It has been a tremendous year for the Twin Cities of Texarkana, Texas and Texarkana, Ark. with the education sector topping $70 million and a $180 million major medical campus projected to commence in early 2016. Educational Opportunity Texas A&M University-Texarkana has been awarded $35.5 million in state funding for the construction of a new building to house and expand its nursing program, including the expansion of a Master’s Degree program, and to promote student success initiatives. The Texas A&M University system expanded its four year-university program to Texarkana in 2010, with the first freshman class admitted that year including Phase I dorms on the 300-plus acre Bringle Lake Campus. University of Arkansas Community College at Hope (UACCH) expanded a satellite campus on Texarkana’s Arkansas side in 2012, with over $5.4 million going toward the construction of two buildings that service over 300 local students. Working hand in hand with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, UACCH has expanded their four-year university program, and will continue to grow as the new health professions building completes construction. Further education initiatives include a $29.2 million commitment from Texarkana Independent School District for the construction of a new sixth grade center and …
Retail
FESTUS, MO. — Bamboo Equity Partners has acquired a 19,000-square-foot shopping center in Festus, approximately 35 miles south of St. Louis for an undisclosed amount. The retail center, located at 332-356 Festus Drive, is comprised of two buildings that include tenants such as Edward Jones, Vantage Credit Union and Berkshire Hathaway. Intelica CRE brokered the transaction between Bamboo Equity Partners and the undisclosed seller. Intelica will also manage the property.
NEW YORK CITY — Ready Capital Structured Finance has closed a $9.9 million value-add loan on a leasehold interest for a mixed-use retail and office property at 313-315 W. 125th St. and an adjacent undeveloped land parcel located at 316 W. 126th St. in Harlem. Proceeds of the loan will be used for the acquisition, renovation and stabilization of the vacant 27,145-square-foot mixed-use property and the 4,166-square-foot land parcel. The loan features a two-year term with a one-year extension. The property is one block from the Apollo Theater and a variety of retailers, including Old Navy, Banana Republic Factory Store and DSW.
CINNAMINSON, N.J. — HFF has brokered the sale of Riverline Self Storage, a self-storage facility located at 1714 Bannard St. in Cinnaminson, a suburb of Philadelphia. Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-based Prime Group purchased the 381-unit property for $5.4 million. The two-building property totals 63,539 rentable square feet, with the property’s 381 climate-controlled units totaling 36,586 rentable square feet and occupying portions of both two-story buildings. The remaining 26,953 square feet is occupied by a combination of office, retail and warehouse tenants. Richard Schontz and Barbara Guffey of HFF represented the seller, a local private investor, in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Aquazzura, a Florence, Italy-based shoe retailer, has leased 2,221 square feet of retail space at 935 Madison Ave. in Manhattan for its first U.S. location. Situated between 74th and 75th streets, the shoe retailer will occupy 1,144 square feet on the ground floor and 1,077 square feet on the lower level. The retail space features 17 feet of frontage on Madison Avenue, with the building’s original 1876 façade, as well as 18-foot ceilings on the ground floor and 10-foot ceilings on the lower level. Ariel Schuster, Jackie Totolo and Brandon Elias of RKF, along with Joel Isaacs and Joshua Lewin of Isaacs and Company represented the landlord, JZS Madison LLC, in the transaction. Marc Simon, also of Isaacs and Company, represented the tenant.
PHOENIX — Kimco Realty Corp. has acquired Christown Spectrum, an 850,000-square-foot destination power center located in Phoenix, for $115.3 million. The retail center is 94 percent occupied and anchored by Walmart Supercenter, Costco and SuperTarget. Other retailers include Walgreens, Ross Dress for Less, PetSmart, Dollar Tree, Bank of America, Famous Footwear, GNC, Bath & Body Works, Supercuts, Taco Bell, Carl’s Jr. and Wingstop Restaurant.
EULESS, TEXAS — Venture Commercial Real Estate has completed an assemblage of 43 acres of land located at the northeast quadrant of Cheek-Sparger Road and Heritage Avenue west of State Highway 121 in Euless. The buyer, Tonti Properties, is expected to break ground in spring 2016 on Trinity Union, a 457-unit multifamily community. The project has a mixture of product types including a four-story wrap-style building with structured parking and separate townhome-style buildings with direct-access garages and private yards. Trinity Union will feature an urban design, and 19 acres of the site will be devoted to retail use. John Zikos, Ken Reimer, Christopher Gibbons and Cheryl Hill of Venture worked with Tonti to acquire three separate land tracts. In the most complex of the transactions, Venture represented the seller, a family that had owned a 25-acre tract for 54 years, while Wilson Stafford of Edge Realty Capital Markets represented Tonti Properties. In the other transactions, Venture and Edge co-represented Tonti Properties.
MURFREESBORO, TENN. — GBT Realty Corp. plans to develop The Shoppes of Northgate, a $16 million shopping center located along Memorial Boulevard in Murfreesboro. GBT Realty acquired the 13.1-acre site across from the Walmart Supercenter in November for $2.4 million. The new shopping center will feature a 30,000-square-foot Sprouts Farmers Market, as well as a PetSense, Liquor Barn and Newk’s Eatery. The new Sprouts store will be the fourth Sprouts that GBT Realty has developed this year. Construction on The Shoppes of Northgate is expected to begin this month, with store openings set for spring 2016. GBT Realty currently has $161 million of commercial space under development in the Nashville region.
DULUTH, GA. — SRS’ Southeast investment sales team has brokered the $16.4 million sale of Pleasant Hill Square, a 282,137-square-foot regional power center located in Duluth, an Atlanta suburb in Gwinnett County. Located at 2205 Pleasant Hill Road near the Satellite Boulevard intersection, the property is anchored by Toys “R” Us, Jo-Ann and Staples. Wells Fargo NA sold the shopping center to GW Real Estate of Georgia LLC. Kyle Stonis and Pierce Mayson of SRS, along with Tony Bartlett and Chip Sipple of Lincoln Property Co., represented Wells Fargo in the transaction. The buyer was self-represented.
LEXINGTON, KY. — Shake Shack, a popular burger restaurant that began as a hot dog cart in New York City in 2001, plans to open its first Kentucky eatery in Lexington. The restaurant will join the tenant roster of The Summit at Fritz Farm, a mixed-use food hall development that will feature national retailers, chef-driven restaurant concepts, Class A office space, a boutique hotel and upscale apartment residences. The project is set to open in March 2017. The one-level, 3,000-square-foot Shake Shack will anchor The Green, a communal area of the development. Other retailers joining Shake Shack include Whole Foods Market, Kendra Scott, J. McLaughlin, Brooks Brothers, Pottery Barn, J. Alexander’s, Babalu Tacos & Tapas, Steel City Pops and Arhaus.