This year is shaping up to be very exciting and productive for the Richmond retail market. The Richmond retail market has started at a brisk pace for the first half of 2015, similar to the end of 2014 as it absorbed 111,889 square feet. The vacancy rate has continued to decline over the past 12 months as well. The overall retail vacancy rate in Richmond tightened to 6.6 percent, a 50 basis point improvement over last year. The main drivers of retail activity throughout the Richmond MSA continue to be grocery stores, fitness centers and restaurants. Early this year we saw the commencement of construction at two Wegmans-anchored developments in Richmond, one in Short Pump and another in Midlothian. The Midlothian Wegmans will anchor the new Stonehenge Village and is on pace to open in early 2016. The Short Pump Wegmans will join Cabela’s in the new West Broad Marketplace, a 400,000-square-foot development on the western edge of Short Pump. There has also been solid activity in the market from several other grocers, including Walmart Neighborhood Market and Aldi. Each of these concepts has opened four new stores in the market. Another grocer poised to enter the market is LIDL, …
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has broken ground on a new 600-bed, $70 million housing complex. The 231,959-square-foot development on the west side of campus will also include classrooms, a bookstore outlet, dining facility and a demonstration kitchen to help students transition to apartment living. The structure will feature 648 new parking spaces for cars and 22 motorcycle parking spaces. Each room will be wired for gigabyte service, as well as wireless connectivity. The facility is projected to open in fall 2018.
WELLINGTON, FLA. — Federal Realty Investment Trust, a publicly traded REIT, has sold The Courtyard Shops at Wellington for $52.8 million. The grocery-anchored shopping center is located in Wellington, a town in Palm Beach County. Federal Realty acquired the 127,000-square-foot property in 2008 and since then has increased value for the property by activating formerly vacant spaces and outparcels. The shopping center’s tenant roster includes Publix, Leslie’s Swimming Pool Supply, Tijuana Flats, Bank of America and IHOP.
SMYRNA, GA. — InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has opened the 160-room Hotel Indigo Atlanta-Vinings, the brand’s third hotel in metro Atlanta. The new hotel is located at 2857 Paces Ferry in Smyrna’s Vinings district, roughly 20 miles from downtown Atlanta. The hotel features artwork from Nellie Mae Rowe, who previously owned the land that houses the hotel, and The Public House at Vinings, a Southern-themed restaurant and bar. Other amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, 3,200 square feet of meeting space and Neighborhood Guide, Hotel Indigo’s interactive touchscreen display. Rialto Capital Management owns the Hotel Indigo Atlanta-Vinings and Valor Hospitality Partners manages the property.
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.
CORNELIUS, N.C. — Capstone Apartment Partners has brokered the $5.2 million sale of a multifamily development site in Cornelius. The site is approved for a 320-unit development. Located at Catawba Avenue and Lawn Market Street, the site was part of Antiquity, a mixed-use community featuring a Harris Teeter store, seniors housing, retail, restaurants and single-family homes. The development site features a swimming pool, 30-acre park, arboretum and athletic fields. Antiquity LLC sold the site to SAG/LIV Development for $16,250 per unit. Austin Green, Alex McDermott, Andrew Klenk and Brian Ford of Capstone brokered the transaction.
ATLANTA — CBRE Strategic Partners U.S. Value 7 has purchased 7000 Central Park, a 415,490-square-foot, Class A office building located in Atlanta’s Central Perimeter submarket, for $85.3 million. The 18-story office building was 86 percent occupied at the time of sale. The property includes amenities such as an on-site management office, café, Wi-Fi lounge, conference facility, EV charging stations, outdoor lakeside dining area, covered parking and walkways and a 7,200-square-foot fitness center. The seller was a joint venture in which Parkway Properties Inc. owns a 40 percent interest.
MIAMI — Colliers International has brokered the $65 million sale of the Holiday Inn Port of Miami located at 340 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Roughly 1.1 miles from the Port of Miami, the hotel will be the site of the proposed World Trade Center of the Americas, a 77-story mixed-use project that will feature 400 condominiums, 240 hotel rooms, 270,000 square feet of retail space and 246,000 square feet of office space, according to the Miami Herald. The city of Miami’s Urban Design Review Board has approved site plans for the project. An entity run by Gilberto Bomeny, the developer of the World Trade Center of the Americas, known as 340 Biscayne Owner LLC purchased the site from Marina Park Inn LLC. Larry Stockton and Jeff Resnick of Colliers International’s South Florida office brokered the sale.
MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — Stantec’s Miami office has begun renovations of the Berkeley Shore Hotel, a historic hotel located at 1610 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach. The 45,100-square-foot redevelopment will comprise 96 guestrooms, a restaurant and the addition of a new 10-story tower with a rooftop Zen garden and pool. The tower will sit behind the existing structure and will resemble the original Art Deco exterior of the Berkeley Shore Hotel that opened in 1940. The hotel renovations are scheduled to wrap up in spring 2016.
SILVER SPRING, MD. — H&R Retail has arranged a 42,000-square-foot lease transaction with Dave & Buster’s at Ellsworth Place in downtown Silver Spring, roughly six miles north of Washington, D.C. The entertainment venue and restaurant was previously located at the former White Flint Mall in Bethesda, Md. David Ward and Sean Harcourt of H&R Retail represented the landlord, Petrie Ross Ventures, in the lease transaction.