RICHMOND, VA. — In conjunctions with its plans to close 155 underperforming retail locations nationwide, Richmond-based Circuit City has announced the closing of nine Texas locations. The stores are located in Burleson, Cedar Park, Dallas, Houston, League City, Mansfield, McKinney, Sherman and Temple. Each market will see one Circuit City location close, and Sherman will see Circuit City exit the market with the closing of the city’s only location.Circuit City is closing stores in 55 U.S. markets and will be exiting 12 of those markets entirely. In addition, the retailer is reducing future store openings and aggressively renegotiating select leases.
RESEDA, CALIF. — The Community Redevelopment Agency of the city of Los Angeles has purchased two properties in the business district redevelopment area of Reseda. The assets include a 15,000-square-foot shopping center and 46,000 square feet of land at 18128 Sherman Way. The transaction was valued at $5.52 million. J. Richard Leyner, Cal Menzer and Jesse Paster of NAI Capital’s Encino, Calif., office represented the seller, Sixth and Union LLC, in the transaction. The buyer was represented in-house.
NEW YORK CITY AND SYRACUSE, N.Y. — New York City-based Branded Concept Development has been selected to provide construction management services for two construction projects for Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. The restaurant’s Harlem location is moving to the corner of 12th Avenue and 125th Street, across the street from its present location, to accommodate the expansion of Columbia University. The new restaurant will total 7,200 square feet. Additionally, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is adding a second level to its flagship Syracuse location. The approximately 3,700-square-foot space will be designed to resemble a beer hall, and will feature additional dining space, private event space and a concert venue.
BATTLE CREEK, MICH. — Developer Full House Resorts is advancing construction on its FireKeepers Casino project located on Interstate 94 in Battle Creek. Clark Construction recently completed enclosure of the 236,000-square-foot building, which is scheduled to open in the summer of 2009. Upon completion, the casino will include 2,500 slot machines, 90 table games and 20 poker games. Additionally, FireKeepers will house five restaurants including a 70-seat fine dining signature restaurant, a 300-seat buffet and a 150-seat 24-hour coffee shop. An attached and enclosed 2,078-space parking garage is also being constructed at the site. Through Gaming Entertainment Michigan LLC, which is a joint venture with RAM Entertainment LLC, Full House Resorts will develop and manage the casino in exchange for a management fee of 26 percent of the net revenues as defined for a 7-year term from the date of opening. The estimated cost of completing the Las Vegas-style casino was not disclosed.
FLAGLER BEACH, FLA. — North American Properties has broken ground on the 88,000-square-foot Beach Village shopping center, located at the intersection of State Road 100 and Roberts Road in Flagler Beach. Anchored by a 45,600-square-foot Publix, the property features 18,000 square feet of retail space and five outparcels. The 16.86-acre development is expected to generate 250 jobs. The center is slated to deliver by next summer. North American Properties is also developing Publix-anchored shopping centers in Sarasota and Vero Beach, Fla., which will open in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
ST. PAUL, MINN. — SUPERVALU has opened Cub Foods Phalen, the first grocery store in Minnesota to seek LEED certification. The new store, which was built to achieve LEED Gold-certification, is located at 1177 Clarence St., within the Phalen neighborhood of St. Paul. Sustainable elements of the 62,900-square-foot building include 44 skylights that illuminate 75 percent of regularly occupied spaces using a solar powered GPS system that tracks and redirects sunlight as needed; LED lights in the parking lot; a maintenance-free floor that eliminates the need for chemicals during the cleaning process; and a landscape irrigation system that uses 50 percent less water than typical systems. Additionally, the store features a pharmacy with a drive-thru window and a full-service TCF Bank. The estimated cost of completion was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has completed the sale of a 14,000-square-foot Walgreens pharmacy, located in Brooklyn, New York City, for $7.09 million. Ben Sgambati and Michael Lombardi of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, an undisclosed Northeast-based developer. The duo also represented the Manhattan-based buyer in the transaction.
CHANDLER AND PHOENIX, ARIZ. — SCI Real Estate Investments LLC and 34 tenant-in-common co-owners have sold Casa Paloma Shopping Center in Chandler for an undisclosed price. The company acquired the property in 2005 for approximately $43.68 million. The 130,096-square-foot center is tenanted by AJ’s Fine Foods, Gap Women, Gap Body, Bath & Body Works and Banana Republic. Additionally, the company recently sold Deer Valley Village in Phoenix. The 832-unit luxury apartment community was purchased by SCI and 19 TIC co-owners in 2004 for approximately $71 million. The property recently reached full cycle, selling for $85.2 million.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIF. — Voit Commercial Brokerage has completed two transactions, totaling $4.1 million, in Los Angeles County. In Downey, Calif., Benedict Partners LLC acquired a 23,200-square-foot property, which is located at 12406-12422 Benedict Ave., for $2.1 million. Rob Socci and Peter Castleton of Voit’s Anaheim, Calif., office represented the sellers, George and Margaret Maginn; Jeff Hubbard of Lee & Associates represented the buyer in the transaction. In a separate transaction, Guthrie Development Company completed the disposition of an 11,516-square-foot property, which is located a 7901 Somerset in Paramount, Calif., for $2 million. The property is located within the 158,000-square-foot Somerset Business Park. Louis Tomaselli, Mitch Zehner, Cameron Driscoll and Luke McDaniel of Voit’s Anaheim office represented the seller; Steve Bryant of Grubb & Ellis represented the buyers, Yungtai and Lisa Hsu.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Sperry Van Ness (SVN) has completed the sale of 440 Commons, a 162,533-square-foot shopping center, located on Route 440 in Jersey City, for $24.6 million. Situated on 15 acres, the property is fully occupied by The Home Depot and Raymour & Flanigan. Both tenants are currently paying below-market rents, with 5-year rent escalations built into their leases. The shopping center is located on the west side of Jersey City, in an area that is poised to undergo a massive redevelopment. Joseph French and Thomas Dalzell of SVN’s White Plans, N.Y., office represented the seller, Beachwood, Ohio-based Developers Diversified Realty, as well as the undisclosed buyer. The property traded at a 6.76 percent cap rate.