DALLAS — Industry professionals believe the commercial real estate values for industrial, office and suburban multifamily properties across the United States are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels or remain stable, hinting at a potential full recovery for the rest of 2021, according to a CBRE Group Inc. survey released on Aug. 31. CBRE’s survey looked at capitalization rates for stabilized assets and investment sentiment on market conditions. Capitalization rates measure a property’s value by dividing its net operating income by its sale price and a lower cap rate generally shows a higher value. In the survey, investors predicted cap rate movement will vary across different property types for the second half of 2021. For example, cap rates for industrial and multifamily properties are expected to compress in most markets, while the cap rates for office, retail and hotel properties are expected to stay steady. The survey also found that investors were willing to purchase industrial and multifamily properties at a premium or higher price than other property types. Additionally, investors looked mainly for small to moderate pricing discounts for office properties, and moderate to large discounts for retail properties and hotels. More than 75 percent of real estate investors …
Retail
BENTONVILLE, ARK. — Walmart Inc. plans to hire 20,000 more supply chain employees in order to keep up with the retailer’s recent growth. Walmart released a statement a few weeks ago saying that the company saw an increase in revenue by 2.4 percent year-over-year in its fiscal second quarter of 2021, which ended on July 31. The new employees will be hired across more than 250 Walmart and Sam’s Club distribution centers, fulfillment centers and transportation offices. The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer will offer job roles including order fillers, freight handlers, lift drivers, technicians and management positions. The roles will be on a permanent basis and the new employees will be hired for both full-time and part-time positions. The average wage for the supply chain positions is $20.37 per hour. For new employees, Walmart has opened six new Walmart Academies, which have been established to train associates with both classroom and floor training in specialized supply chain skills, as well as soft skills such as leadership and communications. During the company’s fiscal year in 2021, 5,900 employees were trained via the Walmart U.S. Supply Chain Academy. In July 2021, the national discount retailer also announced that it will invest about $1 …
MONTGOMERY, ALA. — SRS Real Estate Partners’ National Net Lease Group has arranged the $4.7 million sale of a 43,441-square-foot, single-tenant retail property occupied by Conn’s HomePlus in Montgomery. Conn’s Inc., a Texas-based furniture, mattress, electronics and appliance retailer, has eight years left on its lease at the Montgomery location. Located at 2424 Eastern Blvd., the store was built in 1997 and renovated in 2019. The property is situated on 5.3 acres within the Promenade Montgomery and Promenade Montgomery North community centers, which feature more than 270,000 square feet of retail space. Retailers at these centers include The Home Depot, Harbor Freight Tools, Winn-Dixie and Dollar Tree. Matthew Mousavi, Patrick Luther, Kyle Stonis and Pierce Mayson of SRS represented the seller, a Southeast-based shopping center owner and operator, as well as the buyer, a California-based private investor.
FISHERS, IND. — Ziff Real Estate Partners has purchased Fishers Crossing in the Indianapolis suburb of Fishers for an undisclosed price. The 29,569-square-foot retail center was fully occupied at the time of sale. Tenants include Pet Supplies Plus, Great Clips and Papa John’s. A recently renovated Kroger store shadow-anchors the property. This is the second retail center that Ziff has acquired in the Indianapolis area.
SOUTHFIELD, MICH. — Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. has arranged the sale of a single-tenant retail building occupied by OptimEyes in Southfield for an undisclosed price. The property is located at 29350 Southfield Road. Daniel Waszak of Quantum represented the seller, an Illinois-based investor. Jason Caplan of Quantum represented the buyer, a New Jersey-based investment fund.
By Catherine Lueckel and Allison Giomuso, Matthews Real Estate Investment Services In nearly every major metro in the Midwest, the most active retailers expanding, leasing or developing involve grocers, discounters and drive-thru tenants. Most of the activity in the Midwest is reflective of the broader trend in shifting consumer demands, away from wants and more toward needs and services. Discount retailers It’s no surprise that discount retailers rose in popularity among shoppers during economic uncertainty, as they offer products for a fraction of the price. This trend is very apparent in the Midwest, with consumers focusing on value through the wake of the economic recovery. While discount retailers offer the best value in their products, they equally search for the best value in their real estate. Their expansion goals align closely with their financial goals; therefore, they target the Midwest, where deals are not overvalued and produce a higher rate of return. The Midwest boasts cheaper real estate compared with other regions, and more robust growth due to the affordable cost of living and lower costs of doing business. Discount-oriented retailers dominated Ohio’s leasing activity, specifically in Cleveland, where they accounted for the most move-ins and top leases in 2020. …
Axiom Capital Arranges $11M CMBS Loan for Redevelopment of Retail Property in Fairfield, Connecticut
FAIRFIELD, CONN. — Axiom Capital Corp. has arranged an $11 million CMBS loan for the redevelopment of a retail property in Fairfield, located in the southern coastal part of the state. Kohl’s formerly occupied the asset, which is being converted into a multi-tenant property that will house stores of German discount grocer Aldi and Atlanta-based home improvement retailer Floor & Décor. The nonrecourse, fixed-rate loan was structured with a 10-year term and 10 years of interest-only payments. The borrower was an undisclosed private developer.
FAIRFAX, VA. — Finmarc Management Inc. has sold a 76,000-square-foot, Giant Food-leased retail building in Fairfax. Signet Springfield, a limited liability corporation based in California, bought the property for $39.8 million. Located at 6364 Springfield Plaza in Fairfax County, the property is situated within Springfield Plaza, a shopping center with retail tenants such as AT&T, Chipotle Mexican Grill, David’s Bridal, CVS/pharmacy and Little Caesars Pizza. Situated along Commerce Street at the intersection of Old Keene Mill Road and Amherst Avenue, Springfield Plaza is located adjacent to Interstates 95 and 395. Last year, Giant Food relocated from Springfield Plaza to the current building under a long-term lease, replacing the Kmart who was the building’s former anchor. The Maryland-based grocer, Giant Food, had anchored Springfield Plaza since 1960 prior to the move. The new store features a full-service Starbucks Coffee shop with seating, as well as a PNC Bank branch. Ryan Sciullo, Chris Bosworth and Bill Kent of CBRE represented Finmarc Management, a Bethesda, Md.-based commercial real estate management and investment firm, in the transaction. David Chasin of Pegasus Investments represented the buyer.
DEERFIELD, ILL. — Walgreens plans to increase the starting hourly wage for employees to $15 per hour. The wage increase will take effect in phases beginning in October of this year and is expected to be fully implemented by November 2022. The Deerfield-based company operates roughly 9,000 locations. The current starting wage at Walgreens is $10 per hour, but about half of its 190,000 hourly workers already earn at least $15 per hour, according to CNBC. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Walgreens has made additional investments in support of its employees such as bonus payments and a significant hiring initiative, through which the company added 25,000 full-time and part-time pharmacy team members. Walgreens has also accelerated implementation of remote and digitalized pharmacy resources. Total investment to support the starting wage increase is anticipated to be roughly $450 million over the next three years, with one-third of the amount invested in fiscal-year 2022. The company anticipates that it will partially absorb the investment through the normal course of business. The stock price for Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ: WBA) closed at $50.74 per share on Tuesday, Aug. 31, up from $36.76 per share one year ago.
MENASHA, WIS. — Matthews Real Estate Investment Services has brokered the $5.1 million sale of a two-tenant retail property in Menasha, just south of Appleton. Located at 1151 E. Midway Road, the property is home to Piggly Wiggly and Dollar Tree. Edward DeSimone, Josh Bishop and Maxx Bauman of Matthews brokered the 1031 tax-deferred exchange transaction. The undisclosed buyer exchanged out of a four-property Dollar General portfolio.