SPRINGFIELD, ILL. — Cleeman Realty Group has arranged the sale of Kent Plaza in Springfield for an undisclosed price. County Market anchors the 94,260-square-foot retail center, which sits on 9.4 acres. The property was more than 90 percent occupied at the time of sale. Michael Cleeman and Sam Seelenfreund of Cleeman brokered the transaction. A Maryland-based private investment firm purchased the asset from the property’s original owner.
NARANJA, FLA. — TSCG has negotiated the $11.7 million sale of Naranja Lakes Shopping Center, a 90,450-square-foot, grocery-anchored retail property in Naranja. The property was 95 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Winn-Dixie, Family Dollar and La Colonia Medical Center. The asset is situated at the intersection of U.S. Highway 1 and Naranja Lakes Blvd., 29 miles south of downtown Miami. Anthony Blanco of TSCG represented the seller, an affiliate of Asheville, N.C.-based FIRC Group, in the transaction. An affiliate of Boston-based Longpoint Realty Partners acquired the property.
PITTSBURGH — Dick’s Sporting Goods will open three new stores in the Northeast region this month. The Pittsburgh-based retailer will debut two new stores in Massachusetts, a 45,000-square-foot location at Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis and a 48,000-square-foot location at Westgate Mall in the Boston suburb of Brockton. Simon Property Group and New England Development are the respective owners of those malls. A third, 65,000-square-foot store will open at Macerich’s Deptford Mall, located just outside Philadelphia in New Jersey.
KANSAS CITY, KAN. — Block & Co. Inc. Realtors has acquired a former Best Buy store located at 10500 Parallel Parkway in Kansas City. The purchase price was undisclosed. The 46,538-square-foot freestanding building sits on 4.2 acres within the 850,000-square-foot Plaza at the Speedway shopping center. David Block, Alex Block and Max Kosoglad of Block & Co. represented the buying entity. David Hickman of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller. Block & Co. will handle leasing and management of the vacant space, which can be leased to a single tenant or subdivided to allow for multiple tenants.
CHICAGO — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 6,000-square-foot retail building occupied by Chase Bank and European Wax Center in Chicago for $3.7 million. The property is located at 3730 N. Southport Ave. Mitchell Kiven of Marcus & Millichap marketed the building for sale on behalf of the seller, a private investor. Kiven also procured the buyer, a New York-based developer specializing in boutique hotels. The property went under contract at the end of February, but as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened and the tenants closed doors, the buyer became wary of proceeding. Dean Giannakopoulos of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. assisted the parties in restructuring the transaction, which closed in July.
By Alex Patton Retail real estate investors in Boston are cautiously evaluating the risk profiles of tenants even as businesses reopen following temporary closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The emerging consensus is that until a vaccine is developed to safely treat the virus, the safest investments are tied to essential tenants with reliable incomes. That short list includes grocers, drugstores, home improvement businesses and liquor stores. Like the rest of the country, all nonessential retail businesses in Massachusetts were forced to close temporarily in early March, for what was originally expected to be a short period. After several weeks, the commonwealth’s government implemented a phased reopening system that allowed some retail businesses to resume operations. However, after months with significantly reduced income, a number of small retailers are declaring bankruptcy and permanently closing stores to save money. “The underlying question that permeates the retail investment industry, as an investor or a lender, is how much of the income is durable? In other words, which retailers are going to survive?” asks James Koury, senior managing director of investments at the Boston office of Institutional Property Advisors (IPA). “A vaccine would be a game-changer, but we can’t know if it will …
PADUCAH, KY. — Colliers International has negotiated the $4 million sale of a 10,121-square-foot CVS/pharmacy-occupied property in Paducah. The building was originally developed in 1999 and is located at 3001 Lone Oak Road. There are 19 years remaining on CVS’ 20-year lease extension. Jon Busse of Colliers represented the buyer, Emerald Paducah LLC, in the transaction. The new ownership acquired the asset to partially complete a 1031 exchange. Matt Berres of Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) represented the seller, WEC 99J-32 LLC.
WINCHESTER, IND. — Timber Development has acquired a 12,000-square-foot retail property shadow-anchored by Walmart in Winchester, which is located in East Central Indiana. The purchase price and seller were not disclosed. The property was 40 percent leased at the time of sale. Tenants include Kubachi Japanese & Hibachi restaurant, Mimi Nails and Verizon.
WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Health Corp. (NYSE: CVS) reported total revenue of $634 billion in the second quarter, a year-over-year increase of 35.2 percent. The company’s net income also rose by 48 percent to roughly $5 billion during the period, suggesting that revenues are rising while costs are remaining relatively flat. The Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based pharmacy and convenience store chain, which acquired insurance giant AETNA in late 2018, saw its stock price open at $65.53 per share on Wednesday, Aug. 5, giving it a year-to-date increase of nearly 20 percent. CVS announced plans to close 22 underperforming stores during the first quarter, but has kept all its U.S. locations open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as an essential retailer. As of 2019, CVS operated just shy of 10,000 stores across the United States.
NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. — German discount grocer Lidl has opened a 28,000-square-foot store at Brunswick Shopping Center, a 288,000-square-foot retail center located in North-Central New Jersey. Other tenants at the property include LA Fitness, Muscle Maker Grill, GNC, Dollar Tree, Sally Beauty, McDonald’s, Sherwin Williams and Community Dental. New Jersey-based Levin Management Corp. represented the landlord in the lease negotiations. The representative of the tenant was not disclosed. Lidl now operates 10 stores in New Jersey.
