ROSENBERG, TEXAS — Cincinnati-based The Kroger Company has announced that its Kroger Marketplace brand will be joining the tenant roster at Brazos Town Center, a 550-acre, master-planned community under development in Rosenberg by Houston-based NewQuest Properties. The 123,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace features a full-service grocery, a pharmacy, expanded perishables and general merchandise, such as outdoor living products, electronics, home goods and toys. The multi-department concept is twice the size of a typical Kroger supermarket. Brazos Town Center comprises 940 multifamily residences, a medical/professional office park and 220 acres of retail space — all interconnected with a parks and trails system. Retail anchor tenants include Target, The Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, Academy, JC Penney, Ross Dress For Less, Petco, Best Buy, Famous Footwear, Cinemark, Palais Royal, Kohl’s, Conn’s, OfficeMax, Walgreens and Spec’s.
SOLANA BEACH, CALIF. — Pinnacle Solana LP, an affiliate of Pinnacle Hotels USA, has purchased a 34,840-square-foot property in Solana Beach for $3.4 million. Located at 647 N. Highway 101, a portion of the property is currently occupied by Parioli’s Italian Bistro; the balance is zoned for commercial use. Joseph Balla and Steve Bruce of Lee & Associates Carlsbad office represented both parties in the transaction. The seller was TMD LLC.
FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, MO. — St. Louis-based Koman Properties is redeveloping Commerce Plaza, a retail center, which was severely damaged by a tornado in 2006, and is located near Highways 50 and 159 in Fairview Heights. The project includes the development of a 40,600-square-foot retail center, which will be anchored by Monkey Joe’s and Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts, which is relocating from its current building across the street. Additionally, 8,800 square feet of retail product, as well as the potential for an outlot building, are being considered for the project. Construction of Commerce Plaza is currently underway, with completion slated for November. The retail shop and entertainment venue are both expected to open in the spring of 2009.
WAUKESHA, WIS. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Silvernail Center, a 6,857-square-foot retail center located in Waukesha. The multi-tenant center had a sale price of $1.9 million. A local Chicago investor acquired the property from an undisclosed developer in a 1031 exchange. Jason Ladner of Marcus & Millichap’s National Retail Group in Chicago represented the seller; Melissa Glick, also of Marcus & Millichap’s National Retail Group in Chicago, represented the buyer in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — CBRE Capital Markets has secured $10.2 million for the refinancing of a retail condominium and a three-property retail condo portfolio located in New York City. The first retail condo is located at 170 Fifth Ave.; it totals 2,833 square feet and is occupied by Zales Jewelers. The Village Retail Portfolio totals 9,843 square feet; it comprises 355 and 361 Greenwich St., and 496 Laguardia Place. The properties are occupied by The Harrison, Flor de Sol, and Five Guys Burgers and Fries, respectively. Terms of the loan include a 5-year terms with a 30-year amortization schedule priced over the 5-year U.S. Treasury Security, as well as a 65 percent loan-to-value ratio. Keith Braddish and Jason Gaccione of CBRE Capital Markets arranged the loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower through a commercial bank.
LA VERNE, CALIF. — Combined Properties has completed the development of The Commons at La Verne in La Verne. Located at the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Wheeler Avenue, the $29 million redevelopment project included a 20,000-square-foot expansion to the center. Anchor tenants of the revitalized 125,000-square-foot center include a state-of-the-art Vons Grocery Store and Fuel Station, Ross Dress For Less and Famous Footwear. The center is 94 percent leased. The grand opening is slated for later this month.
TEGA CAY, S.C. — Centurion Partners will start construction on the final building in its more than 27,000-square-foot Graystone Shopping Center, located on Highway 160 in Tega Cay, this fall, with an estimated completion date of spring 2009. The development, which is connected to the master-planned Stonecrest Village, will also add a slew of new tenants. Great Clips, Upscale Nail Spa and Taco Bell will all move in this month, while T-Mobile Wireless will open later this fall. Italian Village Pizza and DentalWorks will be open by spring of next year.
LINDEN, N.J. — CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has brokered the sale of Aviation Plaza, a grocery-anchored shopping center located in Linden, for $92.35 million. Included in the sale was approximately 443,101 square feet of the approximately 642,458-square-foot property. A recently constructed pad site that contains a theater, a bank and a restaurant was not included in the sale. Aviation Plaza is anchored by ShopRite; additional tenants include Target, The Home Depot, AMC Theatres, Marshalls, Staples, Old Navy and A.C. Moore. Jeffrey Dunne and Todd Newman of CBRE’s New York Institutional Group represented the seller, Aviation Tower LLC, and procured the buyer, Long Island, New York City-based Milbrook Properties, which was participating in a 1031 exchange. The team also joined with Jim Gunning of CBRE Melody to procure the acquisition financing through Principal Real Estate Investors. The same CBRE team had arranged the previous sale of Aviation Plaza to Aviation Tower LLC in 2003, as well as the sale of the pad site to Aviation Tower this year.
PALM DESERT, CALIF. — Passco Companies Development has closed escrow on Washington Square, a 50,000-square-foot retail development center in Palm Desert. Located at Washington Street and Market Place, the 6-acre development is currently anchored by a 17,000-square-foot Rite Aid. With all other site work throughout the project complete, Passco is able to build out to ground lease five additional pad sites. The purchase price for the land, site improvements and Rite Aid structure was $12.5 million. Bank of the West provided an A&D loan totaling approximately $11.5 million for the acquisition. Paul Bitoni of Marcus & Millichap Investment Brokerage represented both parties in the transaction. The seller was not disclosed.
INDIANA, OHIO AND IOWA — CKE Restaurants Inc. has sold 29 Hardee’s restaurants as part of its ongoing strategic refranchising program that was originally announced in April 2007. The company has completed the sale of 23 restaurants in Indiana and Ohio to Midwest First Star Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Midwest First Star Inc., with Farooq Shah and Carri Simon as principals, has also committed to building a minimum of seven new Hardee’s restaurants in these markets over the next 7 years. Additionally, CKE Restaurants Inc. completed the sale of six Hardee’s restaurants in the Davenport, Iowa, market. Last year, Westar Foods Inc. acquired Hardee’s restaurants throughout the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, markets. Westar Foods has committed to build a minimum of four new restaurants in the Davenport market over the next 4.5 years. Both transactions were brokered by Franchise Resale Consultants LLC, d/b/a Praetorian Group.