GURNEE, ILL. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $10.8 million sale of a 15,577-square-foot retail center in Gurnee. Located at 6440 Grand Ave., about 40 miles north of downtown Chicago, the center was fully leased at the time of sale. Tenants include Panera Bread, Mission BBQ and Comcast. The property serves as an out parcel to Gurnee Mills Mall. Austin Weisenbeck and Sean Sharko Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Robert Bhat of Marcus & Millichap arranged $6.9 million in acquisition financing for the undisclosed buyer. The nonrecourse loan offers a 65 percent loan-to-value ratio with a fixed rate of 4.64 percent and 10 years of interest-only payments.
HOUSTON — Commercial investment firm MLB Capital Partners has broken ground on its Houston Farmers Market redevelopment project. MLB Capital will upgrade the 77-year-old market to include modern infrastructure, climate-controlled spaces, shaded areas, restrooms, common seating areas, organized parking and traffic circulation, defined sidewalks, site landscaping and dedicated green spaces. Additionally, James Beard Award-winning chef and project consultant Chris Shepherd plans to develop a concept unique to the Houston Farmers Market. The market will maintain business operation throughout the redevelopment process. Clark Condon Associates, Studio RED Architects, Gunda Corp. and Arch-Con Construction have been named to the design and construction team. Project completion is slated for late 2020.
NEW YORK CITY — Helmsley Spear LLC has negotiated a 4,100-square-foot retail lease in the Financial District of Manhattan. The 20-year lease includes the ground floor of 83 Maiden Lane and a portion of the basement, which will be converted into a restaurant and brewery called MezCali. Kent Swig, Andrew Simon and Brett Zelner of Helmsley Spear represented the landlord, AHRC NYC, in the lease negotiations. Manu Wendum and Lee Block of Winnick Realty Group represented the tenant.
LOS ANGELES — San Jose, Calif.-based DJM and Hong Kong- and Los Angeles-based Gaw Capital USA have purchased Hollywood & Highland, a shopping destination located in Los Angeles, for an undisclosed amount. Jerry Tang and Greg Murphy of Natixis secured a financing package, which included an acquisition loan along with a future funding component. Over the next 24 to 30 months, the buyers plans to reimagine the 463,000-square-foot retail development, which is situated on 7.6 acres. Built in 2001, the property is located at the crossroads of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue, adjacent to the acclaimed TCL Chinese Theater. The buyers plan to upgrade the retail hub through rebranding, upgrading common areas for enhanced gathering and programming spaces, increasing entertainment events, optimizing the merchandise mix and incorporating new concepts and uses. Renovations are slated to begin in 2020, with completion expected in 2021. Eastdil Secured advised the transaction, which is the largest single-asset retail transaction to take place outside of Manhattan in nearly three years.
DENVER — Gart Properties, a Denver-based privately held real estate company, has purchased Orchard Plaza, a retail and service center located at the northwest corner of East Orchard Road and South Yosemite Street in the heart of the Denver Tech Center. Terms of the transaction were not released. Primrose School, Starbucks Coffee, Federal Express and Specialty Appliance are tenants at the 155,000-square-foot property. Additionally, Spice Trade Brewery & Restaurant recently joined the tenant roster and will open before year-end.
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CALIF. — Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. has secured a $12.7 million bridge loan for the acquisition of Sunrize Center, a shopping center in Rancho Cucamonga. Located at 8639 Baseline Road, the property features 100,224 square feet of retail space. Rick Judge and Preston Davey of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. arranged the financing for the undisclosed borrower. The debt placement is a floating-rate program starting at 6 percent with a five-year term and 12 months of interest-only payments and a loan-to-value ratio of 71 percent.
LOS ANGELES — San Francisco-based Carmel Partners has executed a lease with Whole Foods Market for an approximately 50,000-square-foot flagship grocery store at Cumulus District, an urban, mixed-use development located at 3321 La Cienega Blvd. in Los Angeles’ Westside neighborhood. Located at the corner of Jefferson and La Cienega boulevards, the transit-oriented development is slated to open in late 2020. When completed, Cumulus will feature 1,210 apartments, a one-acre public park and plaza and 100,000 square feet of grocery-anchored retail and restaurant space. Timothy Bower and Zachary Card of CBRE are handling the leasing efforts for Cumulus. Terms of the Whole Foods Market lease were not released.
MISSOURI AND IOWA — Disney Investment Group (DIG) has brokered the sales of five retail centers in Missouri and Iowa. Sales prices were not disclosed. The properties total 438,861 square feet and are 91 percent occupied on average. Major tenants include Aldi, Gerbes, County Market, Orscheln, Fresenius Medical, Dollar Tree and Dollar General. David Disney and Adam Crockett of DIG brokered the sales on behalf of the seller, a private investment partnership. The team also procured the buyers for each property.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Pizza Hut will close as many as 500 dine-in stores over the next 24 months as part of a broader strategy to bolster its delivery and carryout services, company executives said during the second-quarter earnings call. Food Business News first reported the announcement. Pizza Hut, which is owned by Louisville, Ky.-based YUM! Brands (NYSE: YUM), operates about 7,500 locations across the United States and 18,000 worldwide. In the United States, roughly 6,100 of the company’s locations are dine-in restaurants. The remaining locations are express units, which feature limited menus and minimal to no in-store seating to prioritize delivery and takeout services. All shuttered stores will be dine-in locations. “We plan to accelerate the transition of our Pizza Hut assets to a more modern delivery carryout and delivery asset base,” YUM! Brands CEO Greg Creed said on the call. “We are excited about collaborating with franchisees who have a growth mindset to accelerate the closure of underperforming dining stores and replacement with new delivery or fast-casual delivery assets.” YUM! Brands owns Pizza Hut and several other restaurant chains, including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell and Wingstreet. Pizza Hut express units sometimes share building space with these concepts. All …
While there are mass retail closings around the country, in Miami, there is typically someone waiting on space to become available. Think about it: In Miami, there is actually a shortage of retail space. Uber luxury markets in Miami are performing extremely well with Bal Harbour Shops (owned by Whitman Family Development) being one of the top retail complexes in the country, followed closely by Dadeland Mall and Aventura Mall. These malls are continuously reinvented and expanded, adding various entertainment and diverse dining options to their multi-level retail outlets. The Dolphin Mall, a 1.4 million-square-foot mixed-used complex owned by Taubman Cos., continues to be its No. 1 performing mall in the country, with over 240 retail shops, dining and entertainment venues to choose from including Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, Cobb Dolphin 19 Cinema, The Cheesecake Factory, Dave and Buster’s, Texas de Brazil, Bloomingdales The Outlet Store, Neiman Marcus Last Call and Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5th. Miami is cruising There are several factors driving this phenomenon. First, Miami International Airport traffic is setting month-over-month and year-over-year records, according to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. Traffic in February 2019 was 5.7 percent higher compared to February 2018. Cruise …