LOS ANGELES — Cinelease Inc. has signed a 10-year lease for a 155,000-square-foot facility in Los Angeles. Cinelease, the largest independent lighting and grip rental company in the country, will occupy the single-tenant building, which is located at 5375 San Fernardo Rd. The lease is valued at $14 million. Brett Warner and Craig Stevens of Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura represented the tenant in the transaction. The landlord was not disclosed.
ALLENDALE, N.J. — Midland Park, N.J.-based The Azarian Group has received government approvals for the renovation and expansion of The Allendale Shopping Plaza in Allendale. Construction at the 5-acre site will consist of a 5,000-square-foot expansion to the north end of the mall, the redesign of the property’s parking lot, and a façade update to match A&P’s newly renovated Fresh Store. Construction is set to begin in September, with completion scheduled for spring 2009.
SUCCASUNNA, N.J. — Kuiken Brothers Co. has broken ground for the construction of a 12-acre lumber and building materials facility in Succasunna. Located at 33 Route 10 East, the drive-thru lumber yard will include inventory such as lumber, windows, doors, drywall, molding, decking and railing, hand and power tools, and other construction products. The facility will also include rail service, which had previously been inactive for more than a decade. The site had been operating as a lumberyard prior to Kuiken’s development of the property. In addition to the new construction, extensive landscaping will be installed, along with permanent conservation areas that will buffer Horseshoe Lake.
EAST PALO ALTO, CALIF. — Regency Centers has acquired a vacant 92,307-square-foot retail building in East Palo Alto from The Home Depot EXPO for an undisclosed price. Located at Ravenswood 101 Shopping Center, the property will be occupied by a 50,227-square-foot The Sports Authority and a 41,680-square-foot Nordstrom Rack, both of which signed leases with Regency Centers. The new stores are slated to open spring 2009 after construction of the new storefronts and interiors are completed. Ryan Nickelson of Regency Centers, along with John Kovaleski and David Buchholz of Colliers International represented, the buyer in the acquisition and re-tenanting.
PORTLAND, ORE. — Cohen Financial has arranged a $13.2 million construction loan for the development of The Shops on Brooklyn Yard, a retail project located in the Brooklyn neighborhood of southeast Portland. The project is located at 4546 SE McLoughlin Blvd. at the intersection of SE Holgate and McLoughlin boulevards. The is being used to retire the land acquisition loan and provide funds for the development of more than 52,000 square feet of retail improvements. The project is currently 83 percent pre-leased to 24 Hour Fitness, which plans to open in third quarter 2009. Adam Cassie of Cohen Financial secured the 2-year, 70 percent loan-to-value facility. The borrower and lender were not disclosed.
WILLIAMSBURG, VA. — Wal-Mart Stores East has purchased 7.9 acres in the Settler’s Market development in Williamsburg for an undisclosed amount from Settler’s Market Developers. The acreage will be used for a 40,000-square-foot Neighborhood Market store, which will be smaller than a Wal-Mart Supercenter and feature a farmer’s market-type atmosphere. Christopher Rouzie of Thalhimer’s Newport News, Va., office represented Wal-Mart in the transaction. The market will open in summer 2009.
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. — The investment sales group of Mid-America Real Estate Corp. has brokered the sale of Elk Crossing, a 121,507-square-foot retail center located at Biesterfield and Arlington Heights roads in Elk Grove Village. Los Angeles-based Westwood Financial Corp. has acquired the development from an affiliate of the General Electric Pension Trust, which is advised by GE Asset Management. Elk Crossing is anchored by a Jewel-Osco grocery store. Additional tenants include Panera Bread, Bath & Body Works, Citibank and RadioShack. Rick Drogosz of Mid-America represented both parties in the transaction. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
WEBSTER GROVES, MO. — Chicago-based UGL Equis has represented Webster University in the acquisition of the 35,710-square-foot Old Orchard Shopping Center, which is located adjacent to the university at 25 S. Orchard Ave. in Webster Groves. The university, which occupies 55 acres in the St. Louis suburb, currently leases 15,207 square feet within the Old Orchard center for classroom space for its fine arts program and for practice space for The Repertory Theatre and the Opera Theater of St. Louis. Webster University has no plans to alter the retail center, which it acquired from Mills Properties for an undisclosed amount. Tenants at the development include Starbucks Coffee, Subway, The Boardwalk Café, and The Back and Neck Care Center of Webster Groves. Regan Trittler of UGL Equis represented the buyer; Ken Aston of Hendricks & Partners represented the seller in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — The grand opening has been held for a new Food Cellars supermarket at 4705 Center Blvd. in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, New York City. The grocer occupies 22,000 square feet on the ground floor of a rental apartment building owned by Rockrose Development Corp. The event marks the first supermarket to open in Long Island City.
SAN ANTONIO — Austin-based B. Knightly Development has acquired the former Lone Star Brewery in San Antonio and plans to redevelop the site into a mixed-use project. Located on 23 acres, the development will feature 190 residential units, with prices starting at $129,000. Initial plans also include a 3-acre park, an Olympic-size swimming pool, concert venues, bars and beer gardens, and a movie theater. The Lone Star Brewery also features 1,100 feet of frontage on the Mission Reach section of the San Antonio Riverwalk. B. Knightly is seeking LEED certification for the project. Sustainable features will include rainwater collection systems and rooftop photovoltaic solar panels. The first residences are scheduled for completion in summer 2009. The brewery, which was built in 1884, closed 12 years ago after Lone Star moved its brewing operations to Longview, Texas.