE — A four-property retail portfolio in Seattle has received $64 million in financing. The transaction includes acquisition financing for a 49,000-square-foot shopping center in Bellevue that is anchored by Walgreens and Trader Joe’s. It also allowed the borrower to refinance Mill Creek Town Center, a 182,000-square-foot, grocery-anchored lifestyle center in Mill Creek, as well as two retail properties in Kirkland and Bellevue. The fully amortizing, cross-collateralized loans were arranged by Mike Taylor and Patrick Taylor of Newmark Realty Capital. The loans were placed through a relationship with one of Newmark’s correspondent life insurance companies.