PORTLAND, MAINE — Cardente Real Estate has arranged the sale of a restaurant property located at 476 Stevens Ave. in Portland. Rock Properties sold the property to 476 Stevens Ave LLC for $1.1 million. Siano’s Pizzeria formerly occupied the 4,091-square-foot restaurant building. Cheri Bonawitz of Cardente Real Estate represented the seller, while Mike Anderson of Malone Commercial Brokers represented the buyer in the deal.
LOS ANGELES — Centre Partners, a leading middle market private equity firm with offices in Los Angeles and New York, has sold its portfolio company Captain D’s. The buyer and price were not disclosed. Captain D’s is a seafood-themed operator in the quick-service restaurant (QSR) sector. The Captain D’s system consists of 530 restaurants, including 227 franchised and 303 company-owned locations in 21 U.S. states, with established strongholds in the Southeast and Midwest. Founded in 1986, Centre Partners has invested over $2 billion of equity capital in more than 75 transactions since its inception.
HOUSTON — Signorelli Co., the developer of the 240-acre Valley Ranch Town Center (VRTC) mixed-use development in northeast Houston, will welcome nine new restaurants to its tenant roster by summer 2018. Breakfast and lunch eatery The Toasted Yolk Café and frozen yogurt franchise Menchies are both scheduled to open in the spring of 2018, along with a third location at VRTC for Italian restaurant Pizza Cucinova. Japanese restaurant Airi Poke and Ramen is slated to open next summer. Other dining options opening soon include Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen, Buffalo Wild Wings, RC’s NYC Pizza & Pasta, Shogun Japanese Grill & Sushi Bar and Schlotzky’s.
Take a look at the current retail landscape, not only in New Orleans, but far beyond the Big Easy, and you will find this sector has changed drastically over the past decade. Some argue retail is dead, while others cling to the notion that every market goes through cycles, and this has been going on long before the dawn of any Tricentennial festivities. Somewhere between these two extremes is the confluence of trends, data, outliers, gossip and pontificating cries, that when carefully dissected, should provide the necessary context to obtain an understanding of the current retail market in New Orleans, as well as the opportunities that exist in the future. Make no mistake, retail in New Orleans is changing, but the restaurant sector is a bedrock, creating fresh concepts, diversifying the city’s food offering and strengthening the overall retail market. It’s futile to deny the impact technology has had on the overall retail market, and New Orleans is no exception. Retailers that derive a large portion of revenues from the sale of goods that can be purchased online are finding it difficult to compete due to the cost of operating a brick and mortar location. Of course, this is only …
NEW YORK CITY — Rockwood Capital and Midtown Equities, in joint partnership, have received $245 million in financing for a portion of Empire Stores in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood. The loan is for 55 Water Street, an 1860s-era warehouse building that was recently renovated, including the addition of a sixth floor to the original five stories. Upon completion, the overall project will feature 380,000 square feet of commercial space, including office, retail, restaurant and exhibition space, as well as rooftop gardens and public facilities. Provided by M&T Bank, the loans consisted of a $217.3 million land loan, plus $27.7 million for future project costs. Diana Brummer and Elizabeth Akerman of Stroock represented the joint venture in the financing.
CHICAGO — Time Out Group, a London-based media company, has unveiled plans to open a 50,000-square-foot food hall in Chicago’s Fulton Market. Time Out Market Chicago is slated to open in 2019. The vendor lineup will feature several of the city’s top restaurants and bars. The three-story space will include 16 chef-driven counters, three bars, a demonstration kitchen, a retail area, outdoor dining space and seating for 600 people. The first market from Time Out, located in Lisbon, Portugal, opened in 2014. Additional markets are slated to open in the United States in Miami (2018) and Boston (2019).
HOUSTON — Capital Retail Properties (CRP), in a partnership with Wile Interests Inc., will develop Market at Houston Heights, a 30,000-square-foot retail and restaurant destination in northwest Houston. The property will be located at 1533 N. Shepherd Drive fronting Laird and West 16th streets. Individual components will include a 4,000-square-foot structure allocated to dining, 26,000-square-foot mixed-use building, 3,000-square-foot plaza with seating for community events and 160 parking spaces. The developers expect to deliver space for tenant build-out in the fall of 2018.
NEW YORK CITY — The Kalikow Group and Steelpoint Property Group have completed the sale of a mixed-use property located at 517 Second Ave. in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan. An undisclosed buyer acquired the property for $7.4 million. The four-story building features a ground-level restaurant and three floor-through, three-bedroom apartments. The partnership originally purchased the property in 2014 for $5 million and implemented a three-year renovation project.
DALLAS — Stream Realty Partners has negotiated a pair of restaurant leases at Trammell Crow Center in Uptown Dallas. Urban market chain Royal Blue Grocery signed a lease for a 3,300-square-foot store and a 2,000-square-foot kitchen, and restaurant operator NL Group Inc. signed a lease for 3,100-square-foot space capable of accommodating up to 80 patrons. Trammell Crow Center, a 1.2 million-square-foot office tower located at 2001 Ross Ave. near Klyde Warren Park, is currently undergoing a redevelopment of its lobby, plaza and lower exterior.
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital has provided a $64 million construction loan for 200 Kent Avenue, a mixed-use development located in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. The 117,326-square-foot project will feature 50,101 square feet of retail space, 22,055 square feet of office and restaurant space and 45,170 square feet of parking. The retail portion of the development will be anchored by a popular national grocery chain. MRC funded a portion of the $64 million facility at closing to retire existing debt and will provide further advances for construction as the project progresses.
