ALPHARETTA, GA. — AMC Theatres has opened the new AMC North Point Mall 12, a 12-screen movie theater located in North Point Mall in Alpharetta. The theater offers 1,100 seats, concessions, Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, automated box offices, an IMAX screen and MacGuffins, a full-service bar and lounge area. The new property is the first new AMC theater building in more than two years in the U.S.
NORMAL, ILL. — Phillips Edison–ARC Shopping Center REIT Inc. has acquired The Fresh Market Shopping Center, a 76,017-square-foot retail property in Normal, a northern suburb of Bloomington. The Fresh Market grocery store anchors the fully leased center. Other tenants at the property include Dick's Sporting Goods, Michael’s and Marshalls. A portion of the purchase price included the assumption of a $6 million mortgage loan. Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison–ARC purchased the center from Wisnor LLC, a Wisconsin limited liability company.
PLYMOUTH, MINN. — Carter's and Oshkosh B'gosh have opened a combined 7,422-square-foot store at 4190 Vinewood Lane North at Rockford Road Plaza in metro Minneapolis. Rockford Road Plaza is located on Rockford Road, east of Interstate 94 in Plymouth. Matt Friday with SRS Real Estate Partners represented the tenants, Carter's and Oshkosh B'gosh, in the transaction. Rick Spector of Regency Centers represented the landlord. Carter's and Oshkosh will be joined by SuperTarget, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, PetSmart and Kohl's, which open early next year.
NEW YORK CITY — Brixmor, which had been planning to go public since Blackstone Group acquired it in 2011, began trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “BRX” as part of an $825 million initial public offering (IPO). Brixmor’s stock price, which began trading at $20 per share, finished the day at $20.57 per share, a 2.85 percent increase. The retail landlord is selling 41.25 million shares, up from 37.5 million shares the company originally plan to offer as part of the IPO. The offering is expected to close on Nov. 4. With more than 520 properties in its portfolio, Brixmor has no immediate plans to expand. Michael Carroll, CEO of New York-based Brixmor, says the company’s investors support Brixmor’s strategy to continue to invest in its existing portfolio.
THE COLONY, TEXAS — Nebraska Furniture Mart of Texas has topped out its new 1.86 million-square-foot facility in The Colony, a northern suburb of Dallas. This first Texas location of the home furnishing chain includes a 1.3 million-square-foot distribution center and a 560,000-square-foot showroom. The retailer is the first major anchor of Grandscape, a $1.5 billion, 433-acre, mixed-use development located on State Highway 121 between West Spring Creek Parkway and Plano Parkway. Atlanta-based Turner Construction Co. built the facility, including hoisting the final beam in place on Oct. 23.
LOGANVILLE, GA. — HFF has brokered the sale of Loganville Crossing, a 120,819-square-foot, grocery-anchored retail center in Loganville. Jim Hamilton, Richard Reid and Mike Allison of HFF represented the seller, Loganville Crossing Investment LLC & Downtown Square Capital LLC, in the transaction. American National Insurance Co., which Realm Realty Co. Inc. represented, purchased the asset. Loganville Crossing is located at 4753 Atlanta Highway (U.S. Highway 78) northeast of Atlanta. Built in 2008, the center is 98 percent leased and is anchored by Kroger. Other tenants include Edible Arrangements, Great Clips, Marco’s Pizza, Quest Diagnostics and Shane’s Rib Shack.
ORLANDO, FLA. — CBRE has arranged a lease at The Plaza on University for Bento Café, a Pan-Asian/sushi restaurant. Bento Café is the first tenant announced in the new redevelopment site at The Plaza on University, located across from the University of Central Florida campus. The restaurant will occupy approximately 3,865 square feet at the northwest corner of University Boulevard and Alafaya Trail. The restaurant is scheduled to open in August 2014. Bobby Palta of CBRE represented the landlord, American Campus Communities (ACC), in the lease deal. The Plaza on University is a mixed-use redevelopment project currently under construction, and the redevelopment, situated on a 14-acre site, will have 60,000 square feet of retail below 360 units of student housing with a total of 1,700 parking spaces. ACC expects to complete the development of The Plaza on University by September 2014.
CHICAGO — Avison Young and Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) have completed an equity raise totaling approximately $300 million on behalf of ECHO Realty LP. H&R REIT acquired a one-third interest in Echo Realty, which holds an 8 million-square-foot portfolio of commercial properties located in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and West Virginia. Pittsburgh-based ECHO Realty’s $1.2 billion portfolio features 173 properties, including 62 grocery stores, five office buildings, six industrial properties and three parcels. The Avison Young team included James Solomon, former head of the firm's U.S. capital markets team, along with Earl Webb, president of U.S. operations, and Matt Hoffman, assistant vice president. Bruce Westwood-Booth and Guy Ponticiello, managing directors, led the JLL team in this transaction.
CAROL STREAM, ILL. —Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa has leased 3,200 square feet at Heritage Plaza located at Army Trail and County Farm roads in Carol Stream. This is the company’s fourth location in the Chicago metro area. Heritage Plaza is a 128,871-square-foot shopping center anchored by Jewel Osco and features four access points. Sean McCourt of CBRE represented the property management company, Inland American Retail Management LLC, and Baum Realty Group represented Hand & Stone in the transaction.
NORWALK, CONN. — GHP Office Realty has acquired 120 New Canaan Ave., a 24,732-square-foot shopping center in Norwalk, as part of a 1031 tax-deferred exchange. The property is located off Exit 38 on the Merritt Parkway and is within close proximity to Route 7 and Interstate 95. Eight tenants currently occupy the property, including Café Madrid, Banana Nails, A.S. Fine Foods, Rite Aid, State of the Art Cleaners, La Bella Salon, Liz Sue Bagels II and Little Tokyo. The shopping center currently has retail and medical suites available ranging from 1,500-3,250 square feet.