Retail

HOUSTON — Although vacancy ticked up slightly and asking rents fell marginally relative to the fourth quarter of 2019, Houston’s retail market emerged from the first quarter of 2020 with a high occupancy rate (94.6 percent), positive net absorption (400,000 square feet) and positive year-over-year rent growth (6.5 percent triple-net), according to a new report from Colliers International. The market also had 1.7 million square feet of new retail space under construction at the end of the first quarter, which the report cites as one of the lower quarterly figures for this cycle. However, negative impacts due to the COVID-19 outbreak will inevitably hit the market during the second and third quarters, the report projected. The Colliers research team found that Houston restaurants that have traditionally favored dine-in service have reported revenue declines as high as 90 percent in some cases. With many retailers not expected to reopen after the pandemic subsides, the report found that Houston’s vacancy rate could spike to 12 or higher by year’s end, putting downward pressure on rents.

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PHOENIX — Sprouts Farmers Market has expanded its grocery pickup and delivery platform to 30 of its store in Texas as the Phoenix-based grocer faces heightened demand amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Customers may choose between same-day pickup and ordering several days in advance. Sprouts has partnered with Instacart to roll out its delivery service and plans to have it available at its 340 nationwide stores by early May. Sprouts currently operates about 45 stores in Texas, with two more slated to open in the coming months in Houston and Tyler.

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macy's

NEW YORK CITY — Macy’s Inc. plans to reopen 68 of its approximately 775 stores Monday, after state and federal mandates forced the retailer to temporarily close its stores during the COVID-19 outbreak. The New York City-based retailer plans to open an additional 50 stores on May 11. The department store chain closed all of its stores and furloughed most of its storefront workforce on March 17. The closures also included the company’s subsidiary chains, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury, but all three chains have maintained their online services. The newly opened Macy’s stores will offer touch-free consultations and demonstrations of beauty products and will only offer a few fitting rooms at a time, which will be frequently sanitized.

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NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $10.4 million sale of a 5,029-square-foot office and retail asset in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. Located at 52 Greene St., the property features a ground-level retail space and two office units. Matt Fotis and Colton Traynham of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a local private owner. The duo also procured the buyer, an international investor.

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PLAINFIELD, N.J. — Family Dollar has expanded its retail lease to 10,000 square feet in Plainfield, a southwestern suburb of New York City. The retailer previously leased 6,000 square feet in a building located at 227 E. Front St. and will expand by an additional 4,000 square feet into the adjacent former furniture store. Family Dollar also plans to remodel its original space. Danielle Brunelli and Pete Nicholson of R.J. Brunelli & Co. represented Family Dollar in the lease negotiations. The landlord was undisclosed.

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LOS ANGELES — CIM Group has agreed to purchase Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza, an 869,000-square-foot mall in the Crenshaw/Baldwin Hills submarket of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times reports the sales price at over $100 million. The seller is Chicago-based Capri Urban Investors, which took control of the property in 2019 from Capri Capital Advisors, the Times also reports. The mall is situated on 40 acres at 3650 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., eight miles west of downtown Los Angeles. The Walmart and Sears stores shuttered prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, leaving over one-third of the property vacant. Cinemark Theater is also a tenant. The Macy’s and IHOP locations at the mall were not part of the sale. A timeline for the sale closing was not disclosed. The asset is adjacent to the Crenshaw-LAX metro light-rail station, an eight-mile line that will connect the neighborhood to Los Angeles International Airport. The station is slated to open by the end of the year. CIM Group reportedly plans to add office space to the property, closing the door on rumors that residential units might go up at the mall. “We have the opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to the future of …

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ALPHARETTA, GA. — Neal Freeman will begin construction in May on Fairway Social, a golf and entertainment concept in Alpharetta. The 11,000-square-foot entertainment destination, Fairway Social, will be located in The Maxwell, a joint development between Mayfair Street Partners, LLC and The Providence Group of Georgia LLC. The Maxwell will include 44,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and office space, as well as 138 residential units. Seven sports simulators will offer virtual golfing on more than 80 notable courses, as well as provide simulated games for baseball, football, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, cricket and zombie dodgeball. The venue will also feature a section called Back Nine, which will have nine customizable holes on synthetic turf with synthetic sand traps, bridges and putting challenges. The indoor and outdoor bar area, named Par Bar, will be adjacent to seating for more than 80 diners in an area to be known as The Tee Room. There will also be an indoor-outdoor patio bar on the rooftop called Eagles Nest. The Maxwell is situated 25 miles north of downtown Atlanta.

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ATLANTA — Harold Schumacher, founder of The Schumacher Group in Atlanta, died Saturday at the age of 72. Schumacher attended Michigan State University and moved to Atlanta as a public school teacher in the 1970s. He worked part-time as a restaurant critic for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Schumacher worked at The Shopping Center Group, now known as TSCG, as a broker for four years before founding The Schumacher Group in 1991. Some of Schumacher’s major clients include Verizon Wireless, Bruster’s, Metrotainment Cafes (Hudson Grill and Garrison’s), Varasano’s Pizza and Golden Corral. The firm also is part of the Retail Brokers Network, a national consortium of independent retail and restaurant pros.

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jersey-strong-nj

YARDVILLE, N.J. — R.J. Brunelli & Co. has negotiated a 25,067-square-foot retail lease for fitness chain Jersey Strong in Yardville, a southeastern suburb of Trenton. The fitness center will be located within Dover Park Plaza, a 56,000-square-foot retail center at 1-23 Sunnybrae Blvd. Other tenants include a CVS pharmacy and several restaurants. Robert Kwiatkowski of R.J. Brunelli represented Jersey Strong in the lease negotiations. Danielle Brunelli and Peter Miller, also with R.J. Brunelli, represented the landlord.

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WILKES-BARRE, PA. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $3.7 million sale of a 5,967-square-foot retail asset in Wilkes-Barre, approximately 65 miles north of Allentown. Located at 989 Schechter Drive, the freestanding property is net-leased to Chick-Fil-A. Derrick Dougherty and Mark Krantz of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company, in the transaction. The buyer was undisclosed.

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