GAINESVILLE, GA. — Branch Properties has acquired 14 acres at the intersection of Limestone Parkway and New Holland Way in Gainesville, roughly 55 miles northeast of Atlanta, for the construction of Limestone Marketplace. Upon completion, the shopping center will comprise 76,764 square feet and feature a 54,964-square-foot Publix anchor store. The property will also include three outparcels ranging in size from one to three acres. Branch will break ground on the development in the spring, with completion scheduled for the second quarter of 2024. A sales price for the land was not disclosed.
Retail
GREENEVILLE, TENN. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a 40,448-square-foot, multi-tenant retail property located in the Eastern Tennessee city of Greeneville. Dominic Sulo and Brett Winger of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a New Jersey-based limited liability company, in the $2.4 million transaction. Sulo and Samuel Malato, also with Marcus & Millichap, secured and represented the buyer, a Tennessee-based limited liability company. Both parties requested anonymity. Jody McKibben assisted in closing the transaction as Marcus & Millichap’s broker of record in Tennessee.
SAN ANTONIO — Austin-based brokerage firm Hunington Properties has arranged the sale of a 12,100-square-foot retail building in San Antonio. The building was constructed in 2021 and was fully leased to Action Behavior Center at the time of sale. Gigi Gomel of Hunington Properties represented the seller, a Houston-based limited liability company, in the transaction. Luis Garza of Transwestern represented the Alaska-based buyer. The sales price was not disclosed, but the deal traded at a cap rate of 5 percent.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — JRW Realty has negotiated the sale of Walnut Creek Plaza in Columbus for an undisclosed price. An 86,608-square-foot Giant Eagle grocery store anchors the 115,777-square-foot shopping center. There are also 13 additional retail and healthcare tenants. Nathan Webb of JRW Realty sourced the buyer, one of JRW’s exclusive institutional buyers. CBRE represented the undisclosed seller.
DETROIT — Colliers has brokered the sale of the historic Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) building in Detroit for an undisclosed price. The 24,000-square-foot property is located at 1942 Grand River Ave. Newgar LLC sold the asset to Joe Barbat of Barbat Holdings. Benji Rosenzweig and Ben Hubert of Colliers represented both parties in the transaction. The building currently houses a restaurant, office and event space. The buyer intends to convert the property into strictly event space with a new steakhouse on the ground floor to replace the old Parks & Rec Diner and Republic Tavern restaurants. The GAR building opened in 1901 as a place for the city’s Civil War veterans to gather. The GAR is a nationwide organization founded in 1866.
IRA Capital Sells 157,322 SF Poinsettia Plaza Shopping Center in Ventura, California for $66M
by Amy Works
VENTURA, CALIF. — IRA Capital has completed the disposition of Poinsettia Plaza, a shopping center located at 4220-4360 E. Main St. and 4687-4731 Telephone Road in Ventura. An undisclosed buyer acquired the property for $66 million. At the time of sale, the 157,322-square-foot Poinsettia Plaza was 96.5 percent occupied. Current tenants include Ross Dress for Less, Office Depot, Petco, FedEx, Lamps Plus and Aldi. Recent renovations at the property include modernizations of existing facades, new landscaping and parking lot upgrades. Pete Bethea, Rob Ippolito and Glenn Rudy of Newmark represented the seller in the deal.
Hanley Investment Group Brokers $21.2M Sale of El Dorado Shopping Center in Long Beach, California
by Amy Works
LONG BEACH, CALIF. — Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors has arranged the sale of El Dorado Shopping Center, a retail property located at 8105-8195 E. Wardlow Road in Long Beach. A partnership managed and represented by Orange-based Milan Capital Management acquired the asset from El Segundo-based DPI Retail for $21.2 million. Grocery Outlet and Dollar Tree anchor the 74,500-square-foot shopping center. Built in 1965 and renovated in 2003, the asset was 93 percent occupied at the time of sale. Kevin Fryman and Ed Hanley of Hanley Investment Group represented the seller in the transaction.
Dunbar Real Estate Holdings Buys 92,640 SF Retail/Industrial Portfolio in Los Angeles County
by Amy Works
GARDENA, CALIF. — El Segundo, Calif.-based Dunbar Real Estate Holdings LLC has acquired two freestanding retail and industrial buildings from T.A. Properties LTD for $22.7 million in an off-market transaction. The buildings are located at 1355-1361 W. 190th St. in Gardena. AutoZone, 3 Day Suit Broker, Off Broadway West and 4 Wheel Parts are tenants at the 92,640-square-foot asset. The property consists of two concrete tilt-up buildings situated on 3.7 acres. The buildings offer 18-foot and 19-foot clear heights, fire sprinklers, dock-high loading doors, private security fenced yards and ample grade-level parking. Chuck Brill of DAUM Commercial represented the buyer, while The Altemus Co. represented the seller in the deal.
ALTOONA, PA. — Commercial finance and advisory firm Axiom Capital Corp. has arranged an $11 million loan for the refinancing of a 222,139-square-foot, single-tenant retail property in Altoona, about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh. Walmart occupies the property, which houses a grocery store, auto care center, pharmacy and a hair salon. The names of the borrower, a private investment group, and direct lender, a bank, were not disclosed.
— Brad Umansky, President, Progressive Real Estate Partners — The retail vacancy rate for the Inland Empire has dipped below 6 percent for the first time since 2008. But there is a dramatic difference between then and now. From 2006 to 2008, there was about 20 million square feet constructed, compared to only 2.8 million square feet from 2020 to 2022. Using Costar’s data, retail rents rose 5.7 percent in the past year, which was just under the 6 percent rent growth in 2021. These are the two highest years of rent growth in the past 15 years. In my opinion, the market has regained equilibrium, which is about where we were at in 2019 before the bottom fell out the following year. The substantial development of the early 2000s required almost a decade to fully absorb. COVID then created 1.5 million square feet of negative absorption in 2020, which has all been fully absorbed, plus another 3.3 million square feet of net absorption in 2021 and 2022. The Inland Empire added more than 74,000 jobs in the past year, and the region’s population continues to grow despite the decline in California’s overall population. People are attracted to the employment opportunities, lower cost of …