WILKES-BARRE, PA. — Colliers International has brokered the sale of the Bicentennial Building, a 74,452-square-foot office and retail property in Wilkes-Barre, located near Scranton in the northeastern part of the state. The six-story building was 83 percent occupied at the time of sale. Bicentennial Building Associates sold the asset to a private investment group based in the New York metro area. Jeff Algatt and John Susanin of Colliers brokered the deal.
BOCA RATON, FLA. — ODP Corp. (Nasdaq: ODP), the parent company of Office Depot, has rejected USR Parent Inc.’s off-market transaction offer to acquire the Boca Raton-based retailer. USR, the parent company of office products retailer Staples and affiliate of Sycamore Partners, offered to buy ODP for $40 per share in an all-cash deal that would equate to roughly $2.1 billion. In a letter to Stefan Kaluzny, managing director of Sycamore Partners and a member of the board of directors at USR, ODP’s chairman of the board of directors Joseph Vassalluzzo said the company is not opposed to selling, but “what we do not plan to do, however, is engage in a transaction that, as history has shown, would likely result in a prolonged and expensive regulatory review process with no guarantee of success.” In the letter, Vassalluzzo did not rule out the merger altogether, stating: “In addition, we are open to combining our retail and consumer-facing ecommerce operations with Staples under the right set of circumstances and on mutually acceptable terms.” ODP owns Office Depot, OfficeMax and IT-services business CompuCom. ODP has been in the process of selling CompuCom since November 2020. According to The Wall Street Journal, USR …
ORLANDO, FLA. — JLL has negotiated the $9.1 million sale of Southgate Shopping Center, a 144,052-square-foot retail property in Orlando. Aldi anchors the center, which was 92 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including AutoZone, dd’s Discount’s, Aaron’s and Value Pawn. Additionally, the property can be expanded with the addition of a 6,000-square-foot pad site and drive-thru ATM development opportunity. The asset spans 17 acres and is located at 4649 S. Orange Blossom Trail, four miles south of downtown Orlando. Brad Peterson, Whitaker Leonhardt and Tommy Isola of JLL represented the seller, Marx Realty, in the transaction. An undisclosed Texas-based real estate company purchased the property.
KANSAS CITY, MO. — An affiliate of Rubenstein Real Estate, together with an affiliate of Exact Architects, has acquired a 20,000-square-foot office and retail building located at the corner of Linwood and Main streets in Kansas City. At the time of sale, the building was 25 percent occupied. A new tenant will soon lease a portion of the first floor, leaving 9,418 square feet remaining available for lease. Substantial building and common area renovations are underway. The two-story building features almost 80 parking spaces. Dwight Medbery III of Rubenstein led the buyer investment group. The purchase price and seller were undisclosed.
CALUMET CITY, ILL. — Cannabis Facility Construction has completed the buildout of a recreational and medical dispensary occupied by Mission Dispensaries in Calumet City, about 23 miles south of Chicago. The 3,000-square-foot property is located at 1330 Torrence Ave. across from River Oaks Center. It includes back office space, an oversized vault and an advanced security system. 4Front Ventures Corp. was the developer.
CANTON, MASS. — A subsidiary of Joyal Capital Management (JCM) has sold a portfolio of 14 Dunkin’ stores located throughout the Boston area in a transaction valued at $44 million. The buyer was Northern Management Group, a franchisor of hotel, convenience store and restaurant concepts that operates more than 100 properties in the Northeast. JCM also recently closed on the sale of 61 Dunkin’ stores in Southeast Florida to an undisclosed purchaser.
PLAINFIELD, WESTFIELD AND FISHERS, IND. — Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors has represented a private investor in the acquisition of three retail properties in metro Indianapolis for $10.8 million. Dylan Mallory of Hanley represented the Bloomington, Ind.-based buyer. In Plainfield, Stafford Crossing is a 26,000-square-foot center home to Chicago’s Pizza, Big Red Liquors, Specks Pet Supply, UPS Store and Jack’s Donuts. Built in 2007, it was 91 percent leased at the time of sale. Carey Road Center in Westfield spans 13,043 square feet. It was also built in 2007. Lastly, Windermere Place in Fishers spans 16,800 square feet. Built in 2003, the asset was 93 percent occupied at the time of sale. Stan Johnson Co. represented the seller of Stafford Crossing, SRS National Net Lease Group represented the seller of Carey Road Center and Jackson Investment Group represented the seller of Windemere Place. Seller information was not disclosed.
JOHNSTOWN, COLO. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Johnstown Plaza, a shopping center located at 4914 Thompson Parkway in Johnstown. A private developer sold the asset to an undisclosed buyer for $6.2 million. Built in 2017, the property features 15,140 square feet of retail space. At the time of sale, the center was 100 percent occupied by Bad Daddy’s, Visionworks, Sprint, Berry Blendz, LUX NailBar and Honolulu Poke Bar. Ryan Bowlby and Drew Isaac of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the deal.
When the pandemic took hold and rents of commercial properties began to waver, many experts in the industry expected a flood of distressed properties to hit the market in mid- to late 2020. To date, however, that hasn’t happened to a large extent. Valuation firms assumed they would get busier as properties fell upon hard times. Karl Finkelstein is vice president of Business Development and senior managing director for Valbridge Property Advisors, an independent, commercial valuation and advisory services firm based in Naples, Fla. with 80 offices nationwide. Finkelstein spoke recently to REBusinessOnline and explains that while not many high-profile sales have happened, other factors have kept those in his area of the industry busy in recent times. Finkelstein covers likely outcomes for distressed properties in 2021 and which sectors are performing well. A flight to quality, low rates and a reevaluation of shifting pandemic timelines have meant that the valuation business has its work cut out for it. Asset Type Winners and Losers There isn’t much surprising in the list of property types experiencing difficulties at the moment. Lodging properties (especially those tied to conventions), fly-to resorts, urban retail and standalone restaurants (particularly those without drive-thrus) all experienced a …
PITTSBURGH — CBL Properties, a Tennessee-based retail REIT, has debuted Live! Casino Pittsburgh, a $150 million entertainment destination that operates out of the company’s Westmoreland Mall in metro Pittsburgh. The Cordish Cos. of Baltimore developed the 100,000-square-foot casino and will operate it under its Live! brand, which is known for baseball-themed entertainment destinations in Atlanta, St. Louis and Arlington, Texas. The two-level destination replaces a former Bon-Ton department store and offers an array of entertainment and fresh dining concepts, including American Kitchen + Craft Bar from celebrity chef Guy Fieri. CBL also plans to open a casino at York Galleria in York, Pennsylvania.
