NORTH WALES, PA. — CBRE has brokered sale of The Shoppes at English Village, a 103,325-square-foot retail center in North Wales, about 25 miles north of Philadelphia. Trader Joe’s anchors the property, which was 95 percent leased at the time of sale. Other tenants include LensCrafters, Athleta, CycleBar, Hallmark, Chopt and Talbots. Chris Munley, Colin Behr, Ryan Sciullo, Casey Benson Smith, R.J. Mirabile and Michael Pascavis of CBRE represented the seller, MetLife Investment Management, in the transaction. Adam Spengler and Tom Traynor, also with CBRE, arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer, Nuveen Real Estate.
NEW YORK CITY — Fitness operator HAPIK has signed a lease to open a 15,000-square-foot indoor climbing gym in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn. The gym will be located within Building 6 at the 35-acre Industry City mixed-use development and will feature 50 climbing walls, two rope courses and private event spaces. Chase Welles of TSCG represented the landlord, a partnership between Belvedere Capital, Jamestown and Angelo Gordon & Co., in the lease negotiations. The tenant representative was not disclosed.
By Hayden Spiess Though uncertainty — economic, political and otherwise — has been a theme of 2024, retail real estate markets throughout the Northeast have proven itself reliably strong. Even certain headwinds like high construction costs and minimal quality space to accommodate growth have ultimately helped fuel robust fundamentals throughout the region. Now, brokers, investors and developers in those markets are looking ahead with optimism and faith in persisting tailwinds. Quality Space Shortage Vacant retail space in Northeast markets has been hard to come by this year, and professionals in the region aren’t expecting that to change anytime soon. The equation, they say, is simple. While retailers’ appetite for expansion has remained healthy, new construction and deliveries have been very limited. “Almost nothing has been built in the past 10 years,” says Dan Zelson, principal with Charter Realty. “There’s really just very little new product.” Steve Gillman, partner at The Shopping Center Group (TSCG), notes that while some smaller, single-tenant buildings may still be coming on line, “nobody is building a big strip center with 100,000 square feet.” “There’s that imbalance of supply and demand: demand by the retailer and lack of supply of space,” adds Daniel Taub, senior …
GOODLETTSVILLE, TENN. — Dollar General plans to open approximately 575 new stores in the United States in its fiscal year 2025, which ends Jan. 30, 2026. The Goodlettsville-based discount retailer will also debut 15 new stores in Mexico in that time frame. The new store count is in addition to Dollar General’s expected 730 new store openings in fiscal 2024, which will end on Jan. 31, 2025. Overall, the company expects to execute nearly 5,000 real estate projects in fiscal year 2025, including 4,250 store remodels and relocating 45 stores.
LITTLE ELM, TEXAS — Locally based developer Weber & Co. will build a 225,000-square-foot shopping center in Little Elm, located on the northern outskirts of Dallas. Target will anchor the center, which will be known as Bates Town Crossing in honor of the family that originally owned the site. Davidson Bogel Real Estate brokered the sale of the land on behalf of the Bates family and has been retained as the center’s leasing agent. A construction timeline was not announced, but Target plans to open by summer 2026.
DENVER — Malman Commercial Real Estate has arranged the sale of 1135 E. Evans Ave. and 2085 S. Downing St. in Denver. Mazon Evans LLC acquired the assets from Downing & Evans LLP for $1 million. The asset offers 6,700 square feet of retail space. Jake Malman of Malman Commercial represented the buyer, while Mark Pyms of Panorama Commercial Brokerage represented the seller in the deal.
DEKALB, ILL. — Quantum Real Estate Advisors Inc. has brokered the sale of a 57,832-square-foot retail center in DeKalb for an undisclosed price. The center was 63 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants such as Ollie’s, GNC and Little Caesars. Dan Waszak, Zack Hilgendorf and Nick Hilgendorf of Quantum represented the seller, GW Properties. The buyer was a private group based out of Miami.
WATCHUNG AND MIDDLESEX, N.J. — Planet Fitness will open two new gyms totaling 37,350 square feet in Central New Jersey. The New Hampshire-based chain has committed to a 21,850-square-foot space at the 420,000-square-foot Blue Star Shopping Center in Watchung and a 15,500-square-foot space formerly occupied by ACME Supermarket at Middlesex Corner. E.J. Moawad of Levin Management Corp. represented the landlord in the Watchung deal, and Jack Chera of RIPCO Real Estate represented the tenant. Levin’s Ed Vasconcellos III acted as the landlord representative in the Middlesex deal, with Raymond Villafana of Franchise Realty representing Planet Fitness.
LAKELAND, FLA. — Marcus & Millichap has negotiated the $15.5 million sale of Northtowne Square, a 96,009-square-foot shopping center located in Lakeland. Built in 1988, the property was fully leased at the time of sale to tenants including Harbor Freight Tools, Fancy Fruit & Produce and Brewlands Bar & Billiards. Tarek Chbeir of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the transaction, and Garrett Fierstein of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. (MMCC) arranged $6.5 million in acquisition financing on behalf of the buyer.
RUSSELLVILLE, ALA. — Anchor Investments LLC has signed Workout Anytime to a retail lease at Franklin Center, a grocery-anchored shopping center in Russellville. The new 24/7 fitness concept will open in March next to the grocery anchor, Price Less Foods. There are multiple remaining availabilities remaining at Franklin Center, according to Anchor Investments, a Nashville-based real estate investment firm.