PORTLAND, TEXAS — McLeod Cobb Investments has revealed construction updates and new tenant signings at Oliver’s Way, the firm’s $100 million multifamily and retail development in the South Texas city of Portland. A 128,500-square-foot Target store that will anchor the retail component is nearing completion and will open late this summer. Construction will also soon begin on a 13,800-square-foot freestanding retail building. McLeod Cobb has secured deals with retailers such as Jack in the Box, Brake Check, Raising Cane’s, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Aspen Dental, Five Guys, James Avery and Wells Fargo. The development team expects to begin construction on the apartments later this year.
LEXINGTON, S.C. — Lowes Foods has signed a lease to anchor Platt Springs Crossing, a 50-acre mixed-use development currently underway in Lexington, a western suburb of Columbia, S.C. The Winston-Salem-based grocer will occupy 51,000 square feet at the development. Other tenants will include Chipotle Mexican Grill, Tidal Wave Car Wash, Panda Express and Planet Fitness. An affiliate of NAI Columbia doing business as LLDC Platt Springs LF LLC is the developer of the project, which is scheduled to begin opening early next year. Ben Kelly and Patrick Chambers of NAI Columbia represented the landlord in the lease negotiations with Lowes Foods. The grocery store is scheduled to open in the third quarter of 2025.
LOS ANGELES — CBRE has brokered the sales of nine individual Big Lots-occupied retail properties to two buyer. Alex Kozakov and Patrick Wade of CBRE represented the seller, a large institutional investor, in the transactions. Robhana Group acquired four properties, totaling 117,494 square feet, for $23.6 million. The assets are: Reliable Properties purchased five locations, totaling 125,439 square feet, for $27.1 million. The properties are: The retail locations were part of a 25-property sale-leaseback portfolio acquired by a large institutional investor in 2023 with Kozakov and Wade representing the seller, Big Lots, in that transaction.
JOLIET, ILL. — CBRE has completed the lease-up of Joliet Marketplace, a 100,000-square-foot shopping center in Joliet. UrgentVet inked the most recent lease for a total of 3,500 square feet. The veterinarian clinic plans to open this spring. The property was formerly occupied by K-Mart and had stood vacant since 2016. IG Capital purchased the asset in 2020 and brought on CBRE’s Sean McCourt, Joe Parrott and Riley McCarron to assist with redeveloping the site. UrgentVet joins Tony’s Fresh Market, Planet Fitness, Tropical Smoothie Café, Charley’s and Ivy Rehab at the center. McCourt and Parrott represented IG Capital in the lease with UrgentVet.
WAUWATOSA, WIS. — Slick City, an indoor slide park concept, has signed a lease to open a 51,958-square-foot location at 1435 N. 113th St. in Wauwatosa. Brett Deter and Scott Revolinski of Founders 3 Real Estate Services represented the undisclosed landlord. The family entertainment space may include a soft play area for younger children, zip lines, trapezes and swings. There are currently three other Slick City locations in the U.S. in Denver, St. Louis and Katy, Texas.
RICHMOND, IND. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $1.7 million sale of a 9,785-square-foot retail center in Richmond, a city in eastern Indiana. UPS and Hoppe Jewelers are tenants at the property, which is located at 3643 National Road East. The building was constructed in 2003 and renovated in 2019 and 2020. Damien Yoder and Madison Harman of Marcus & Millichap’s The Yoder-Harman Group represented the seller, a private investor. During negotiations, a tenant vacated, so the duo helped the seller create a new three-year master lease for the vacancy. They also advised the seller on how to maximize the property’s value by structuring a new five-year lease for Hoppe Jewelers to commence at the close of the sale. Buyer information was not provided.
PHOENIX AND TEMPE, ARIZ. — Capstone Advisors has purchased an urban core retail and entertainment property in Tempe and a flex industrial building in Phoenix. The names of the sellers were not released. Located at 420 and 501 S. Mill Ave. in Tempe, the retail and entertainment property consists of two buildings totaling 38,896 square feet. Capstone paid $22.2 million for the asset. At the time of sale, the property was fully occupied. Current tenants include Starbucks Coffee, Spinelli’s Pizza, Lotions & Potions, Bang Bang, Crispy Cones, Varsity Tavern, Rodeo Ranch and Low Key Piano Bar. In the second transaction, Capstone acquired a flex industrial building located at 16402 N. 28th Ave. in Phoenix for $5.8 million. Currently, the 51,680-square-foot building is used as a temperature-controlled, drop-ceiling office occupied by Kemper Insurance. Capstone plans to convert the building back to industrial use as soon as Kemper’s lease expires.
NEW YORK CITY — Global luxury group Kering has acquired a multi-level retail property at 715-717 Fifth Ave. in New York City for $963 million. The Paris-based company manages the development of a number of major fashion houses including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen. The 115,000-square-foot space spans multiple levels at the base of the Corning Glass Building, a 28-story office tower developed in 1959. Rival fashion houses Dolce & Gabbana and Armani currently occupy the space. The Armani lease at the property is up in a few months, according to reports by the New York Post. Real estate developer Jeff Sutton’s Wharton Properties sold the space. The company also recently sold 720 and 724 Fifth Ave. to fashion house Prada for a combined $835 million. Eastdil Secured advised Wharton Properties in all three deals, according to the New York Post. Any potential impact on the space’s current tenants was not specified. Plans to maintain Gucci’s current flagship location across the street from 715-717 Fifth Ave. at Trump Tower were not mentioned in Kering’s release. Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue ranked as the world’s most expensive retail destination in Cushman & Wakefield’s latest Main Streets Across the World report. With …
— By Jeff Lefko, Executive Vice President, Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors — Hanley Investment Group is expanding and opening its newest office in San Diego in early 2024. San Diego, the eighth most populous city and the fifth largest county in the United States, ranks second only to Los Angeles County in California, boasting a population nearing 3.28 million. With a substantial GDP of $206 billion, San Diego holds the 17th largest metropolitan area position in the U.S. and the fourth largest in California. The city’s economy thrives on defense, tourism, international trade and research/manufacturing sectors. Notably, in 2022, San Diego experienced an 8 percent growth in life science employment, reinforcing its position as a premier life science research destination. Attracting 28.8 million annual visitors, it stands as a prominent U.S. travel destination, generating approximately $13.6 billion in yearly spending and employing 214,000 San Diegans directly and indirectly. San Diego’s robust economy, diverse population, quality education, and prime location render it a desirable hub for commercial retail investment. The business-friendly climate further enhances its allure, while the limited supply of new retail construction helps maintain stable real estate fundamentals. The changing economy and rising interest rates have caused …
With high operating costs eroding profitability at many urban stores, major retailers are concentrating development and store renovations in suburban locations with layouts geared to the latest consumer preferences. As more retailers follow suit, early adopters provide object lessons in best practices to better serve an evolving customer base and reveal pitfalls to avoid along the way. “Retailers are more sensitive to the pressures of high costs and loss prevention in urban markets, and as a result, they are backing off in those areas,” says Cornelius Brown, a principal and regional manager in the Philadelphia office of Bohler. “Retailers looking to grow, in our experience, are shifting to the suburbs and using retail program methods to cut costs.” Bohler is a land development design and consulting firm that helps developers move their projects forward quickly. Recently, those clients have been keen to avoid risk in both site selection and design features, Brown says. Streamlining Retail Development Retail programs allow developers to use pre-existing retail layout prototypes to determine optimal site arrangements. This approach uses checklists to assign one of several pre-made layouts to a development based on factors such as road location, grading and elevation, parking needs, drive-through layout, loading …