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.
BUCKNER, KY. — Dahlem Realty Corp. has arranged Kroger’s acquisition of a 15.8-acre parcel in Buckner. Kroger plans to build a new 125,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace at the site, located at the southeast corner of KY 393 and Commerce Parkway. The center will also feature a Kroger fuel station, two outparcels and a 3,000-square-foot Kroger liquor store, depending on pending state legislation. Dahlem Realty Corp., a Louisville-based brokerage, leasing and management services firm, represented Kroger in the acquisition.
LEXINGTON, KY. — The University of Kentucky has tapped HGA Architects and Engineers to design Research Building Two (RB2), its new $265 million, 306,000-square-foot research center on the Lexington campus. Construction is underway on the facility, which will house scientific research that will work to resolve health disparities in Kentucky such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and substance abuse. Champlin Architecture serves as the executive architect and architect of record. Slated for completion in the summer of 2018, RB2 will be located west of the existing Biomedical Biological Sciences Research Building and north of the Biological Pharmaceutical Building. Consultants on the project include Affiliated Engineers Inc., CMTA Engineering Consultants, THP Limited Inc., CARMAN, Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. and Towers | Golde.
LEXINGTON, KY. — Huff, Niehaus & Associates Inc. has arranged the $5.9 million sale of the Clarion Hotel Lexington Conference Center in Lexington. The seller, Dogwood Hotels LLC, recently invested $1.2 million to renovate the 149-room hotel. The property sits on a 5.9-acre site off an I-75 exit. Lexington Hospitality Group LLC purchased the hotel from Dogwood and plans to add a restaurant. Brandt Niehaus, president of Huff, Niehaus and a member of Hotel Brokers International, represented the seller in the transaction.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Commercial Kentucky Inc., an Alliance member of Cushman & Wakefield, has brokered the $5.9 million sale of Kennedy Place, an 88-unit apartment community in Louisville. Monticello Properties purchased the property from Hall Family Holdings LLC. Craig Collins of Commercial Kentucky, along with Mike Kemether of Cushman & Wakefield’s Atlanta office, represented the seller in the transaction.
LEXINGTON, KY. — BC Wood Properties has purchased three Kroger-anchored shopping centers totaling 290,000 square feet for a combined $30.4 million. The shopping centers include Merchants Crossing in Jackson, Mich.; Shoppes of Hope Valley in Durham, N.C.; and Ridgewood Farm in Salem, Va. The Lexington-based company purchased the assets from a single seller via BCW Strategic Alliance Fund LP, the company’s second private equity fund.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Cushman & Wakefield will continue to operate in the Louisville metro and surrounding areas through its Alliance partnership with Commercial Kentucky Inc. The Louisville-based commercial real estate brokerage firm was founded in 1973 as Scherer/Casper & Associates. Commercial Kentucky first began its relationship with Cushman & Wakefield in 1981 and expanded its capabilities to include market research, property management and appraisal services, in addition to office, industrial, retail and investment brokerage services. Earlier this year, Cushman & Wakefield entered into an agreement to sell the firm and merge with DTZ. The merger closed September 1, creating a global commercial real estate services provider with 43,000 employees across 60 countries. The merger impacted many major markets where both firms have a presence and client relationships. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with the new Cushman & Wakefield,” said Phil Scherer, president of Commercial Kentucky. “We have the same team dedicated to providing superior services and insight to our clients, backed by decades of local experience and market knowledge. As a Cushman & Wakefield Alliance partner, our capabilities and opportunities will only continue to grow.”
LOUISVILLE, KY. — TRIO Commercial Property Group has arranged a long-term ground lease with Kroger for a new 123,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace in Louisville. The new store is set to open before Thanksgiving 2016 at 4915 Dixie Highway. Justin Baker of TRIO represented Kroger in the lease transaction. The landlord, Louisville-based Dixie Associates, was self-represented.
ERLANGER, KY. — Nevada-based Dermody Properties, in a joint venture with Hillwood Investment Properties, plans to develop an 898,560-square-foot facility in Erlanger for Wayfair Inc., an online home furnishings and décor retailer. The facility will be located on a 52-acre site at 1600 Donaldson Road adjacent to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). Dermody Properties and Hillwood leased the land site from CVG earlier this year. The facility, known as LogistiCenter at 275, will be the largest single development by square footage in the history of Dermody Properties. DTZ represented Wayfair in the lease transaction. Paul Hemmer Co. is the general contractor on the project. Construction is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2016.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Lincoln Property Co. Southeast has purchased the newly built Jefferson Commons, a 196,488-square-foot shopping center located in Louisville, on behalf of American Realty Capital-Retail Centers of America I & II, a non-traded REIT. Lincoln acquired the center from the center’s developer, GBT Realty Corp., for $36 million. The retail center’s tenant roster includes Academy Sports + Outdoors, H.H. Gregg, Michaels and Shoe Carnival.