RIVERDALE AND MANASQUAN, N.J. — R.J. Brunelli & Co. LLC has negotiated two retail leases for Dollar Tree in New Jersey. In the first deal, the discount retailer leased 9,200 square feet at Riverdale Crossing, a Walmart-anchored power center in Morris County. Dollar Tree will backfill a space formerly occupied by Pier 1 Imports. In the second transaction, Dollar Tree committed to a 9,460-square-foot endcap space at The Orchards at Wall, a 22,504-square-foot center in Manasquan that was also formerly occupied by Pier 1. Both stores are slated to open in the second quarter. Danielle Brunelli and Pete Nicholson of R.J. Brunelli represented Dollar Tree in both sets of lease negotiations. Ryan Starkman of Pierson Real Estate represented the landlord in the Riverdale Crossing deal.
CHAPIN, S.C. — Aztec Group Inc., a real estate investment and merchant banking firm, has secured $10.8 million in debt and equity for the acquisition of Chapin Crossing, a 72,714-square-foot, Publix-anchored shopping center in Chapin. Jason Shapiro, Sean Harrington and Joel Zusman of Aztec Group secured a 60 percent loan to cost, non-recourse loan, as well as joint venture equity. Located at 1235 Chapin Road, Chapin Crossing was built in 2017 and is situated at the southwest corner of Chapin Road and Lexington Avenue on 13.6 acres. The property includes a 45,600-square-foot Publix, 13,950 square feet of in-line retail space and a 13,164-square-foot multi-tenant outparcel. The shopping center’s tenants include Anytime Fitness, Marco’s Pizza, Bank of America, Palm Beach Tan, Pacific Dental, Jersey Mike’s, Verizon Wireless and Palmetto Health. Aztec Group arranged the financing on behalf of the buyer, a partnership led by affiliates of Miami-based CF Properties Corp. A Missouri-based life insurance company provided the 10-year loan, which features a fixed interest rate under 3 percent.
PETOSKEY, MICH. — Big Lots has signed a 31,896-square-foot lease at Petoskey Town Center near North Central Michigan College. U.S. Properties eeewGroup (USPG) owns the 174,870-square-foot shopping center. Big Lots will occupy a former Kmart location, filling over 37 percent of the building. Petoskey Town Center is home to Hobby Lobby, AAA, Grondin’s Hair Center and Petoskey Sewing Center. The town of Petoskey is situated about 65 miles northeast of Traverse City. Ohio-based USPG owns approximately 4 million square feet and redevelops shopping centers in 10 states across the Midwest and Southeast.
By Shawn Ackerman, president of Houston retail, Henry S. Miller Brokerage COVID-19 is on everyone’s mind. From landlords to tenants, all are desperately trying to predict the future, because the past has destroyed many businesses. Retailers such as Luby’s, Chuck E. Cheese, Lane Bryant, 24 Hour Fitness, Gold’s Gym, Pier 1 Imports and Tuesday Morning all filed bankruptcy in 2020. Not only did numerous tenants file for bankruptcy, but many more are also barely holding on. What does the future hold for Houstonians? Only time will tell. Until the market stabilizes, we will continue to compare notes with others in the retail sector on how best to navigate. Of course, market uncertainty is not only a retail issue. The unemployment rate, while down considerably from the double-digit numbers seen at the onset of the pandemic, remains a cause for concern. Laid-off workers don’t have the disposable income they may have had while employed. Many people have thus curbed their shopping habits. Until the job market gains traction, retailers will have to be patient to see the long-term effects of this roller coaster ride. Mall Struggles Continue Heaviest hit in the retail section have been malls. With anchors like J.C. Penney, …
CARLSBAD, CALIF. AND DALLAS — Carlsbad, Calif.-based equipment and apparel manufacturer Callaway Golf Co. (NYSE: ELY) has completed its merger with Topgolf Entertainment Group. The deal was originally announced in October 2020. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Callaway issued approximately 90 million shares of its common stock to the shareholders of Topgolf, excluding Callaway, which previously held approximately 14 percent of Topgolf’s outstanding shares. Callaway shareholders now own approximately 51.3 percent of the outstanding shares of the newly combined entity, and former Topgolf shareholders (excluding Callaway) own approximately 48.7 percent. Both firms have strong real estate ties to Texas. Topgolf Is based in Dallas and operates approximately 15 percent of its 80 venues across the country in Texas markets. Callaway has been a longstanding industrial user at AllianceTexas in Fort Worth, recently expanding its total footprint at the Hillwood-owned development to roughly 784,000 square feet. “Callaway and Topgolf are just better together,” said Chip Brewer, president and CEO of Callaway. “Callaway’s leadership in the global golf equipment market and geographic diversity, combined with Topgolf’s revolutionary technology platform and access to golfers of all abilities, will allow both companies to accelerate growth and create competitive advantages.”
HAWAII — A subsidiary of Realty Income Corp. has acquired a 21-property gas station/convenience store portfolio located throughout Hawaii. Par Pacific Holdings sold the portfolio in a fee-simple sale-leaseback transaction for $109.4 million. The portfolio includes 12 properties in O’ahu, two facilities in Kauai, four properties in Maui and three properties on the island of Hawaii. The transaction also included a new master lease agreement to lease back the sites on a triple-net basis. D. Andrew Ragsdale, Ken Hedrick, Jerry Hopkins, Kristian Neilson and John Curtis of Newmark’s Net Lease Capital Market, in cooperation with Jackson Nakasone of NAI CBI Hawaii, represented the seller in the transaction.
PORTERVILLE, CALIF. — SRS Real Estate Partners has arranged the sale of a freestanding, single-tenant retail building located at 421 Vandalia Ave. in Porterville. A Southern California-based owner and developer sold the asset to a California-based investor in a 1031 exchange for $2.9 million, or $960 per square foot. Built in 2008, the 2,992-square-foot property was originally an El Pollo Loco restaurant until it was renovated in 2020 for Starbucks Coffee, which occupies the property under a 10-year, triple-net lease. The building also features a drive-thru lane. Matthew Mousavi and Patrick Luther of SRS National Net Lease Group represented the seller, while Bryan Cifranic of Commercial Retail Associates represented the buyer in transaction.
SAN GABRIEL, CALIF. — NAI Capital Commercial has arranged the sale of a three-building retail asset located at 259-267 S. San Gabriel Blvd. and 715 E. Broadway in San Gabriel. San Gabriel Sash & Door Inc. sold the asset for $2.9 million, or $255 per square foot, to an undisclosed buyer. Totaling 11,712 square feet, the asset comprises three buildings on three separate parcels with frontage along both S. San Gabriel Boulevard and East Broadway, plus a parking lot. The property was partially leased at the time of sale. The seller plans to lease back 2,156 square feet of the property, while the new owner will occupy the vacant unit. Marie Taylor of NAI Capital Commercial’s Investment Services Group handled the transaction.
BRENHAM, TEXAS — Houston-based development and leasing firm Baker Katz has broken ground on Brenham Crossing, a 163,518-square-foot retail project in Brenham, located about 75 miles northwest of Houston. Baker Katz is developing the property, which spans 50 acres at the intersection of U.S. Highway 290 and Chappell Hill Road, in partnership with the City of Brenham. Retailers including Hobby Lobby, Marshalls, Five Below, PetSmart and Burkes Outlet have already signed leases at the center, which is scheduled to open in 2022.
PITTSBURGH — Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) reported 19.3 percent growth in same-store sales for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on Jan. 30, 2021, as well as a record-setting 9.3 percent sales growth for the full year 2020. In addition to posting healthy sales within its brick-and-mortar stores as customers sought home workout equipment in lieu of visiting gyms amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pittsburgh-based retailer also reported year-over-year growth of 100 percent across its online sales platform. E-commerce sales increased by 57 percent alone in the fourth quarter, though this figure represents a decline from the 95 percent growth in e-commerce sales that Dick’s Sporting Goods posted in its fiscal third quarter. The company recorded quarterly net sales of approximately $3.1 billion, nearly a 20 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2019. Dick’s Sporting Goods also opened a number of new stores in 2020 in markets such as Houston, San Antonio, Atlanta, Cape Cod and metro Boston and now operates about 730 stores throughout the country. The company’s stock price opened at $72 per share on Thursday, March 11, up from $30.56 per share a year ago. “We’ve never had a year quite like 2020,” said Ed …