CARMEL, IND. — Big V Property Group and Equity Street Capital have acquired Merchants Square shopping center in the Indianapolis suburb of Carmel. The purchase price and seller were undisclosed. The open-air retail property totals 232,284 square feet. Tenants include Planet Fitness, Flix Brewhouse, Cost Plus World Market, Petco and Dollar Tree. Harvest Market will shadow anchor the property when it opens this fall.
BROOKLYN PARK, MINN. — Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors has arranged the $11.9 million sale of Edinburgh Festival Centre in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park. The 91,563-square-foot shopping center was 96 percent occupied at the time of sale. A 54,476-square-foot Festival Foods store anchors the property, which is located on Edinburgh Centre Drive. Bill Asher and Jeff Lefko of Hanley, in association with ParaSell Inc., represented the seller, LS Capital Inc., and the buyer, a private investor from northern California.
RIVERSIDE, CALIF. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a gas station property located at 2278 Main St. in the Inland Empire city of Riverside. The asset traded for $10.3 million. Rick Raymundo, Orbell Ovaness, Ara Rostamian and Aren Ohanian of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller and undisclosed buyer in the deal. Totaling 52,707 square feet, the property features a gas station, convenience store, express car wash and large plot of vacant land.
— By Brian Polachek, Senior Vice President, SRS Real Estate Partners — The holiday season is upon us, and as 2023 draws to a close the real estate community turns its focus towards the future, particularly to what 2024 holds. Let’s look at recent developments and future expectations of the Phoenix retail market, a sector that has shown remarkable growth and resilience. Phoenix’s retail landscape has experienced a significant growth period, primarily due to a combination of factors including substantial population increases, strong consumer spending, minimal store closures and limited new retail space has been built. This surge in growth is largely attributed to Phoenix’s rising appeal as a place to live as well as a business-friendly environment. The influx of new residents and businesses has created a robust consumer base, driving up spending and providing a diverse market for retailers. Remarkably, the Valley has seen positive absorption for nine consecutive quarters, totaling 4.2 million square feet in the past year alone. As a result, Phoenix has become one of the leading U.S. markets in retail demand, bringing vacancy rates down to a record low of 4.5 percent, according to CoStar. This ongoing demand signifies not only the market’s current …
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Whole Foods Market plans to open a new 40,100-square-foot store in St. Petersburg, marking the grocer’s entry to the Tampa Bay suburb. The developer of the freestanding store was not disclosed, but the Tampa Bay Times reported that the developer/landlord is a partnership between locally based J Square Developers and Atlanta-based SJC Ventures. Located at 201 38th Ave. N, the new store will feature more than 800 local products from more than 140 local suppliers. The store will include a full-service seafood counter; cheese station; meat counter; a craft beer department that will sell 180 craft beers, including 50 from local breweries; a hot food and salad bar; bakery; and a wellness and beauty section. Whole Foods plans to open its doors on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Zach Taylor of Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, has brokered the $17.6 million sale of Eastwood Village, a 130,056-square-foot shopping center in Birmingham. Situated near a new Amazon facility, the center is anchored by Walmart, which was not part of the transaction. Other tenants of Eastwood Village include Ross Dress for Less, Office Depot, Michael’s and Party City. Taylor represented the seller, a partnership based in Louisiana, and sourced the buyer, a private syndicator based in California that paid all-cash. “The key to this transaction was selecting a buyer that was truly all-cash,” says Taylor. “This took the uncertainty of rising interest rates off the table and allowed us to trade at an aggressive cap rate.”
HOLIDAY, FLA. — Maryland-based Graphite Real Estate has purchased Holiday Centre, a Publix-anchored shopping center located at 4637-4701 Sunray Drive in Holiday, a northern suburb of Tampa. The undisclosed seller sold the 67,035-square-foot retail property for $9.9 million. Ari Ravi of RIPCO Investment Sales represented the seller in the sale, and RGA Reinsurance Co. originated acquisition financing on behalf of Graphite. In addition to the Publix, Holiday Centre was 98 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Planet Fitness, Publix Liquors and Bright Now Dental.
CHICAGO — McHugh Construction has completed the $30 million transformation of the historic Ramova Theatre in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood. The long-shuttered, single-screen cinema is now an 1,800-person concert hall. The 36,000-square-foot project also included the build-out of a space for Other Half Brewing, an independent craft brewery and taproom; Ramova Grill, an 18-seat diner; and Ramova Loft, a second-floor, 200-person event venue. Ramova Theatre originally opened in 1929 and closed in 1985. After sitting dormant for nearly 40 years, the theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. McHugh began the building’s restoration that same year. McHugh worked with O’Riley Office, Baum Revision and historic preservation specialists to restore the building’s architectural details with its original Spanish courtyard-style lobby and auditorium. Project funding came from investments from the local populace, tax-increment financing subsidies from the City of Chicago, a state grant and a Historic Places loan.
BEAR, DEL. — Locally based developer and general contractor Reybold Group is underway on vertical construction of a new, 16,893-square-foot retail center in Bear, about 10 miles south of Wilmington. The site is adjacent to the St. Andrews residential community. Upon completion, which is scheduled for later this year, the property will feature eight storefronts. One undisclosed tenant has signed a lease at the development.
NEW YORK CITY — JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) announced plans today to expand its brick-and-mortar footprint by adding 500 Chase bank branches over the next three years. The New York City-based institution also plans to renovate 1,700 existing bank locations across the United States. New branches will expand JPMorgan Chase’s footprint in existing markets like Boston; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Philadelphia; and Minneapolis. The company will also enter several new markets, including low- to moderate-income rural communities that previously had little access to traditional banking service. The multi-billion-dollar expansion effort will also contribute to local economic growth through the addition of 3,500 new employees, including construction jobs and local hiring upon completion, according to the company. JPMorgan first announced expansion efforts in 2018 with a $20 billion economic growth effort that included the addition of 400 new Chase branches over the subsequent five years. Since that time, the company has added more than 650 new branches, including 400 locations in 25 new states. Brick-and-mortar expansion efforts by JPMorgan have marked a stark shift in strategy, as a number of rival banks have been closing branches over the past few years and shifting more toward digital banking efforts. This year, Chase …
