MILLVILLE, N.J. — New York-based investment and management firm Irgang Group has acquired Union Lake Crossing, a 393,000-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center in Millville, located in the southern part of the state. Built on 43.3 acres in 2006, the property houses tenants such as Shoprite, Kohl’s, Ross Dress for Less, Staples and PetSmart. Restaurant users include Buffalo Wild Wings, Moe’s Southwest Grill and Sonic. Ben Bruner of Bruner Group represented Irgang Group in the transaction. Chris Munley, James Galbally and Colin Behr of JLL represented the seller, Goodman Properties.
Mall and shopping center owners nationwide are faced with the vacancy of major big box anchors that have closed their doors due to the continued uptick in online retail and changing shopping habits and desires of today’s consumers. Often massive, these two-story, or even three-story spaces seem impossible to fill with the decline of most brick and mortar retail stores. Developers are being challenged to think outside the [big] box to find new tenants and creative uses for the space. Malls were originally thought of as community centers for neighborhoods during the mall boom. That attitude fell by the wayside as malls removed their socially engaging aspects and lost their sense of place — instead of being a place for the community to gather, the mall became simply a place to shop. Now, largely expedited by the pandemic, there have been seismic shifts in retail and shopper habits/what the consumer wants out of their shopping experience. The key word here is experience. Malls have had to readapt to fill in vacant spaces from large department stores that consumers no longer favor. This has opened up a lot of atypical uses, from distribution centers to residential to entertainment components to medical facilities. …
DOUGLASVILLE, GA. — A joint venture between Connolly and Coro Realty has sold Arbor Square, a 127,195-square-foot shopping center in Douglasville. ALTO Real Estate Funds, which has offices in Dallas and Denver, purchased the property for approximately $18.4 million. Mark Joines and Drew Fleming of Newmark arranged the sale. Developed by Connolly in 1977, Arbor Square was fully renovated in 2018 and was 97 percent occupied at the time of sale to tenants such as Burlington, HomeGoods, Skechers, Starbucks, Five Guys and Del Taco. The center is situated just off Interstate 20 at the intersection of Georgia State Route 5 and Douglas Boulevard. The property is within a half-mile from Arbor Place Mall, a shopping mall with tenants such as Hot Topic, Ulta Beauty, H&M and Verizon Wireless, as well as a food court and a movie theater. Additionally, Arbor Square is located 23.9 miles from downtown Atlanta and 28.1 miles from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Connolly is an Atlanta-based real estate developer and investor. The firm has completed more than 40 retail, office and mixed-use projects in the Southeast with a value of nearly $500 million. Coro Realty, an Atlanta-based real estate development and investment firm, oversees approximately 50 …
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — Phillips Edison & Co. has purchased Town & Country Village, a dual grocery-anchored community shopping center in Sacramento, from Donahue Schriber for an undisclosed price. Trader Joe’s and Sprouts Farmers Market co-anchor the 216,320-square-foot shopping center. At the time of sale, the property was 91 percent leased to a variety of tenants, including Bed Bath & Beyond, Ross Dress for Less, T.J. Maxx and Five Below. Town & Country Village is situated on 19 acres at 2601-2651 and 2717-2805 Marconi Ave. Originally constructed in 1950, the asset was most recently renovated between 2013 and 2014. Eric Kathrein, Geoff Tranchina, Bryan Ley and Gleb Lvovich of JLL represented the buyer in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Ghost kitchen operator Kitchen United has opened a 6,400-square-foot space at 307 W. 38th St. in Midtown Manhattan where it will offer takeout and delivery of brands such as Wingstop, Jersey Mike’s Subs and Chili’s, among others. The location is the third in New York City for Kitchen United, which also recently software and ghost kitchen developer, Zuul. The acquisition saw Zuul’s existing locations in the Soho and Hudson Yards neighborhoods rebranded as a Kitchen United MIX centers last month.
GROVE CITY, OHIO — JLL Capital Markets has brokered the $17.7 million sale of Derby Square in Grove City, a southern suburb of Columbus. Giant Eagle anchors the 125,250-square-foot shopping center, which is 99 percent leased. Additional tenants include Once Upon a Child, Plato’s Closet, Novacare Rehabilitation, Salon Lofts, City Barbeque, Batteries + Bulbs, H&R Block and Allstate Insurance. Derby Square is situated on 12 acres along Stringtown Road. Amy Sands, Clinton Mitchell, Michael Nieder and Bill Poffenberger of JLL represented the seller, a joint venture between Madison International Realty and SITE Centers Corp. A Midwest-based private buyer acquired the asset.
By Jeff Tinsley, senior advisor, SVN | J. Beard Real Estate – Greater Houston As we reach the end of the calendar year, it’s become clear that 2021 has been a year of transition. Many new trends are emerging from the pandemic year of 2020 with regard to retail real estate. COVID-19-induced trends within shopping, dining and entertainment have given rise to a new generation of retailers to the Houston market. Many quick-service restaurants (QSRs) are looking to reduce store sizes for future locations and focus on streamlining their drive-thru, call in and pick-up order service. Some restaurant concepts are instilling the use of “ghost kitchens” and are aggressively looking to lease second-generation spaces in order to take advantage of the growing takeout and delivery demands. During the pandemic, one of the hardest-hit sectors was in the restaurant industry. Following months of minimized interaction between customers and proprietors due to dining room closures, we are now seeing a greater increase in pick-up and delivery requirements. Many restaurants are now using new technology and methods in terms of how service is offered, how food is prepared and how kitchen and service areas are designed. Furthermore, many food and …
ATLANTA — Several new retailers have joined Ponce City Market, the mixed-use redevelopment of the former Sears Roebuck & Co. building in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward. Situated along the Atlanta BeltLine’s Eastside Trail, Ponce City Market comprises 259 residential flats, 643,000 square feet of Class A office space and 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurants. The new retailers include Nani’s Piri Piri Chicken, JJ’s Flower Shop, VIỆTVANA, Spicewalla Storefront and Umbrella Bar. Nani’s Piri Piri Chicken and JJ’s Flower Shop opened on Nov. 29, VIỆTVANA will open next month and Spicewalla Storefront and Umbrella Bar will open early next year. Nani’s Piri Piri Chicken is a restaurant that serves American-based cuisine and all-natural rotisserie chickens. In November 2020, the restaurant opened its first location in downtown Asheville at The Grove Arcade, a shopping center with dining and retail options. The Ponce City Market location will be its second location. JJ’s Flower Shop is a boutique flower shop owned by founder and florist Sarah Donjuan. The flower shop first opened at Ponce City Market in 2019, but in a smaller space at the Central Food Hall. The newer location will offer a larger space for the retailer. VIỆTVANA, a Vietnamese …
BOLINGBROOK, ILL. — DD’s Discounts, owned by Ross Stores Inc., has signed a lease to open and operate an 18,000-square-foot store at Market Square Shopping Center in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook. Other tenants at the property, located near I-55, include Walmart, Dollar Tree, Wintrust Bank and T-Mobile. Michael Horne of Newcastle Properties represented ownership on an internal basis. Andy Bulson of Mid-America Real Estate represented the tenant. Newcastle owns and operates 82 properties in 23 states.
FLANDERS, N.J. — Rita’s Ice, a Pennsylvania-based concept that specializes in custard and Italian ice, has signed a 1,973-square-foot retail lease at ITC Crossing South Shopping Center in Flanders, about 50 miles west of New York City. The tenant will backfill a space previously occupied by Amy Murphy Salon, which is relocating to a 5,000-square-foot space within the 514,903-square-foot center. The opening is scheduled for the first quarter of 2022. Danielle Brunelli of R.J. Brunelli & Co. represented the landlord in the lease negotiations.