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.
PARAMUS, N.J. — Deka Immobilien GmBH has acquired Paramus Junction, a fully leased, grocery-anchored shopping center in Paramus. The sales price was not disclosed. Located at 60 N. Route 17, the 75,000-square-foot property is occupied by a tenant roster that includes Asian grocer H Mart, DSW, PetSmart and BJ’s Wholesale Club. Deka Immobilien was represented by Madison Marquette in the transaction. The seller, a joint venture between Invesco Real Estate and Advance Realty was represented by Cushman & Wakefield’s New Jersey capital markets team.
SEATTLE — Urban Visions has received permit approval from the City of Seattle for S, an office and retail campus project located on a seven-acre land parcel adjoining Seattle’s Pioneer Square and Chinatown districts. Designed by NBBJ, S will feature five buildings offering large, flexible office floorplates, rooftop decks on each building and outdoor terrace spaces on every floor, as well as ground-floor retail space. The development is located directly east of CenturyLink Field and at the hub of the region’s Link light rail transportation network. Jesse Ottele, Cavan O’Keefe, Daniel Seger and David Marks of Newmark Knight Frank are representing the developer. With permit approval, Urban Visions is able to commence construction as early as the first quarter of 2020.
PHOENIX — Orion Investment Real Estate has negotiated the sale of Bell Canyon Plaza, a multi-tenant retail center located at the corner of 24th and Roosevelt streets in Phoenix. Ramsey Real Estate Group acquired the property from Ten Fourteen 24th Associates for $3.5 million, or $194 per square foot. Family Dollar anchors Bell Canyon Plaza on a newly extended lease. Additional tenants include Taco Bell and MetroPCS. Ari Spiro, Derek Buescher and Jared Williams of Orion represented the buyer and seller in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the $7 million sale of an 8,730-square-foot retail building in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens. Located at 84-02 Roosevelt Ave., the property is situated in an R6/C1-3 zoning district, which allows for a maximum mixed-use development potential of 35,000 square feet. Stephen Preuss of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, LDG Associates LLC, in the transaction. The buyer was Malachite Services LLC.
MARIETTA, GA. — Edens, a retail REIT based in Columbia, S.C., has sold Sandy Plains Centre, a 124,546-square-foot shopping center in Marietta, to Chicago-based InvenTrust Properties Corp. for $44.2 million. The Kroger-anchored shopping center is situated about 25 miles north of downtown Atlanta. The shopping center underwent a $2.3 million renovation in 2015. Chris Decoufle and Kevin Hurley of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — New Market Properties LLC, a subsidiary of Preferred Apartment Communities (PAC), has acquired Hollymead Town Center, a Target-anchored shopping center in Charlottesville. In addition to the 142,000-square-foot Target, the center is also anchored by a 60,607-square-foot Harris Teeter grocery store. The seller and sales price were undisclosed, but the property was formerly listed on Regency Centers’ website. Aegon provided a non-recourse acquisition loan to PAC totaling approximately $27.3 million.
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — Sprouts Farmers Market, a specialty grocer based in Phoenix, plans to open a new store in Sugar Land on Wednesday, Jan. 16. The 30,000-square-foot store will be located at 13550 University Blvd. and will staff roughly 140 employees. According to the Houston Chronicle, the grocery store will anchor Phase II of University Commons, a shopping center owned by Houston-based Vista Properties. Other tenants coming to the 109,000-square-foot second phase include Ulta Beauty, Luna Grill, U’Maki and Tropical Smoothie. Phase I of University Commons spans 150,000 square feet and is leased to tenants including Burlington, Michaels, CVS/pharmacy and The Tile Shop. University Commons’ design team includes O’Brien Architects and Arch-Con Construction. The new Sugar Land store will donate unsold and edible groceries to Houston Food Bank through the grocer’s Food Rescue program. Sprouts employs more than 28,000 team members and operates more than 300 stores in 19 states.