LEXINGTON, KY. — Capital Real Estate Group’s (CREG) U.S. Healthcare Investment Sales practice has arranged the sale of a four-building medical office portfolio in Lexington totaling 29,800 square feet. An undisclosed private equity group purchased the property for approximately $8.8 million. Allen Inman and Andrew Larwood of CREG represented the seller in the transaction. The properties were fully leased at the time of sale to Kentucky Eye Institute (KEI), an ophthalmology practice with 11 locations in Central Kentucky. KEI comprises 13 physicians who provide consultative and surgical eye care.
ERLANGER, KY. — Corporex Cos. has sold Atlantic Corporate Center, an office building in the Cincinnati suburb of Erlanger, for $31.3 million. Matt Waggoner and Josh Gerth of JLL represented the buyer, Answers in Genesis, in the transaction. The Christian parachurch organization plans to transform the 205,000-square-foot building into its headquarters. Featuring a full-service cafeteria, fitness center, outdoor fitness trail, medical clinic and a 100-person auditorium, the building will house the organization’s K-12 school, center for Christian teachers, streaming platform and graphic arts division. Answers in Genesis plans to move into the building in the summer of next year.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Publix Super Markets has purchased land at the northwest corner of Flat Rock and Shelbyville roads in Louisville with plans to develop the market’s third Publix location. The Courier-Journal reports that the grocer purchased the site from an entity doing business as Shoppes at Gardiner Park LLC for more than $5.5 million. Plans call for a 48,387-square-foot store with a pharmacy and an adjacent Publix Liquors store that will offer beer, wine and spirits. The stores are anticipated to open in the second quarter of 2024. In addition to the three Louisville locations, the company has previously announced another location in Lexington, Ky. The Lakeland, Fla.-based grocer currently operates 1,315 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Kentucky is the eighth state of operation for Publix.
BARDSTOWN, KY. — Northmarq’s Louisville office has secured the $3 million refinancing of Wilson & Muir Plaza, a 63,598-square-foot retail center located at 100 W. John Rowan Blvd. in Bardstown, roughly 40 miles southeast of Louisville. Randall Waddell of Northmarq negotiated a blended interest rate of 4.9 percent fixed over a 19-year term on behalf of the undisclosed borrower. A new anchor tenant — Marshalls — recently opened at the property.
FRANKFORT, KY. — RJ Thieneman plans to develop a new $10 million healthcare clinic within Limestone Centre at Franklin Square, a shopping center in Frankfort shadow-anchored by Kroger, Staples, JCPenney and Franklin Square Cinema. Louisville-based Norton Healthcare will operate the 30,000-square-foot facility with three separate medical practices: Norton Community Medical Associates adult primary care, Norton Immediate Care Center and Norton Children’s Medical Group pediatric primary care. The three practices will have staggered opening dates in late 2023. The design-build team, including architect Stengel Hill Architecture Inc. and general contractor The Hagerman Group, plans to break ground in January.
LEXINGTON, KY. — Cronheim Mortgage has originated an $8 million permanent loan for Man O’ War Place, a 174,638-square-foot shopping center in Lexington. Dev Morris and Andrew Stewart of Cronheim arranged the financing through American United Life Insurance Co. on behalf of the borrower, an affiliate of locally based investment firm Equity Management. Situated about four miles south of University of Kentucky, Man O’ War Place was 95 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Kroger Marketplace, Feeders Supply, Lexington Urgent Care, Hooters, Edible Arrangements, Bright Tiger Dental, The Little Gym and Little Caesars Pizza, among others.
NEWPORT, KY. — Cincinnati-based North American Properties (NAP) has partnered with Galley Group, a Pittsburgh-based food hall operator, to open a new food hall and bar at Newport on the Levee, a mixed-use destination along the Ohio River in Newport. The 7,900-square-foot venue, dubbed The Galley on the Levee, will feature four restaurants and a signature bar that will be able to accommodate 200 patrons. Designed by Reztark Design Studio, the food hall will open onto Bridgeview Box Park, an open-air shipping container park that opened in 2020 as part of NAP’s redevelopment of Newport on the Levee, which originally opened in 2001. The Galley on the Levee is set to open in summer 2023 and will mark Galley Group’s entry into the Kentucky market. In addition to the food hall, several other restaurants are currently under construction at the mixed-use development, including Shiners on the Levee, 16 Lots Brewing Co. and Amador. Shiners will soft-open during Thanksgiving week and host grand opening festivities in early December, while 16 Lots and Amador are slated to open next spring, according to NAP.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Duncan Commercial Real Estate (DCRE)/CORFAC International has brokered the sale of Distillery Commons, a historic distillery complex located at Lexington and Payne streets in Louisville’s Irish Hill neighborhood. The buyer, St. Louis-based Bamboo Acquisitions LLC, an affiliate of Intelica Commercial Real Estate, plans to redevelop the red-brick complex into a mixed-use project housing residences, offices, shops and restaurants. Barrel House Investments sold Distillery Commons to Bamboo for an undisclosed price. In 2019, the seller purchased the complex from Kinetic Properties, which had owned the site since the mid-1970s. The Courier-Journal reports that Distillery Commons operated as a bourbon warehouse that was constructed in the 1890s and that the proposed mixed-use development carries a price tag of $75 million. The City of Louisville recently condemned the rickhouse (Building 100 of the property), which was demolished last month.
LEXINGTON, KY. — Academy Sports + Outdoors has opened an 80,000-square-foot store within South Park Shopping Center, a retail center located at 3200 Nicholasville Road in Lexington. Kaden Cos. is the landlord of South Park, which also houses Ulta Beauty, Best Buy, Burlington and Value City Furniture. The new store is the sixth Academy Sports location in Kentucky and its first in Lexington. Academy Sports plans to open nine stores this year and another 80 to 100 new locations over the next five years. The Katy, Texas-based company currently operates 264 stores across 17 states.
DANVILLE, KY. — Campari Group, a global spirits distributor based in Milan, has agreed to purchase Wilderness Trail Distillery, a bourbon and rye whiskey distiller based in Danville. Campari purchased an initial 70 percent stake in the company for $420 million, and in 2031 will have the option to purchase the remaining 30 percent interest for $180 million. Wilderness Trail was founded in 2012 and in 2018 launched two new whiskey brands: Wilderness Trail Bourbon and Wilderness Trail Rye Whiskey. The company operates a 168-acre campus in Danville and has approximately 100,000 barrels aging in its six rickhouses, according to the company’s website. This is the second largest acquisition for Campari, with its 2016 purchase of Grand Marnier being the largest, according to Reuters. The Wilderness Trail transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close before the end of 2022. Wilderness Trail will continue to operate independently until the transaction closes. William Blair & Co. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Wilderness Trail, and Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan and Aronoff LLP acted as its legal advisor. McDermott Will & Emery LLP acted as tax and legal advisor to Campari Group, whose other whiskey labels include Wild Turkey …