WHITTIER, CALIF. — Buchanan Mortgage Holdings has provided a $25 million construction loan for the development of Whittier Retail Center, a family-oriented shopping center at the entrance of The Groves residential community in Whittier. The 16-acre retail site will feature a Stater Bros. Markets, In-N-Out Burger, Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Chipotle Mexican Grill, EOS Fitness and a public food market.
CARSON CITY, NEV. — Dickson Commercial Group (DCG) has brokered the purchase of a retail property located at 222 Fairview Drive in Carson City. The property traded hands for $3.2 million. The names of the seller and buyer were not released. Nick Knecht, Joel Fountain, Baker Krukow, Chris Shanks and Matt Dericco of DCG represented the buyer in the transaction. At the time of sale, Cash & Carry, formerly Smart Foodservice, occupied the 16,435-square-foot building.
CARROLLTON, TEXAS — A local, Korean family-based developer has completed K Towne Plaza Shopping Center, a 109,000-square-foot retail property located at 4060 State Highway in the northern Dallas suburb of Carrollton. Korean grocer Galleria Mart anchors the property, which features an additional 65 retail spaces. A grand opening will be held Saturday, Oct. 24 and will include kiosks offering Korean food and wares. Gaines Real Estate Co. manages the property. The developer requested anonymity.
JASPER, TEXAS — Midwest Retail Properties (MRP) has acquired Jasper Plaza, a 13,520-square-foot retail center in Jasper, located north of Beaumont near the Texas-Louisiana border. The property is situated off Highway 190, next to Lowe’s Home Improvement store and directly in front of a Walmart Supercenter. MRP acquired the center as part of a portfolio of two other retail properties in Boaz, Ala., and Jacksonville, Texas. The seller was not disclosed.
LOS ANGELES — Primestor Development, along with Nadel Architecture + Planning as architect, has completed the development of Freedom Plaza, the retail component of the Jordan Downs mixed-use community in Los Angeles’ Watts neighborhood. Located at 9901 S. Alameda St., Freedom Plaza features 114,431 square feet of retail space for stores and restaurants, as well as landscaped promenades and community gathering spaces. Tenants at the plaza include Smart & Final Extra!, Blink Fitness, Nike, Ross Dress for Less, Starbucks Coffee and The Habit. The property also features an architectural fountain designed and constructed by OTL, based on a general concept by landscape architects Fong Hart Schneider-Partners. The water feature incorporates a public art piece titled “Instill,” which is composed of dark gray polished natural basalt columns with hidden lights. The art installation fulfills a 1% for Art Programs ordinance by the City of Los Angeles mandating that 1 percent of the cost of any public works capital-improvement project be set aside for an art component.
SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — Madison Partners has arranged the sale of 1334 Third Street Promenade, a retail and creative office building in Santa Monica. Third Street Limited sold the asset to Vista Investment Group for $18.7 million, or $847 per square foot. At the time of sale, the 22,131-square-foot property was 64 percent occupied. Tenants include Sunglass Hut, SuperDry and Mobile Deluxe. Bob Safai, Matt Case, Brad Schlaak and Randy Starr of Madison Partners represented the seller in the transaction.
SAN FRANCISCO — Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), a longtime apparel tenant in enclosed regional malls nationwide, has announced plans to close 350 stores under its Banana Republic and Gap banners in an effort to transition focus to e-commerce and off-mall retail locations. Store closures are scheduled for completion by fiscal year 2023, which ends Feb. 1, 2024, with 75 percent scheduled to close in 2021. By that time, the company expects 80 percent of its revenue to come from e-commerce and off-mall locations, including street-front retail stores and shops in strip and outlet centers. Gap is the latest mall staple to shutter locations amid struggles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, following Ascena Retail Group — the parent company of Ann Taylor, Justice, Loft, Lane Bryant, Catherines and Lou & Grey — Bed Bath & Beyond, J.C. Penney and GNC. Gap’s comparable sales were up 13 percent at the end of the second quarter, due in large part to an expanded focus on e-commerce and to the success of the company’s activewear brand, Athleta, which saw a 6 percent increase in sales during the quarter. The company also began producing and selling face masks at the start of the pandemic, sales …
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. — Newmark has arranged the sale of a mixed-use building located at 139 S. Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills. Sakioka Farms, which owned the asset for more than 70 years, sold the property to Hakim Family for $36.1 million, or $1,216 per square foot. The three-story building features 29,735 rentable square feet with high-street retail on the ground floor and two levels of office space above. Additionally, the asset features a surface parking area. Kevin Shannon, Rob Hannan, Ken White, Laura Stumm, Michael Moll, Sean Fulp and Jay Luchs of Newmark represented the seller. The buyer, led by Sam Hakim, was self-represented in the deal.
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. — Year-over-year revenue for Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) increased 14.1 percent to $1.6 billion for third-quarter 2020. Digital sales soared 202.5 percent to $776.4 million, accounting for 48.8 percent of sales for the period. The company’s net income was $80.2 million. Despite the sales increase, the net income is a decrease from $98.6 million in third-quarter 2019 as expenses increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to increased revenue, the Newport Beach-based fast-casual chain opened 44 new restaurants and closed three locations during the third quarter, bringing the total restaurant count to 2,710. The company rolled out its “Chipotlane” drive thru at 26 of the 44 new restaurants. The chain also saw its restaurant-level operating margin dip to 19.5 percent, a decrease from 20.8 percent in third-quarter 2019. As of Sept. 30, Chipotle has $1.1 billion in cash, investments and restricted cash, and no debt, along with a $600 million untapped credit facility with which to continue to navigate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
MINNEAPOLIS — Ahead of the holiday shopping season, Minneapolis-based Target Corp. is adding more safety measures for shoppers in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Customers can download the Target app to utilize contactless payment options and employees throughout the store will have handheld checkout devices to make purchases more convenient. Shoppers can even reserve a spot in line by checking on their specific Target store on the website. Target is also doubling the number of curbside pickup parking spaces. Customers can show their barcode through the car window and maintain social distance. Target also announced that it would award more than 350,000 team members another $200 bonus. This includes hourly team members in stores, distribution centers and contact centers. It also includes seasonal hires.
