WARREN, MICH. — A new 185,000-square-foot Walmart has opened at 29176 Van Dyke Ave. in Warren, a northern suburb of Detroit. Along with grocery and general merchandise needs, the store also offers a pharmacy with a drive-thru, a Vision Center and a Walmart Site-to-Store. The new supercenter created approximately 300 news jobs.
Retail
FRAMINGHAM, MASS. — Office-supply retailer Staples Inc. plans to close 225 North American stores by the end of 2015. The closures are part of a multi-year cost savings plan that is expected to generate annualized pre-tax cost savings of approximately $500 million by the end of 2015. In contrast to the company’s fourth-quarter performance as a whole, which saw a 10.6 percent year-over-year decline in sales, fourth-quarter business at Staples.com was up 10 percent from a year ago. Staples says it reduced its footprint last year by 1 million square feet through closing 40 stores.
BRANFORD, CONN. — Washington Trust’s commercial real estate group has provided $4.8 million in financing to Lakeview Center Associates LLC and Branford Equities LLC for the refinancing of Lakeview Center, a 69,955-square-foot shopping center in Branford. Sixteen tenants lease the four single-story buildings, located at 249-251 W. Main St. Edmond DeLaurentis Jr., a second-generation real estate developer and operator, operates Lakeview Center Associates LLC. He and other members — Herman Gans, Ram Gupta and Theodore Sannella — also own several other shopping centers located in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
BOCA RATON, FLA. — Meridian Capital Group LLC has arranged a $43.8 million mortgage for the refinancing of a 14-property portfolio of shopping centers in the Southeast and Indiana. Michael Brown and Zach Nimhauser of Meridian Capital Group’s Boca Raton office arranged the 10-year loan through a CMBS lender. The portfolio is composed of: · the 34,156-square-foot Green Acres in Havana, Fla. · the 170,745-square-foot Oak Station in Marianna, Fla. · the 123,778-square-foot Jackson Park in Seymour, Ind. · the 142,760-square-foot Village Center in Seymour, Ind. · the 131,553-square-foot River Creek located in Aurora, Ind. · the 35,179-square-foot Quitman Shopping Center in Quitman, Miss. · the 76,247-square-foot Flint River Plaza in Montezuma, Ga. · the 73,612-square-foot Jackson Square in Jackson, Ala. · the 68,451-square-foot Town & Country Center in Manchester, Ga. · the 37,350-square-foot Vancleave Center in Vancleave, Miss. · the 52,891-square-foot Village Square in Wiggins, Miss. · the 175,381-square-foot Prestonburg Village in Prestonburg, Ky. · the 160,713-square-foot Twin County Plaza in Galax, Va. · the 78,245-square-foot Country Roads in Plaza Hinton, W.Va.
IRVINE, CALIF. — Faris Lee Investments has brokered the $36 million sale of a four-property retail portfolio totaling 186,052 square feet. The four assets — three in Kentucky and one in Tennessee — are fully leased to LA Fitness. The properties include 3001 Blake James Drive in Lexington, Ky.; 1028 Wellington Way in Lexington, Ky.; 6013 Preston Highway in Louisville, Ky.; and 2401 Edge O Lake Drive in Antioch, Tenn. Richard Chichester, Matt Mousavi, Patrick Luther and Tom Chichester of Faris Lee Investments represented both the buyer, Arizona-based STORE Capital, and the seller, a Kentucky-based private entity, in the transaction.
CHICAGO — Summit Design + Build has broken ground WhirlyBall’s new 50,000-square-foot facility located on a 1.5 acre site at 1823 W. Webster in Chicago. The new entertainment venue is adding bowling and meeting/event space for 250-plus attendees. The two-story facility will feature three WhirlyBall courts, 12 bowling lanes, a multi-level laser-tag arena, five party rooms and 5,000 square feet of office space. The full venue will have the capability to host private and corporate functions for 700-plus guests and will offer a full-service kitchen and bar. WhirlyBall will relocate from its current location at 1880 W. Fullerton Ave., which will be razed to make room for the city’s planned reconfiguration of the intersection of Damen, Elston and Fullerton avenues.
MILFORD, CONN. — CBRE Group Inc. has completed a $10.5 million loan for the refinancing of Turnpike Square, a 95 percent-occupied retail shopping center in Milford. The CBRE team of James Gunning, Donna Falzarano and Evan Kleppe secured the 10-year loan, which includes a 30-year amortization schedule, through Deutsche Bank on behalf of the borrower, Milford Associates. The 105,461-square-foot retail center is located at 70 Turnpike Square. Its tenant roster includes Michaels, Big Lots and Pier 1 Imports, as well as multiple retailers that have occupied the space for 10 or more years.
NEEDHAM, MASS. — NorthMarq Capital’s Boston regional office has arranged a $10 million loan for the refinancing for a Staples/Petco building in Needham, a southwest suburb of Boston. The property contains spans 40,500 square feet and is located at 163 Highland Ave. A life insurance company provided the 10-year loan with a 25-year amortization schedule. Joseph Hegenbart of NorthMarq arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, 163 Highland LLC.
LOS ANGELES — An undisclosed private investor has purchased Sylmar Square Shopping Center, a 139,661-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center in the Los Angeles submarket of Sylmar, for $16.8 million. The center is located at 13700-13790 Foothill Blvd. Sylmar Square is anchored by Vons Supermarket. Other notable tenants include Chase Bank, Verizon and Payless ShoeSource. It was originally constructed in 1957 and renovated in 2003. Additional renovations are in progress. Fariba Kavian of NAI Capital’s West LA office represented the seller, C-III Asset Management, in this transaction.
PHOENIX — Ross Plaza, a 64,744-square-foot neighborhood retail center in North Phoenix, has sold to BH Properties for $3 million. The plaza is located at 10606-10653 N. 43rd Ave. near the Arizona State University west campus. It is anchored by Ross Dress For Less, which occupies more than half of the plaza. The buyer plans to refurbish the property.