AUBREY, TEXAS — Weitzman has negotiated the sale of Navo Shopping Center, a 15,282-square-foot retail center in Aubrey, located north of Dallas. The property was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Smoothie King, It’s-A-Burger, Farmers Insurance, Sushibachi, a nail salon and a dental practice. A limited liability company based in the Dallas area sold the asset to a Florida-based limited liability company for an undisclosed price. Kevin Butkus and Derek Schuster of Weitzman brokered the deal. Weitzman also handled leasing at the center, bringing it to full occupancy prior to the sale.
WESTBURY, N.Y. — Austin-based Whole Foods Market will open a 57,000-square-foot grocery store at 867 E. Gate Blvd. in the Long Island city of Westbury on Thursday, Nov. 5. The new store will offer a coffee bar with cold brew and iced tea on tap, as well as juice bar with smoothies, a full-service butcher, in-house bakery, prepared foods section and a selection of more than 350 beers. The store will also offer curbside pickup and two-hour delivery for Amazon Prime members in select cities and towns.
LIHUE, HAWAII — Target has signed a deal to open a storefront at Kukui Grove Center’s Kukui Marketplace in Lihue, located on the island of Kauai. The retailer will occupy a 122,000-square-foot space, which is under renovation, that was formerly occupied by Kmart. JLL represented Kukui Grove Center in the lease negotiation.
RUSTON, LA. — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the $11.7 million sale of Ruston Marketplace, a 94,000-square-foot retail center in Ruston. The property was leased to eight tenants at the time of sale, including Hobby Lobby, T.J. Maxx, Ulta Beauty, Five Below and Rack Room Shoes. The seller, Hutton, delivered the asset in June 2019. The property is located at 1208 Woodward Ave., two miles north of downtown Ruston and adjacent to Interstate 20. Zach Taylor of Marcus & Millichap’s Taylor McMinn Retail Group represented the seller in the transaction. Brian Munn of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer, George Snelling. “We sourced a private 1031 exchange buyer who was trading out of self-storage,” says Taylor about Snelling. “We have seen a notable trend of multifamily, industrial and self-storage sellers trading into retail to achieve a higher return.”
DETROIT — Meijer, the City of Detroit and RDG Rivertown Market LLC have unveiled plans for a new ground-up grocery development located at 1475 E. Jefferson Ave. within the city’s East Jefferson Corridor. Meijer will operate the 42,000-square-foot store, dubbed Rivertown Market. The project marks the fourth small-format store for Meijer. Other locations are in Grand Rapids, Royal Oak and Lansing. Rivertown Market will offer fresh food and artisan groceries as well as Meijer- and national-branded products. The Detroit location will create approximately 60 jobs. Rockford Construction is the general contractor. Gun Lake Investments and Mercantile Bank are financing the project, which is expected to take 14 months to build.
CANTON, MASS. — Shares of Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (NASDAQ: DNKN) rose by more than 15 percent yesterday as the Massachusetts-based coffee and breakfast chain moved forward with talks to be acquired by Atlanta-based Inspire Brands, the parent company of chains like Arby’s and Jimmy John’s. The New York Post reports that the deal, which would take Dunkin’ private is valued at $8.8 billion. Dunkin’s stock price closed at $89.80 per share on Friday, October 23 and peaked at $104.87 per share in yesterday’s trading before closing just below that mark. Dunkin’ opened at $101.69 per share today, up nearly 30 percent from a year ago. The New York Times reports that Inspire Brands has offered to purchase Dunkin’, which will release its latest earnings report on Thursday, at $106.50 per share.
HOUSTON — Vari, a Dallas-based provider of innovative office furniture like sit-stand desks, has opened a sales office and product showroom in Houston’s Memorial City District. Locally based developer Radom Capital LLC has also hired Vari to outfit 18,000 square feet of workspace in a historic 1930s landmark, the Star Engraving Building, located near River Oaks. Vari has also opened showrooms in Austin, Baltimore, Denver, Phoenix and Washington D.C., in the past year.
MESQUITE, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Belt Line Crossing, a 13,290-square-foot shopping center located in the eastern Dallas suburb of Mesquite. Philip Levy of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer, both of which were private investors that requested anonymity, in the transaction. The property was 84 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Subway and metroPCS.
CASTLE ROCK, COLO. — NavPoint Real Estate Group has brokered the purchase of retail property located at 4400 Barranca Lane in Castle Rock. Printers Parkway Partners LLC acquired the asset from an undisclosed seller for $1.8 million. Pep Boys, an automotive aftermarket retail and service chain, occupies the 4,020-square-foot building. Brent Ham of NavPoint Real Estate Group represented the buyer in the transaction.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. — Apex Entertainment will open an 84,000-square-foot location at the former site of a Dick’s Sporting Goods within Town Center of Virginia Beach. The asset will be situated at 4631 Columbus St., equidistant between downtown Norfolk and Virginia Beach. The property will feature a variety of activities including indoor go karting, bowling, laser tag, escape rooms, ropes courses, arcade, sports simulators, ax throwing, mini golf, bumper cars, virtual reality and event meeting space. The location will also offer a full-service kitchen. Marlborough, Mass.-based Apex expects to open the location by the end of the year.