NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield, has negotiated a 5,500-square-foot retail lease for French beauty product chain Sephora in downtown Brooklyn. The retail space is located within the Atlantic Terminal Mall, across from the Barclays Center. The new store is scheduled to open in October. Brandon Singer, Ian Lerner, Alan Schmerzler and Diana Boutross of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, New York-based Madison International, in the lease negotiations. Virginia Pittarelli of Crown Retail Services represented Sephora.
DENVER — Cushman & Wakefield has facilitated the sale of 1925 Blake Street, a 129-year-old mixed-use building in Denver’s Lower Downtown neighborhood. The property traded for $6.4 million, or $418 per square foot. The names of the seller and buyer were not released. Jon Hendrickson and Aaron Johnson of Cushman & Wakefield’s Denver Capital Markets group handled the transaction. Originally constructed in 1890 as a warehouse, the three-level building was converted into an office building in 1934. At the time of sale, the 15,375-square-foot building was fully leased to four tenants.
LOS ANGELES — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a retail and creative office building located at 6721 Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles’ Melrose district. A limited liability company sold the property to another limited liability company for $3.2 million, or $1,067 per square foot. Situated on 7,091 square feet of land, the 3,046-square-foot building was delivered vacant. The property offers the redevelopment potential and utilize the current C4 zoning. The asset features 14 parking spaces. Brandon Michaels of Marcus & Millichap’s Encino, Calif., office represented the seller and the buyer in the deal.
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Academy Bank, a full-service community bank and wholly owned subsidiary of Dickinson Financial Corp., has opened its new flagship retail banking center and home office in the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City. The 4,214-square-foot branch is located at 1881 Main St. It occupies the first floor of the standalone building adjacent to Corrigan Station. The bank shares an outdoor courtyard space with neighboring businesses, including The Roasterie and WeWork. In addition to ATM and mobile services, Academy Bank in the Crossroads features walk-up video banking, enabling customers to speak with a video banker during extended hours. Academy Bank plans to open two more Kansas City-area locations this year. In August, it opened an Overland Park branch.
EAST TROY, WIS. — Consolidated Tomoka Land Co. has purchased the Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy for $7.5 million. The amphitheater can accommodate up to 37,000 people and includes a 7,500-seat pavilion and extensive green space. Live Nation Entertainment Inc. occupies the property on a net-lease basis. There are approximately 11 years remaining on the lease. Zilber Property Group sold the venue, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.
WEST ALLIS, WIS. — Mid-America Real Estate Corp. has brokered the sale of West Allis Center in Wisconsin for $18.1 million. The 259,962-square-foot shopping center, built in 1964, is located along the 108th Street retail corridor, four miles southwest of downtown Milwaukee. Tenants include Pick ‘n Save, Kohl’s, Marshalls, HomeGoods, BMO Harris Bank and Walgreens. Ben Wineman and Dan Rosenfeld of Mid-America represented the seller, Ohio-based Retail Value Inc. Tennessee-based GBT Realty Corp. purchased the asset.
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILL. — Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a fast-casual concept known for its smoothies and tropical food, is opening its 800th location. The restaurant, located at 115 W. Rand Road in Arlington Heights, is set to open this Friday, Sept. 6. Tropical Smoothie Cafe has grown at a rapid pace this year, opening its 750th location in May. Existing franchisee Hani Halloun, along with first-time franchisees Edward Joubran and Martin Khoshaba, will own and operate the new Arlington Heights location. There are currently seven Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations in the Chicago market, with 18 more in the pipeline.
SACHSE, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Brookview Center, an 8,723-square-foot retail strip property located in Sachse, a northeastern suburb of Dallas. Philip Levy and Connor Zmolik of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a private investor, in the transaction. The property was built in 1985 and was fully occupied at the time of sale. All tenants are signed to triple-net leases.
STAFFORD, VA. — Barnett Properties has broken ground on Embrey Mill Town Center, a Publix-anchored shopping center in Stafford. The property will also feature 26,500 square feet of small shop space. Carter Bank provided construction financing. Freeman Morgan Architects designed the shopping center, and VHB is the engineer. Steve Sartorio of Barnett Properties will handle leasing efforts. Barnett Properties expects to open Embrey Mill Town Center in early 2021. This Publix will join locations in Williamsburg and Fredericksburg as the only Publix stores in Virginia outside of the Richmond metro area.
With all the changes occurring in retail over the past decade, the industry, as a whole, is being transformed before our eyes. These shifts have impacted how new retail development is taking place throughout the Phoenix area. It is also driving a significant change to how retail developers will operate over the next decade. The operational changes are dramatically affecting the prototypes of retailers. These changes are making it necessary for some retailers to relocate from an inline space at the back of a center to an outparcel with street-front visibility. It becomes even more complicated as more and more tenants are demanding a drive-thru. Panera Bread, Chipotle and Starbucks are just a few examples of retailers that have revised their real estate requirements to accommodate a drive-thru. Many retailers are also consolidating their total number of stores or downsizing their traditional physical footprint, which is also impacting centers. Some chains have even waved the white flag and closed their business altogether. These changes are driving the design of new retail projects throughout Phoenix. While the traditional configurations of regional malls, power centers and neighborhood shopping centers will always be a staple, the retailer’s shift to be up front and …