SOUTH PLAINFIELD, N.J. — JLL has negotiated the $40 million sale of a 219,848-square-foot shopping center in South Plainfield, about 40 miles southwest of New York City. Golden Acres Shopping Center was 83 percent leased at the time of sale, with grocer ShopRite serving as the anchor. Other tenants include Shoppers World, Unique Thrift Store and Wendy’s. Jose Cruz, J.B. Bruno, Kevin O’Hearn, Michael Kavaler and Joseph Lopresti represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer was a joint venture between Agus Holdings and Treeco.
LIBERTYVILLE, ILL. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the nearly $3 million sale of The Shops of Northwind, a 20,416-square-foot retail strip center in the Chicago suburb of Libertyville. The four-suite property at 1745 Northwind Blvd. is fully occupied. Brian Parmacek of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, EMPSAFE LLC. The asset sold at 95 percent of the list price.
ROYAL OAK, MICH. — Alloy Personal Training has signed a 1,500-square-foot retail lease at The Griffin, an apartment complex built in 2021 in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak. The property is located at the northeast corner of I-696 and Woodward Avenue. Owen Kelly and Michael Murphy of Gerdom Realty & Investment represented the landlord, Singh Development.
You can be a best-in-class operator with the coolest concept on the block, or you can be a well-capitalized landlord who knows all the right people, but if rapid, sustainable growth in the Boston retail market is what you seek, you might be SOL. According to local brokers, the high-demand, low-supply dynamic that currently exists in most major U.S. retail markets does not fully encapsulate the difficulties that tenants and landlords alike face in growing their footprints in the greater Boston area. As to why growing store counts or portfolios is so challenging in this market, the answer varies depending on who you ask. But a collective recap of all wide-ranging barriers to entry and disruptive forces at play paints a picture of a market that is borderline impenetrable for many tenants and perpetually stagnating for many landlords. “Boston remains an incredibly high-barrier-to-entry market,” says Zach Nitsche, director of retail capital markets in JLL’s Boston office. “A statistic we like to share with clients and industry people that haven’t historically invested in Boston and New England is that less than 5 percent of our total retail product has been constructed after the Global Financial Crisis. So far this year, the …
KATY, TEXAS — Locally based brokerage and development company NewQuest has signed leases with four food-and-beverage tenants at Texas Heritage Marketplace, the firm’s $400 million mixed-use development in the western Houston suburb of Katy. The tenants are Tex-Mex restaurant Escalante’s (5,005 square feet), pizzeria Tony C’s (4,900 square feet), Japanese food concept Aji Izakaya (2,800 square feet) and confectionary Kilwin’s (1,400 square feet). Bob Conwell led the lease negotiations for NewQuest.
DECATUR, GA. — Northwood Ravin plans to develop Halo, a 370-unit luxury apartment community in Decatur. The Charlotte-based developer plans to deliver first units next April and fully finish the five-story development by January 2027. Situated in the city’s East Decatur neighborhood, Halo will offer a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, as well as retail and plaza space and live-work units with street-level entrances. Northwood Ravin is partnering with Eric Carlton of Oakhurst Realty Partners on the retail tenant mix. The first confirmed retail tenant is Galore Market, a neighborhood market concept from the creators of O4W Market near Krog Street Market. Planned amenities at Halo include a rooftop pool, more than 3,000 square feet of fitness space, including a private yoga studio and exercise room, gaming lawn, pergola with covered seating, outdoor movie projector, fire pit, a hidden bar with full service and surprise cocktail events, sports bar, golf simulator, pet spa and a community coworking club with an embedded coffee shop.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap, has arranged the sale of a five-property portfolio of Food Lion-anchored shopping centers in the Carolinas. The assets span 248,030 square feet and include College Lakes Plaza in Fayetteville, N.C.; Eden Centre in Eden, N.C.; Kimberly Park in Carthage, N.C.; Kris Krossing in Conway, S.C.; and West Pointe Village Asheboro, N.C. Raleigh-based Genesis Properties purchased the portfolio from Richmond-based Capital Square for an undisclosed price. Dean Zang and David Crotts of IPA, along with Zach Taylor of Marcus & Millichap, represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction. Ben Yelm and Donald Gilchrist served as Marcus & Millichap’s brokers of record in South Carolina and North Carolina, respectively, in the deal.
TEMPE, ARIZ. — Indiana-based Thompson Thrift has broken ground on South Tempe Square, a 27,000-square-foot neighborhood shopping center located in Tempe, roughly 10 miles east of Phoenix. Nearly 75 percent of the property is preleased or under lease negotiations. Tenants who have already signed leases include BURN Total Body Conditioning, Pacific Dental, Look Lab, Luna Grill Restaurant, The Slice House by Tony Gemignani and GoodVets. A 4,500-square-foot restaurant pad and two inline retail spaces are still available for lease. A construction timeline was not disclosed.
PLAINFIELD, ILL. — Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. has brokered the $9 million sale of a 55,073-square-foot retail center in Plainfield within metro Chicago. Located at 12337 S. Route 59, the property was 97 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Enterprise, One Main Financials, Chop’d and Khaos Brewcade and Kitchen. Brett Berlin of Quantum brokered the transaction. A private investor based in Illinois purchased the asset from a local family development company based in Chicago’s western suburbs.
— By Bryan Cunningham of JLL — The retail sector continues to be a bright spot for commercial real estate in San Diego County. Despite financial headwinds that include interest rates, construction costs and increases in operating costs like labor and insurance, the resiliency of the consumer has allowed retailers and restaurants to continue to generate substantial sales volumes. Both national and regional retail and restaurant tenants continue to expand, although more cautiously than in years past. Retail vacancy rates in San Diego continue to hover around 5 percent, with the more desirable coastal communities closer to 3 percent. The lack of new development due to geographical constraints, as well as interest rates and construction costs, is driving expanding tenants to look purely at second-generation retail centers. While the retail tenant pool is somewhat shallow due to bankruptcies by Bed Bath & Beyond, 99 Cents Only, Party City, JoAnn Stores and the like, the lack of new product is keeping well-positioned shopping centers in high demand. Most grocery- and big box-anchored shopping centers are enjoying rents at record levels with very little vacancy. Retail centers continue to be at the forefront of interest from investors as well. While interest rates …