COSTA MESA, CALIF. — Space Investment Partners has completed an $11 million renovation of The Ranch at Newport Bay, a 60,000-square-foot, grocer-anchored mixed-use retail property in Costa Mesa. The asset is located at 2651-2675 Irvine Ave. With the addition of Verde, a restaurant and bar concept, The Ranch is fully occupied. Verde, which opened in November, occupies two spaces in the neighborhood center encompassing 5,000 square feet. Created by Koire Rogers and Anthony Laborin, Verde features a highly developed beverage program in its lower-level Verde Bar and ingredient-driven seasonal California cuisine in its upper level restaurant. Additional tenants include Nike Training Studio (4,100 square feet), XPT Studio (900 square feet), Del Mar Wellness (1,350 square feet), Coffee Dose (1,300 square feet) and Tiny Tooth Pediatric Dentistry (2,091 square feet). Irvine Ranch Market, as the anchor tenant, occupies 17,500 square feet at the center.
Restaurant
CTO Announces New Retail Openings, Leases at Collection at Forsyth in Cumming, Georgia
by John Nelson
CUMMING, GA. — CTO Realty Growth Inc. has announced a round of new retail openings and leases at The Collection at Forsyth, an open-air mixed-use development in Cumming, an Atlanta suburb in Forsyth County. Sephora and Kilwins opened new locations at The Collection in November, and boutique Pilates fitness concept Bodyrok and pickleball concept The Picklr have recently signed leases to join the tenant roster. Sherri Wilson of JLL handles the retail leasing at The Collection on behalf of CTO. Additionally, True Rest Float Spa and Bahama Buck’s are set to open in the coming weeks, joining existing tenants including J. Crew Factory, Mellow Mushroom, Hopdoddy Burger Bar, Pandora, Parsons Gifts, Le Macaron, Master Jewelers, Woof Gang Bakery, The Good Feet Store, Spavia and F45 Training. JLL launched repositioning and leasing efforts at The Collection in January 2023.
HOUSTON — Rice Real Estate Co., the property investment arm of Rice University, has welcomed three new tenants to Rice Village, a 300,000-square-foot shopping, dining and entertainment destination located southwest of downtown Houston. The new tenants are New Orleans-based eyewear brand KREWE (941 square feet), boys’ boutique apparel retailer ParkerJoe (1,975 square feet) and Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (1,603 square feet). KREWE will open in early December, and ParkerJoe and Jeni’s will open in early 2025.
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia-based Comcast Spectacor, in partnership with Cordish Cos., a Baltimore-based developer specializing in sports-anchored entertainment districts, has provided updates on the redevelopment of the Xfinity Live! sports complex in South Philadelphia. New developments include the transformation of the Live! plaza into a central two-story building featuring a rooftop oasis known as AVA Rooftop Bar; the expansion of the PBR Cowboy Bar via an outdoor backyard area with a stage and new bar offerings; and a new and improved turf area that will provide flexible space for various activities and community activations. Construction is expected to be fully complete by early 2026, and the facility will remain open while work is ongoing.
BUCKEYE, ARIZ. — Vestar has broken ground on Verrado Marketplace, a retail destination at the northeast corner of Interstate 10 and Verrado Way in Buckeye. The 500,000-square-foot development is situated at the entrance to DMB Associates’ 8,800-acre Verrado master-planned community. The $275 million project is projected to generate more than $50 million in total tax revenue for the City of Buckeye and contribute an estimated $1.8 billion in economic output over the next 10 years. Upon completion, Verrado Marketplace will have more than 50 retailers and restaurants, including Target, Harkins Theater’s Backlot concept, Safeway, Ross Dress for Less, Marshalls and HomeGoods. Additional pre-signed tenants include ULTA Beauty, Famous Footwear, Buckle, Salt Tacos + Tequila, Bath & Body Works, Shake Shack, Handel’s Ice Cream, Nekter Juice, See’s Candies, Thai Chili, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Tropical Smoothie, Hawaiian Bros., European Wax Center, Zara Nails, Pacific Dental, America’s Best Contacts & Glasses and Mountain America Credit Union. The new tenants are slated to start opening in spring 2026. Verrado Marketplace will also feature a splash pad, live performance stage and video screen and a half-acre central lawn surrounded by restaurants and outdoor fireplace, as well as a Sip & Stroll experience, where guests over 21 …
Emergent Properties, RNGD Break Ground on $50M Adaptive Reuse Project in Downtown Huntsville
by John Nelson
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Emergent Properties and RNGD have broken ground on The Lewter District, a $50 million adaptive reuse project in downtown Huntsville. Situated on 1.5 acres, the mixed-use development is a conversion and restoration of the historic Lewter Hardware Co. store that closed in 2022 after nearly a century of operation. Phase I of the development will feature 14 luxury residences along Washington Street called Lewter District Townhomes. Sanders Pace Architecture designed the residential community, which is expected to be completed by late 2025. Phase II comprises a renovation of the original hardware store building. The restored building will house farm-to-table restaurant Brick & Tin on the ground level and outdoor patio spaces as well as offices for RNGD on the second floor. Phase III calls for a ground-up, five-story office building. National law firm Maybard Nexsen has committed to occupying the top two floors of the office building, which will also feature ground-level retail space. EskewDumezRipple is the architect for the second and third phases of The Lewter District. Phases I and II are underway and Phase III is slated to break ground before the end of the year.
Marcus & Millichap Brokers Sale of New Restaurant in Boiling Springs, South Carolina Leased to Whataburger
by John Nelson
BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. — Marcus & Millichap’s Taylor McMinn Retail Group has brokered the sale of a new restaurant in Boiling Springs, a city about eight miles northwest of Spartanburg, S.C. Texas-based burger chain Whatburger occupies the restaurant on a 15-year, corporate-guaranteed ground lease with planned rental increases and extension options for the tenant. Built on 1.5 acres earlier this year, the 3,318-square-foot restaurant serves as an outparcel to a Target-anchored shopping center. Don McMinn of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a developer based in Tennessee, in the sale. The buyer was an all-cash exchange investor. “This is our second Whataburger closing this month, and we are closing another one in Atlanta in December,” says McMinn. “Whataburgers continues to garner strong demand and attractive pricing from investors and are one of the more desirable QSR options in the market today.”
MANASQUAN, N.J. — Private equity funds managed by Blackstone have agreed to acquire a majority ownership position in Jersey Mike’s Subs. The deal would value the Manasquan-based sandwich restaurant chain at around $8 billion, including debt, according to The Wall Street Journal. Jersey Mike’s founder and CEO Peter Cancro will maintain a significant equity stake and continue to lead the business. Blackstone says the partnership is intended to help Jersey Mike’s accelerate its expansion across and beyond the U.S. market, as well as its continued investment in technology and digital transformation. New York City-based Blackstone has a long history of investing in and propelling the growth of franchisors, including its previous acquisitions of Hilton Hotels and SERVPRO. The firm has recently invested in Tropical Smoothie Café and 7 Brew Coffee. The first Jersey Mike’s shop was founded as Mike’s Subs in Point Pleasant, N.J., in 1956. Cancro began working at the store when he was 14 years old, and later acquired the location in 1975 at the age of 17. He began franchising units in 1987. Today, Jersey Mike’s is a national franchisor with more than 3,000 locations nationwide open and in development. The transaction is expected to be completed …
By Brian G. Cafferty, partner at GoldMark Partners LLP A popular restaurant can be a significant draw to a shopping center. However, according to a study published by Ohio State University, approximately 60 percent of restaurants fail in their first year, and 80 percent fail before the end of their fifth year. These statistics underscore the importance of landlords being protected in the likely event of a restaurant tenant’s failure. A well-crafted restaurant lease should address the following key items to minimize a landlord’s liability: Secure More Than Just Rent To protect the landlord’s investment and minimize potential losses, the landlord should secure a security deposit of at least two months rent. Additionally, the tenant should grant the landlord a security interest in all of the tenant’s accounts receivables, equipment (including machinery, furniture and trade fixtures) and inventory under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). Keeping the Kitchen (and Lease) Running Clean The lease should require the tenant to contract with a third party for essential maintenance tasks, including grease removal, pest control and regular vent and hood cleaning. The frequency of the hood cleaning will depend on the type of restaurant, but quarterly cleaning is a good rule of …
As someone who has closely observed retail trends in the Southeastern United States for decades, I’ve witnessed the inevitable ebb and flow of the industry. From periods of rapid expansion to challenging market corrections, and of course, global pandemics that disrupted every sector of real estate, it often feels as though I’ve ‘seen it all.’ Once again, I find myself watching the market adjust, particularly among big-box retailers, in high-growth areas like Raleigh. This ongoing shift signals both challenges and opportunities, reminding me of the resilience and adaptability required to thrive in this dynamic environment. When news broke in September that Big Lots Inc. had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and that it would be closing more than 300 stores across the country, it wasn’t all that shocking, given the sheer number of Big Lots that one comes across just driving across their own towns. The Big Lots announcement follows similar moves by companies such as rue21, Express, The Body Shop, 99 Cents Only Stores, LL Flooring, Conn’s, and Red Lobster. Retailers like Rite Aid and Bed Bath & Beyond, which filed for bankruptcy last year, have closed hundreds of stores, causing vacancies in the retail real estate market. …