COLUMBIA, S.C. — Magnus Development Partners has broken ground on Midway Logistics IV, a 200,000-square-foot speculative industrial building within Lexington County Industrial Park in Columbia. The tilt-up, multi-tenant building will feature 32-foot clear heights, 16 dock doors, two 12-by-14-foot drive-in doors, a 210-foot shared truck court, LED motion-detected lighting and an ESFR sprinkler system. Magnus expects to deliver the facility in the third quarter. Colliers International will handle leasing efforts on behalf of the developer.
LITHIA SPRINGS, GA. — Liberty Property Trust has signed Sugar Foods Corp. to a full-building, 247,000-square-foot lease at 875 Maxham Road in Lithia Springs. Located within Westfork Distribution Center, Liberty Property acquired the building in 2013 and has since made capital improvements, including creating a loop road to optimize traffic flow, expanding the truck courts and adding trailer storage to support modern logistics requirements. Randall Bryan of King Industrial Realty Inc. represented Sugar Foods in the lease transaction. Mark Hawks and Todd Barton of CBRE represented the landlord.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — LifeWay, a Christian bookseller based in Nashville, announced its plan to close all 170 of its physical bookstores. The bulk of the company’s stores are in the Southeastern United States, with a large concentration of locations in Texas and Ohio. A full list can be found here. LifeWay expects to close all of its physical locations by the end of the year, and the timing of store closings will vary depending on local circumstances. In January, the company announced it would reduce the number of its retail locations due to declining customer traffic and sales, but has since pivoted. “While we had hoped to keep some stores open, current market projections show this is no longer a viable option,” says Brad Waggoner, acting president and CEO of LifeWay following the retirement of Thom Rainer last month. “The decision to close our local stores is a difficult one. LifeWay has developed close connections with the communities where our stores are located, and we have been honored to serve those communities.” LifeWay is neither closing nor filing for bankruptcy, instead focusing on its digital platform, customer service center and its network of church partnerships. Details about the lease terms …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Office Properties Income Trust (OPI), a REIT, has sold a 129,035-square-foot office building located at 500 First St. NW in downtown Washington, D.C. The Bureau of Prisons is expected to leave the office by the end of April, leaving the property vacant. According to OPI CEO David Blackman, OPI planned to renovate the asset, “but at a sales price of more than $540 per square foot for a to-be vacant building, we decided to be opportunistic and focus our capital elsewhere.” Proceeds from the sale will go toward repaying a portion of OPI’s unsecured term loans. The buyer was not disclosed, although Washington Business Journal reports Georgetown University bought the property. The university plans to relocate many Georgetown Law centers and institutes and some McCourt School of Public Policy centers and institutes into the building, according to the report.
SOUTH MIAMI, FLA. — Yumbrella Food Hall is now open at The Shops at Sunset Place in South Miami. Led by food truck organizer and restaurateur Steve Simon, Yumbrella is the only food hall in the city, paying homage to Miami’s original food hall, which opened in the 1970s by the same name. The 6,500-square-foot hall features seven restaurant concepts ranging from Chinese to soul food, Italian, Latin, American and German fare. Confirmed food hall vendors include Cracked by Chef Adrianne, Dr. Limon Express, Killer Melts, NOODS, King of Racks BBQ, The Tonic and The Beverly. Amenities include a shared kitchen, full bar, stage for musical performances and a private room for events. The Shops at Sunset Place has been owned and operated by Federal Realty Investment Trust, Grass River Property and The Comras Co. since 2015. Other tenants at The Shops at Sunset Place include AMC Theatres, LA Fitness, Tea & Poets, Splitsville and Z-Gallerie.
DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA. — Grover Corlew, a real estate investment management group, has purchased Hillsboro Center, a five-building, 216,101-square-foot office park in Deerfield Beach for $32.5 million. Hillsboro Center includes a six-story, 116,250-square-foot office building and four two-story office buildings totaling 99,851 square feet. The asset is situated at 600 and 700 Hillsboro Blvd. in South Florida’s Broward County. Hillsboro Center was 90 percent leased at the time of the sale to tenants such as Dart Container Corp., Humana and Old Republic National Title Co. Amenities include onsite management and security teams, landscaped walkways, courtyard sitting areas, a tranquil pond, waterfalls and an on-site café. Cushman & Wakefield represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
MT. JULIET, TENN. — Fortress Investment Group LLC and Sansone Group have acquired a 709,651-square-foot industrial building in Mt. Juliet for $23.6 million. The property is located along Interstate 840 at 245 Couchville Industrial Blvd., about 32 miles east of downtown Nashville. The buyers also finalized a five-year, more than 237,000-square-foot lease with Superior 3rd Party Logistics Inc. The asset underwent a multimillion-dollar capital improvement project completed in 2018. Terry Smith and Max Smith of Colliers International will handle leasing efforts for the new ownership.
CUMMING, GA. — Retail Planning Corp. (RPC) will break ground on The Publix at Matt shopping center in Cumming. Publix will anchor the 82,000-square-foot center, with other signed leases including Great Clips, AT&T, J. Christopher’s and Nail Talk & Tan. The property will be situated at the corner of Bannister Road and Matt Highway, about 48 miles north of downtown Atlanta. RPC expects to deliver the shopping center in summer 2020.
ARLINGTON, VA. — The five elected members of the Arlington County Board unanimously approved the incentive and investment packages negotiated between the Commonwealth of Virginia and Amazon for the e-commerce giant to locate its second headquarters in Arlington’s National Landing. Through the incentives agreement, Amazon will receive up to $23 million if it creates 25,000 jobs with an average salary of $150,000 by 2025 and occupies 6 million square feet of office space in Arlington County by 2035. The money will be paid through allocating a portion of the anticipated increase in hotel tax revenues. According to the Arlington Economic Development Commission, the county will realize a $14 return for every $1 that Amazon earns in performance-based incentives. The additional tax revenues generated by Amazon’s headquarters will be used to invest in improvements to the county’s schools, affordable housing, parks and transportation network. Combined with Saturday’s Arlington Board vote, approval has now been secured for all of the government’s pledged support as part of a November 2018 Memorandum of Understanding with Amazon. In February, Amazon announced it was pulling out of its HQ2 deal with New York City, leaving Arlington as the only headquarters for Amazon outside of Seattle. Chevy …
KENNESAW, GA. — ESJ Capital Partners LLC has acquired Barrett Business Center, a four-building, 187,373-square-foot office park located at 2015 Vaughn Road in Kennesaw, for $24.3 million. The Miami-based firm plans to invest more than $1 million in capital improvements, focusing mainly on updating the park’s common areas and business systems. The seller, Pope & Land Real Estate, which originally developed the asset between 1999 and 2008, has been retained by ESJ to continue property management and leasing. The property was 92 percent leased at the time of the sale to tenants including Airgas and CarMax. MetLife provided acquisition financing. Justin Parsonnet and Ryan Reethof of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.