SPRING AND CLUTE, TEXAS — Houston-based investment firm Williamsburg Enterprises has purchased two retail centers totaling 178,977 square feet in metro Houston. The assets include Klein Square, an 80,836-square-foot property located in the northern suburb of Spring, and Plantation Plaza, a 98,141-square-foot property located in Clute, about 55 miles south of Houston. Williamsburg plans to renovate the properties, which were both less than 50 percent occupied at the time of sale, during the first half of 2019. The seller was Brixmor Property Group.
WOODBURY, MINN. — Inland Retail Property Fund LP has purchased the fully leased retail component of the CityPlace mixed-use project in Woodbury, located about 20 miles east of Minneapolis. Whole Foods Market anchors the retail center. Amy Sands, Clinton Mitchell, Daniel Finkle and Jules Sherwood of HFF represented the seller, Elion Partners, which redeveloped the former State Farm regional corporate headquarters into CityPlace. The 184,711-square-foot retail portion of the project was completed in 2016 and 2017. In addition to Whole Foods, tenants include Nordstrom Rack, Sierra Trading Post, La-Z-Boy Furniture, Sur La Table, Verizon Wireless, Cycle Bar and Potbelly Sandwich Works. Timothy Joyce, Elliott Throne and Jason Bond of HFF arranged a 10-year, fixed-rate acquisition loan through Guardian Life Insurance Company of America.
WILMETTE, ILL. — Newport Capital Partners has purchased Edens Plaza in Wilmette for $72 million. Built in 1956 and redeveloped in 1994, the 183,000-square-foot shopping center is located on Lake Avenue. The property is 92 percent leased to tenants such as Fresh Market, Starbucks, Walgreens, Bed Bath & Beyond, The Great Escape and Big Blue Swim School. A pediatric care center, which will be jointly run by NorthShore University HealthSystem and Advocate Health Care, is expected to open this year and backfill 35,000 square feet at the former Carson’s Furniture Gallery space at the property. Ben Greazel and Joel Simmons of Newmark Knight Frank arranged debt financing for the transaction through LoanCore Capital.
LEE’S SUMMIT, MO. — Block & Co. Inc. Realtors has arranged the sale of Valle Vista shopping center in Lee’s Summit for an undisclosed price. The property sits on 5.4 acres on the southwest corner of 291 Highway and Chipman Road. Tenants at the fully occupied property include IHOP, Celsius Tannery, Ted’s Café Escondido, Vintage Stock and Five Guys. David Block and Max DiCarlo of Block represented the buyer, LS Valle Vista 2018 LLC. Block & Co. will handle leasing and property management for the new owner. Block Real Estate Services represented the seller.
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIF. — Brixmor Property Group has completed the sale of San Bernardino Target Center, a shopping center located at 499 W. Orange Show Road in San Bernardino. International Properties Holdings Group acquired the 143,082-square-foot asset for an undisclosed price. A 105,565-square-foot Target and a 37,367-square-foot Big Lots anchor the property, which was fully occupied at the time of sale. Dixie Walker and Charley Simpson of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.
LONE TREE, COLO. — Legend Investment Group, a division of Legend Partners, has arranged the purchase of Bridge Center, a mixed-use retail and office property located at 9233 Park Meadow Drive in Lone Tree. A local real estate investment group acquired the property for $6.1 million, or $215 per square foot. At the time of sale, the 28,325-square-foot property was 98 percent occupied by a variety of tenants, including Panera Bread, Office Evolution and RE/MAX. The property was built in 1999 and renovated in 2003. The name of the seller was not released.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect new developments. HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. — Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLDQ) has reached a temporary deal to avoid liquidation and keep 425 of its stores open, according to media sources. After it was widely speculated that Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert’s $4.4 billion bid to save the company would be rejected, representatives of Sears agreed Tuesday to a revised bid from Lampert’s hedge fund, ESL Investments, that gives the 126-year-old company another small shot at survival. Liquidation remains a possibility for Sears. According to USA Today, ESL Investments has until 4 p.m. Wednesday to come up with a $120 million deposit to keep the deal alive. In addition, the company’s assets will be auctioned off on Monday, Jan. 14. The original bid by Lampert, the man behind the retailer’s merge with Kmart in the 2000s, would have theoretically saved 50,000 of the retail chain’s 68,000 jobs nationwide, per the network. CNBC reported that Hoffman Estates-based Sears considered the bid by Lampert’s hedge fund, ESL Investments, to be insufficient, particularly with regard to covering fees and payments owed to vendors. In October 2018, Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after it failed to …
The Orange County retail real estate market remains resilient despite continued pressure from growing ecommerce sales and a new tranche of retailer bankruptcies. Sears is the latest retailer to file for bankruptcy in the Amazon era. Toys“R”Us, Fallas Paredes and Mattress Firm have all declared bankruptcy, while Lowe’s announced it would close all Orchard Supply Hardware stores. In comparison, ecommerce sales continue to experience double-digit increases year-over-year and analysts are quick to conclude the so-called “retail apocalypse” is imminent. Does this mean it’s time to panic if you are in the retail real estate business? Definitely not, but it does mean the edge belongs to those who are proactive and adaptable in their decision making. We are also seeing many retailers and developers step up their game in the wake of ecommerce popularity. Retailers like Walmart and Ralph’s/Kroger are offering free same-day delivery and, in the case of groceries, food delivery in as little as one hour. Retailers like Best Buy are not only price matching but offering better product education and experience via what the company calls a “stickier” relationship. Developers are getting better at placemaking, the multi-faceted approach to planning, design and management of space, giving people more …
MOUTAIN BROOK AND VESTAVIA HILLS, ALA. — Publix Super Markets will acquire two Western Supermarket locations in Alabama as the grocer expands its Birmingham footprint. The location in Vestavia Hills, about nine miles south of downtown Birmingham, will open as a Publix grocery store. The location in Mountain Brook, four miles south of downtown Birmingham, will open as a GreenWise Market. GreenWise Market is a specialty, natural and organic store featuring a variety of house-prepared meals and grab-and-go items. It is the seventh announced GreenWise Market and is expected to open in third-quarter 2019. The other location will be torn down and rebuilt into a 35,000-square-foot Publix. An opening date has not been announced. The sales prices of the properties were not disclosed.
LAKE CHARLES, LA. — Chase Properties has purchased Prien Lake Shopping Center in Lake Charles. The 135,000-square-foot shopping center is anchored by Marshalls, Ross Dress for Less and Bed Bath & Beyond. The seller and sales price were not disclosed. CBRE brokered the sale.