SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has opened a 500,000-square-foot expansion of Westfield Valley Fair, the French developer’s $1.1 billion retail destination in San Jose. The retail center is part of a redevelopment project that replaced two 1950s-era shopping centers. The project now encompasses 2.2 million square feet in total, with more restaurant and store openings planned for 2021. A three-level flagship Bloomingdale’s luxury apparel department store anchors the new expansion, alongside other apparel retailers including Anthropologie, Club Monaco, Fabletics, Indochino, Jimmy Choo, John Varvatos, Longchamp, Rodd and Gunn, Urban Outfitters, UNTUCKit and Zadig & Voltaire. “We envisioned Westfield Valley Fair as a place where prestigious luxury brands, digitally native start-up retailers, and best-in-class dining and entertainment all come together to create a true lifestyle destination and the perfect place to shop, dine and play,” says Larry Green, executive vice president of development at URW. The developer recently partnered with the San José Museum of Art to curate and commission artwork for the property, starting with an outdoor sculpture at the new grand entrance on Stevens Creek Boulevard, which will be unveiled this fall. Entertainment offerings include the recently opened ShowPlace ICON Theatre and the soon-to-open PLAYlive Nation social gaming lounge. Future additions to the retail center this year and into …
Retail
MILWAUKEE — Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) has negotiated the $15 million sale of a four-property retail portfolio in metro Milwaukee. The portfolio totals 97,259 square feet. The properties include Harvard Square and Northfield Shopping Center in Brookfield, Lincoln Plaza in West Allis and Mitchell Bank Plaza in New Berlin. Kevin Schnoldt and Brian Vanevenhoven of NKF represented the sellers, which comprised various entities associated with William Reilly and Leon Joseph. Baceline Investments purchased the assets.
George Smith Partners Secures $51.7M Construction Loan, $16.2M Mezzanine Debt for Niumalu Marketplace in Hawaii
by Amy Works
KONA, HAWAII — The Davies Group at Los Angeles-based George Smith Partners has arranged both a $51.7 million senior construction loan and $16.2 million in mezzanine debt for the ground-up development of Niumalu Marketplace, a shopping center in Kona. The borrower is Commercial Real Estate Development Enterprise (CREDE). Safeway will anchor the 204,275-square-foot retail property, which is slated for completion by fourth-quarter 2020. Malcolm Davies, Zachary Streit, Evan Kinne, Alexander Rossinsky, Rachael Lewis, Aiden Moran and Maxwell Shedlosky of George Smith Partners facilitated the transaction. Centennial Bank provided the construction financing portion and Pearlmark Real Estate Partners provided the mezzanine debt.
PENNSYLVANIA — SRS Real Estate Partners has brokered the $36 million sale of a 26-property retail portfolio leased to Dollar General. The properties are located in various suburban areas throughout Pennsylvania. Each freestanding store features approximately 9,000 square feet of retail space, and all leases have between 12 and 13 years remaining. The stores sold for approximately $1.4 million each. Andrew Fallon of SRS represented the seller, Tennessee-based GBT Realty Corp., which developed the properties over the past two years, in the transaction. The buyer was a Virginia-based private investment group that was completing a 1031 exchange.
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Whole Foods Market will open a 42,000-square-foot grocery store in Portsmouth, located approximately 45 miles east of Concord. The store will be the Austin-based grocer’s third in the state and will anchor Durgin Square Shopping Center, a 135,000-square-foot retail property that also houses HomeGoods and T.J. Maxx. The store is slated to open this fall. Scott Black of Dartmouth Co. represented Whole Foods in the lease negotiations. Ben Starr of Atlantic Retail represented the landlord, Black Creek Group.
WARREN, MICH. — AVF Holdings Inc. has unveiled that it will cease operations and begin liquidation sales at all 141 of its company-owned stores in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio. The Warren-based company operates under the brands Art Van Furniture, Art Van PureSleep and Scott Shuptrine Interiors. Levin & Wolf Furniture in Ohio and Pennsylvania will be sold to Robert Levin, pending court approval. Eight Wolf Furniture stores in Maryland and Virginia will also be liquidated. Art Van Elslander opened his first furniture store in metro Detroit in 1959. The liquidation sales will begin Friday, March 6.
FRENCH VALLEY, CALIF. — Southlake, Texas-based United Development Co., in partnership with Pasadena, Calif.-based Halferty Development Co., has started construction of French Valley Marketplace, a shopping center in French Valley, approximately seven miles northeast of Temecula. Situated on 22 acres, French Valley Marketplace will offer 132,500 square feet of leaseable space in 16 buildings, with 44,300 square feet of retail space still available, four drive-thru pads for ground lease or build-to-suit and 5,000 square feet of grocery store and planned pharmacy space. Pre-leased tenants include Grocery Outlet, LA Fitness, McDonald’s, 7-Eleven and AutoZone, all of which are slated to open later this year. Romspen provided the construction financing, which Dallas-based Metropolitan Capital Advisors sourced. Nick Wirick and Miranda Fifield of Lee & Associates are handling leasing for the property.
Faris Lee Arranges $9.2M Sale of Two Freestanding Outparcel Assets in Fontana, California
by Amy Works
FONTANA, CALIF. — Faris Lee Investments has arranged the $9.1 million sale of two freestanding outparcel properties located at 17151-17171 W. Foothill Blvd. in Fontana. Shaun Riley and Nick Miller of Faris Lee represented the undisclosed seller and procured the Los Angeles-based buyer. Totaling 34,377 square feet, the properties are situated within a Walmart-anchored shopping center.
TYNGSBORO, MASS. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $7 million sale of a 12-screen AMC Theater in Tyngsboro, located approximately 35 miles northwest of Boston. Located at 440 Middlesex Road, the 39,474-square-foot theater originally opened in 1991. The building was recently renovated to improve all 12 screening rooms, the roof and the parking lot, and now includes a full bar. Glen Kunofsky, Josh Kanter and Anthony D’Ambrosia of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. Russell Wachtler, also with Marcus & Millichap, represented the buyer, a publicly traded institutional investor based in Florida.
WEST HAVEN, CONN. — Houlihan-Parnes Realtors LLC has brokered the $2.1 million sale of Woodlawn Shopping Center, a 31,150-square-foot retail center in West Haven, a southwestern suburb of New Haven. At the time of sale, space at the shopping center was leased to 10 retail tenants including several restaurants, a bowling alley and a beauty salon. The property also includes a 20,000-square-foot vacant parking lot across the street. Jeremiah Houlihan of Houlihan-Parnes represented the buyer, a family-owned real estate holding and managing company based in Yonkers, New York. The seller was undisclosed.