CHICAGO — Blue Bottle Coffee has signed a long-term lease to open a 1,188-square-foot retail space at The Shops at Tribune Tower in Chicago. Founded in 2002, Blue Bottle Coffee is a coffee roaster and retailer with more than 60 cafes globally. The Shops at Tribune Tower location will be Blue Bottle’s second in the Chicago area. The shop is expected to open in early 2023. Blue Bottle’s location is directly adjacent to the newly opened Foxtrot Market and the upcoming Museum of Ice Cream, which is scheduled to open July 16. The Shops at Tribune Tower consists of 50,000 square feet of retail space that anchors the ground floor of the 36-story, 740,000-square-foot Tribune Tower, which has been transformed into 162 luxury condominiums. CIM Group owns the property.
BRANSON, MO. — Outside the Lines (OTL), a design-build construction company that specializes in water features, fountains, rockwork and themed environments, has completed a water-effects show fountain at Branson Boardwalk in Missouri. The water feature is in a cascading lake situated adjacent to the Aquarium at the Boardwalk, the first attraction developed at the entertainment complex that opened in fall 2020. The fountain plays two fully choreographed shows every half hour from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. seven days a week. Branson Boardwalk is a dining, shopping and entertainment destination that is opening in phases.
SEATTLE — Cushman & Wakefield has procured a $193 million development funding package on behalf of Seattle-based Security Properties. The package includes a $65.2 million joint venture equity investment with MetLife Investment Management and $115.3 million in construction financing from Bank OZK for The Confidential, a 29-story, 212-unit, 374,000-square-foot mixed-use building being developed in the Belltown submarket Located at 2315 Fourth Ave., at the corner of Bell Street, The Confidential will feature 212 apartments, 17,500 square feet of office space, 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 243 parking spaces. Planned community amenities include a fitness center, lounge and theater. Currently under construction, The Confidential is expected to open in 2024. Design of The Confidential is being provided by VIA Architecture. Communita Atelier is the landscape architect and Exxel Pacific is the general contractor.
KERMAN, CALIF. — Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors has brokered the sale of a newly completed, single-tenant retail property located at 14868 W. Whitesbridge Ave. in the Fresno County city of Kerman. A local private investment firm sold the asset to a San Mateo County.-based private investor for $6.4 million. Grocery Outlet occupies the 16,000-square-foot building on a net-lease basis. Based in Emeryville, Grocery Outlet has more than 420 stores in California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Nevada and New Jersey. Bill Asher and Jeff Lefko of Hanley Investment Group represented the seller, while Nigel Keep of Kidder Mathews’ office in Silicon Valley, Calif., represented the buyer in the transaction.
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JLL Brokers $278M Sale of Eight-Property Grocery-Anchored Retail Portfolio
OAK BROOK, ILL. — JLL’s Capital Markets group has arranged the $278 million sale of an eight-property, grocery-anchored retail portfolio. The buyer was Inland Real Estate Income Trust Inc. The properties were 88.5 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Ralphs, Target, Whole Foods Market, Giant, Trader Joe’s, Sprouts Farmers Market, Nordstrom Rack, Starbucks Coffee, Rite Aid and Sierra Trading Post. The properties span 687,000 square feet and include: Olde Ivy Village, located outside of Atlanta at 4330 East-West Connector in Smyrna, Ga.; Denton Village, located at 4930 Teasley Lane in the Dallas suburb of Denton, Texas; Northpark Square Village, located at 27706-27776 McBean Parkway in the metro Los Angeles community of Valencia, Calif.; Northville Park Place, located at 18771-39869 Traditions Drive in Northville, Mich., outside of Detroit; City Place, located eight miles east of Saint Paul at 205 Radio Drive in Woodbury, Minn.; Rusty Leaf Plaza, located at 2512-2560 E. Chapman Ave. in Orange, Calif.; Lower Makefield Shopping Center, located at 700 Stony Hill Road in Yardley, Pa., outside Philadelphia; and New Town Village, located at 9700 Groffs Mill Drive in the metro Washington, D.C., community of Owings Mills, Md. Bill Moylan, Chris Angelone, Barry Brown, …
By Kelly Nickele, Mid-America As the summer season begins, retailers and restaurateurs in Chicago are scheduling tours for the city’s warmest months of the year, and overall leasing velocity is continuing to increase. Here’s a quick review of the top retail real estate trends in Chicago now. Digitally native brands continue to expand, embracing omnichannel sales strategies. I grew up at Fremont & Armitage in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood through my high school years. I remember when Aldo, Barbour and Bebe anchored Halsted, and United Colors of Benetton (now Interior Define), American Apparel (now Parachute), Intermix (now Outdoor Voices) and Hanig’s (now Marine Layer), were the mainstays of Armitage. I saw tenants like BCBG relocate from Halsted (now Apotheco Pharmacy) to Armitage (now Serena & Lily), and locals like Art Effect and Lori’s remain relevant while the trade area garnered national attention and the 60614 zip code continued to report strong catalog and ultimately e-commerce sales. I’ve experienced the rise and fall of many retailers, the emergence of digitally native brands, the major shift in how and where we shop and the influence of social media in the retail industry. As a consumer and a retail advisor, I believe in …
MELROSE PARK, ILL. — NewMark Merrill Cos. has received a $31.2 million loan for the recapitalization of Winston Plaza in the Chicago suburb of Melrose Park. The 410,000-square-foot shopping center is situated at the corner of North Avenue and 9th Street. The three-year, floating-rate loan includes funds for property improvements and lease-up. Bryan Gortikov of Gortikov Enterprises arranged the loan with Wells Fargo Bank. Anchor tenants at Winston Plaza include Best Buy, Ross Dress for Less, Marshalls, Dollar Tree and Five Below. Cermak Fresh Market purchased a 90,000-square-foot building at the center with plans to open a new grocery store by the end of the year.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — SRS Real Estate Partners has brokered the sale of two urban retail properties in Washington, D.C., totaling $9.2 million. The properties include 2321 18th St. NW in the city’s Adams Morgan submarket and 1519 Wisconsin Ave. in the Georgetown district. Built in 1910 and renovated in 2020, the Adams Morgan property houses a single tenant (Ironworks Inc.) that operates three Asian fusion restaurants — Death Punch Bar, Shabu Plus and Shibuya — and has 10 years remaining on its lease. An unnamed private investor purchased the 4,500-square-foot property from a locally based developer for $3.5 million. Andrew Fallon and Rick Fernandez of SRS represented the seller in the transaction. The Georgetown property houses three retailers (a salon, nail parlor and mobile device repair shop) that are on triple-net leases. A local investor purchased the asset for $5.7 million in a 1031 exchange. Fallon and Fernandez represented the seller, a locally based, privately held investor and developer.
AMERICAN FORK, UTAH — Brixton Capital has purchased American Fork Center, a retail center at 648 E. State St. in American Fork, located between Salt Lake City and Provo. A partnership between Western Avenue Capital and ALTO Funds sold the asset for an undisclosed price in an off-market transaction. At the time of sale, the 149,928-square-foot shopping center was fully leased. Tenants include Vasa Fitness, JOANN, Big Lots, Dollar Tree and Del Taco. Brixton plans to upgrade the center through repainting, parking lot resurfacing, landscaping improvements and signage upgrades. Scott Brady and Garrett Blomquist of Mountain West Commercial Real Estate sourced the opportunity for Brixton.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte City Council has approved the proposed $275 million financing package for renovations to Spectrum Center, the home arena for the NBA franchise Charlotte Hornets. The city council voted 10-1 to approve the plan, which includes a $60 million budget to build a new basketball practice training facility that will be funded via new revenue generated from sponsorships and naming right agreements. Financing for the city’s role in the $215 million in renovations to Spectrum Center (approximately $173 million) will be sourced from rental car and hotel taxes. The plan also extends the team’s lease through 2045, an additional 15 years from its lease expiration in 2030. Located at 333 E. Trade St. in Uptown Charlotte, Spectrum Center opened in October 2005 and has a seating capacity exceeding 20,000. In addition to Hornets home games, the arena hosts concerts, collegiate sporting competitions, comedy shows and other events. The City of Charlotte owns the arena and Hornets Sports & Entertainment operates it. Details about specific renovations or a construction timeline have not been made public.