WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. retail sales increased in August as consumer demand outweighed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions and other factors that affected spending. Even though there was a decrease in car sales due to shipping problems and product shortages, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the sales for retailers and restaurants increased by 0.7 percent in August. The chief economist for the National Retail Federation (NRF), Jack Kleinhenz, says consumers continued to heavily shop last month despite a “trifecta of macroeconomic headwinds,” including the ending of federal government stimulus, a rise of COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant and supply chain problems. “Higher sales came even with a disjointed back-to-school season that also affected the timing of sales as many school districts returned to in-person learning but some delayed classes until after Labor Day. These results pave the way for sturdy consumer spending and a strong economy in the fourth quarter,” says Kleinhenz. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, overall retail sales in August were up 15.1 percent year-over-year. Even though some months, such as July 2021, have decreased or slowed its retail sales, the Census data shows that sales have overall grown year-over-year …
ALEXANDRIA, VA. — Wegmans Food Markets Inc., a 106-store supermarket chain based in Rochester, N.Y., plans to open a new grocery store within Carlyle Crossing, a 1.7 million-square-foot mixed-use development underway in Alexandria. Located just off Eisenhower Ave. at 150 Stovall St., the store is scheduled to open in spring 2022. The store will employ approximately 450 people, with 150 full-time positions offered. The 81,300-square-foot Wegmans will include a Market Café, a bar and coffee shop, and The Burger Bar, a casual restaurant counter that serves burgers, sandwiches and fries. The site will have two levels of parking below, residential units above and is also located close to the Eisenhower Avenue Metro Station. Wegmans entered Virginia with its Dulles location in 2004. The new Carlyle-Alexandria location will be the company’s 14th store in the Commonwealth. Wegmans also plans to build a $175 million distribution facility on 221 acres in Hanover County, Va., in order to support Wegmans’ Mid-Atlantic stores.
PITTSBORO, N.C. — Developer ECO Group has signed leases for 18 new tenants at MOSAIC at Chatham Park, a 44-acre, $180 million entertainment and lifestyle destination underway at Highway 501 and Russet Run Road in Pittsboro, about 34 miles from Raleigh. With the addition of the new tenants, 96 percent of MOSAIC’s retail space completed or under construction is now leased. New restaurant tenants joining the project include Hops and Berry, a 5,000-square-foot self-serve tap house and restaurant; O’Ya Cantina, a 1,500-square-foot Latin eatery that has a sister location in Chapel Hill; Jersey Mike’s Subs in a 2,385-square-foot space; and Greek Kouzina in a 1,675-square-foot space. Several new office tenants have committed to move into MOSAIC’s two-story mixed-use building, including CE Group, Finley Design, Lee-Moore Capital, Sanford Contractors Inc. and MOSAIC’s property management office staffed by Kane Realty Corp. With the new office tenants, 45 percent of the 88,000-square-foot office, technical and creative space is now leased. New service providers joining MOSAIC include a 2,500-square-foot Lux Nail Salon; a 1,050-square-foot Harris & Co. Insurance; and a 1,550-square-foot CMG Financial Mortgage. These new tenants join local tenants already committed including Town Hall Burger + Beer and People’s Coffee. Additionally, UNC Urgent …
ATLANTA — Mainsail Lodging & Development has opened Epicurean Atlanta, a 16-story boutique hotel in Midtown Atlanta. The hotel is a member of the Autograph Collection, a group of independent hotels operated by Marriott International. Epicurean Atlanta is the second location of the Epicurean Hotel brand, the first of which was a collaboration between Mainsail Lodging and the Bern’s Steak House in Tampa. Atlanta-based architectural and interior design firm Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio oversaw the new hotel’s design. The Epicurean Atlanta hotel has 178 guest rooms with 22 suites. Hotel amenities include a fitness center with floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as a pool on the ninth level sky terrace that offers temperature-controlled cabanas and butler service. Additionally, there will be wellness activity programming on the events lawn. Located at 1117 West Peachtree St., the hotel is one of three towers within Selig Enterprises’ 1105 West Peachtree mixed-use development. The other two towers in the project include a 31-story office tower and a 64-unit apartment tower called 40 West 12th. Epicurean Atlanta is anchored by three dining concepts: Reverence, the hotel’s signature restaurant that features a 2,886-square-foot space for seating up to 127 guests; Aerial Kitchen & Bar, which will …
LAKE MARY, FLA. — SRS Real Estate Partners’ Investment Properties Group has arranged the sale of Heathrow Square, a Winn-Dixie-anchored, 101,392-square-foot shopping center in Lake Mary. Kevin Yaryan, Kyle Stonis and Pierce Mayson of SRS represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyers, Equinox Development and Harbour Retail Partners, were self-represented. The sales price was not disclosed. Heathrow Square was nearly 97 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including CVS/pharmacy, Pure Barre, Quest Diagnostics and Subway. Winn-Dixie has occupied the store at Heathrow Square for 29 years. The center is situated on 11.9 acres at 120 International Parkway at the signalized intersection of West Lake Mary Road and International Parkway. The property is situated only a quarter-mile from Interstate 4.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — RangeWater Real Estate has broken ground on a 353-unit apartment community in Nashville’s River North Development District, a former industrial neighborhood undergoing revitalization. The project is RangeWater’s 100th development. Located at 201 Cowan St., the apartment project will include studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments located close to downtown Nashville and Germantown. When completed, the apartments will have two floors of amenities and a sky lounge with views of downtown Nashville. Community amenities will include a listening lounge with recording equipment for musicians and a pool deck atop a green rooftop space. The apartments will feature nine-foot ceilings and modern finishes with stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops and washer and dryer units in each residence. Groundbreaking will take place this month with first apartment homes delivering spring 2023. RangeWater is an Atlanta-based multifamily real estate company. The apartment project will be RangeWater’s second development in Nashville, with the first being The Gossett on Church in the city’s Gulch neighborhood.
PORTLAND, TENN. — The Palomar Group has brokered the sale of Portland Village, an 84,250-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center in Portland, about 40.2 miles north of Nashville. The undisclosed buyer, a private investor based in Greenville, S.C., bought the property for $7.8 million. The seller was Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison & Co. The Palomar Group represented the buyer and the seller in the transaction. Located at 112 W Knight St., Portland Village is about 11.3 miles from Franklin, Ky. The center was 94 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Cash Saver, Planet Fitness and Family Dollar. Built in 1975, Portland Village has had the current tenants for an average of 11.7 years. Cash Saver has been the anchor tenant since 1997.
LIVINGSTON, LA. — Stirling Properties has purchased the Pepsi Distribution Center, a 140,000-square-foot industrial facility located at 28517 S. Front Road in Livingston. Heck Realty/Raymond Heck sold the property for an undisclosed price. Built in 2016, the Pepsi Distribution Center sits on 15 acres and is located along the Interstate 12 corridor. The facility is fully occupied by PepsiCo. Inc. and serves as a logistics hub for PepsiCo brands, including Gatorade, Frito-Lay, Starbucks and Mountain Dew. The facility services the greater Baton Rouge, New Orleans and southeast Louisiana areas. Townsend Underhill of Stirling Properties will serve as the asset manager for the property. Beezie Landry, Justin Langlois and Chad Rigby of Stirling Investment Advisors, a division of Stirling Properties, handled the sales transaction.
DURHAM, N.C. — White Point Partners has unveiled plans for a 125,000-square-foot mixed-use development in Durham called Horseshoe at Hub RTP. The name of the development emphasizes the layout of the project, with the buildings’ focus on the central plaza. Sitework at Hub RTP is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022, while the $50 million Horseshoe mixed-use project is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2023. Horseshoe will be at the center of Hub RTP, a two-phase, 100-acre development that the Research Triangle Foundation is master developing within Research Triangle Park. Horseshoe, being built in Phase I of Hub RTP, will feature approximately 25,000 square feet of retail space surrounding an outdoor plaza. The master plan for Hub RTP will deliver up to 1 million square feet of Class A office space, 200,000 square feet of lab and office space, 75,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, up to two hotels and 800 residential units. Horseshoe is situated between Highway 54 and Interstate 40 directly off the Davis Drive exit. The property has 16 acres of greenspace with streamside trails and boardwalks, including a splash fountain and event lawn adjacent to Horseshoe. CBRE …
BALTIMORE — JLL has arranged the sale of 225 North Calvert, a 347-unit, 17-story apartment tower in the Inner Harbor district of downtown Baltimore. Broadshore Capital Partners, in a joint venture with an undisclosed investment partner, purchased the property for an undisclosed price. Scott Clukies of Broadshore led the firm on the sales transaction. Walter Coker, Brian Crivella and Robert Jenkins of JLL represented the seller, CP Capital US, formerly known as HQ Capital Real Estate. 225 North Calvert features a mix of one- and two-bedroom residences designed with floor-to-ceiling windows, balconies and an in-unit washers and dryers. Community amenities include a rooftop terrace with a swimming pool and lounge area, community game room, multimedia theater, health club, a pet exercise area and grooming stations. The property is located close to the National Aquarium, Oriole Park at Camden Yards and the Baltimore Ravens home arena, M&T Bank Stadium. The apartment community is also situated adjacent to Mercy Hospital. In 1967, 225 North Calvert was constructed as an office building, and in 2018, CP Capital completed a renovation converting the property to a Class A apartment tower. In addition to 347 apartment residences, the building also provides 9,535 square feet of …