Top Stories

INDIANAPOLIS — Citimark has acquired the former headquarters of hhgregg Inc. and announced plans to redevelop the 27-acre property on the far north side of Indianapolis. Citimark hasn’t unveiled full plans yet, but says it is considering single or multi-tenant flex, industrial and last-mile uses while preserving the flexibility for some retail out-lots. Appliance, electronics and furniture retailer hhgregg declared bankruptcy and liquidated all its assets in 2017, including closing its 220 stores and laying off more than 5,000 workers. The 400,000-square-foot headquarters, which featured office, industrial and showroom buildings, has sat vacant since then. The property’s unique shell design, with an open-air courtyard that can accommodate 200 cars, may have slowed the sale process. In January of 2019, national car dealer Napleton Auto Group kicked the tires on the property as a potential Kia dealership, before backing out later in the month, according to the Indiana Business Journal. Local contractor Deem LLC considered purchasing the property, but pulled out of the deal in November 2020, reported the Journal. Ultimately, Citimark emerged as the buyer in late December, paying $14 million for the asset. Alex Cantu with Colliers Indianapolis assisted Citimark with the purchase. Colliers Indianapolis brokers Jimmy Cohoat and …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

CHICAGO — California-based investment firm KBS has received a $375 million loan for the refinancing of Accenture Tower, a 40-story, 1.5 million-square-foot office building located at 500 W. Madison St. in downtown Chicago. Accenture Tower, named for the accounting firm formerly known as Arthur Andersen that changed its name following the 2001 Enron scandal, was originally built in 1987. The LEED Gold-certified building sits above the Ogilvie Transportation Center, one of two main train stations in Chicago’s West Loop, which connects the suburbs with the downtown area. In terms of amenities, Accenture Tower features a fitness center, tenant lounge, and conference centers. Tenants also have access to an onsite bank branch, courier service and concierge service. U.S. Bank and Bank of America jointly provided the financing, which consisted of a $281 million term loan and a $94 million revolving loan. The term loan was structured with a three-year initial term with two one-year extension options, and priced with floating interest rate over LIBOR. U.S. Bank will be the primary servicer of the loan. Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, a German bank specializing in real estate and public sector financing, participated in the transaction, though the company’s role was unclear. “The iconic nature of …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

STOCKHOLM AND CONSHOHOCKEN, PA. — EQT AB, a private equity firm based in Stockholm, has agreed to purchase Exeter Property Group, an industrial real estate owner and developer based in the Philadelphia suburb of Conshohocken. EQT plans to purchase Exeter using $800 million in EQT shares and nearly $1.1 billion in cash for a total acquisition price of nearly $1.9 billion, including the refinancing of Exeter’s existing $300 million in debt. Founded in 2006, Exeter has approximately $10 billion in assets under management. In addition to industrial properties, Exeter also owns life sciences and office space in the United States and Europe. Exeter has 37 offices in North America, Europe and Asia. EQT expects Exeter’s revenue in 2020 to total $135 million. Exeter’s recent acquisitions include Creekview Corporate Center in metro Dallas, a 193,000-square-foot industrial building in Illinois and a new distribution center in Pennsylvania totaling 1.2 million square feet. The company also recently developed a 673,920-square-foot speculative industrial building in the St. Louis suburb of Edwardsville, Ill. Upon completion of the transaction, Exeter will operate as EQT Exeter and will be part of the EQT Real Estate Assets division, which comprises EQT Infrastructure and EQT Real Estate. EQT Exeter …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

LEAWOOD, KAN. — In effort to remain financially afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic, AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AMC) has raised or signed commitment letters to receive $917 million of new equity and debt capital. The Leawood-based movie theater company says the increased liquidity should enable it to survive well into 2021. Of the $917 million, AMC raised $506 million of equity from the issuance of new common shares. Additionally, the company executed commitment letters for $411 million of incremental debt capital from upsizing and refinancing its European revolving credit facility. The $917 million capital infusion is on top of $1 billion of cash that AMC raised between April and November of 2020. “Any talk of an imminent bankruptcy for AMC is completely off the table,” says Adam Aron, CEO and president. AMC says that an increase in cinema attendance is likely given the push to vaccinate the general population. AMC also presumes it will continue to make progress in its ongoing dialogue with theater landlords about the amounts and timing of owed theater lease payments. Following the news, AMC’s stock price jumped from $3.51 per share at Friday’s close to $4.72 per share on Monday’s opening. The stock traded …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

PITTSBURGH — American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE: AEO) has announced plans to close hundreds of its flagship American Eagle stores over the course of the next few years, while seeking to grow the company’s more successful lingerie and active-wear brand, Aerie, into a $2 billion business. The Pittsburgh-based company’s chief financial officer, Michael Mathias, announced plans to close 200 to 225 of the company’s 880 existing American Eagle locations over the next two to three years during a virtual investor meeting held Thursday, Jan. 21. “Our primary focus for the next few years with American Eagle will be to build on our large cashflow base by focusing on inventory efficiency, improving merchandise margins, managing expenses and closing stores to strengthen profit flow-through,” said Mathias. The company’s American Eagle banner anticipates roughly flat growth compared to 2019, with an expected revenue of approximately $3.5 billion. By contrast, Aerie revenue is anticipated to grow at a mid-20 percent compounded annual growth rate. The company hopes to open 60 to 75 brick-and-mortar Aerie locations each of the next several years, with Houston and Los Angeles listed as targeted growth markets.  “Plans for the Aerie brand through 2023 include doubling revenue to $2 billion, …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

PHOENIX AND SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Zom Living has released plans to develop five multifamily communities in Phoenix and Scottsdale. The Orlando, Florida-based company expects to invest more than $500 million in the properties. Zom Living has acquired four parcels totaling 32.7 acres through an auction in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The developer expects to break ground on all five communities — which are yet to be named — in the fourth quarter of this year. Zom Living acquired two parcels totaling 26 acres in the Desert Ridge/North Phoenix submarket of Phoenix. The two communities Zom plans to build will feature a combined 600 units along the Loop 101 Highway on 56th Street. The assets will be situated within walking distance of Desert Ridge Marketplace. In downtown Scottsdale, the developer plans to build 749 units across two communities. The assets will span 3.8 acres at the intersection of Scottsdale and Camelback roads. The property is located adjacent to the Scottsdale Fashion Square and the Scottsdale Entertainment District. In Phoenix’s Biltmore District, Zom Living plans to develop 300 units on 2.9 acres. The property is located at the intersection of Highland Avenue and 24th Street, two blocks from the Biltmore Fashion Park …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

PHOENIX — TerraCap Management LLC has acquired Anchor Centre, an office property in Phoenix’s Camelback Corridor, for $103.5 million. The two-building office park spans 333,014 square feet at the intersection of 24th Street and Camelback Road. KBS was the seller. The buildings were constructed in 1984 and 1986, and KBS completed a multimillion-dollar capital improvement program upon its acquisition of the asset in 2014. KBS made upgrades to the lobby, common areas, restrooms and amenity spaces, which include a deli, tenant lounge, game room, fitness center, conference facility, outdoor patio and underground parking. Anchor Centre is currently 93 percent occupied by tenants such as Humana Insurance, Northwestern Mutual and Black & Veatch. “The property’s freeway access and close proximity to high-end retail is advantageous for the tenants,” says Steve Hagenbuckle, founder and managing partner of TerraCap. “The amount of in-migration and corporate relocations coming from the West Coast should assist in keeping occupancy high, allowing us to increase long-term value for our investors.” The Phoenix office market showed signs of growth during the third quarter of 2020, posting just over 300,000 square feet of positive absorption, according to JLL. Colony Capital provided debt financing for TerraCap with assistance from Kevin …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
425-Park-Avenue-Manhattan

NEW YORK CITY — Locally based development and investment firm L&L Holding Co. is nearing completion of 425 Park Avenue, an office tower in Midtown Manhattan. Designed by British architecture firm Foster + Partners, the building rises 47 stories and 897 feet, spanning an entire city block. L&L is co-developing the property with Tokyu Land Corp. and will co-manage it with BentallGreenOak. The development is valued at $1 billion, according to the New York Post. The development team has received a temporary certificate of occupancy, and the exterior tower crane has now been dismantled and removed, signaling that the end of construction is near. The building’s glass and steel façade is now fully enclosed. The initial groundbreaking occurred in 2016, when the anchor tenant initially signed its lease, according to the Post report. That tenant is financial services firm Citadel Enterprises, which has preleased 331,800 square feet. That figure represents approximately half of the building’s total amount of leasable office space. The building also includes 9,552 square feet of retail space on the ground floor and 8,829 square feet of retail space on the mezzanine level. L&L has also begun the interior build-out of the tower’s amenity floor, which will feature …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail

SOUTH MIAMI, FLA. — Midtown Opportunities, a real estate investment fund based in Miami, has purchased The Shops at Sunset Place in South Miami for $65.5 million. The open-air lifestyle property features nearly 515,000 square feet of retail and office space leased to tenants such as AMC Theatres and LA Fitness. A partnership between Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT), Grass River Property Co. and Comras Co. sold the mixed-used development after more than five years of ownership. Midtown Opportunities has retained Grass River to manage the asset. Federal Realty, Grass River and Comras sold Sunset Place at a significant loss, according to the Miami Herald. The newspaper reported in 2015 that the buyers purchased a majority interest of the once-popular mall from Simon Property Group for $110 million. The Shops at Sunset Place is located on nearly 10 acres at 5701 Sunset Drive. The development is situated near the South Miami Metrorail Station, South Miami Hospital and the University of Miami. No details were disclosed about Midtown Opportunities’ plans related to Sunset Place. The property was 78 percent leased at the time of sale. Other tenants include Barnes & Noble, Gametime and Splitsville, as well as the Yumbrella Food …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
Beyond-Meat-HQ

EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. — Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND), a producer of plant-based meat replacement products, has signed a 12-year lease for a 300,000-square-foot corporate headquarters less than one mile south of Los Angeles International Airport at 888. N. Douglas St. in El Segundo. The headquarters will be located within a four-building, 550,000-square-foot creative office and industrial campus currently under development by Hackman Capital Partners, which is scheduled for completion this spring. Beyond Meat’s offices are set to open in fall of this year and will include advanced research labs and incubator spaces for the development of new technologies and more innovative products. The company’s headquarters is designed for LEED and Fitwel certification in alignment with Beyond Meat’s mission and commitment to sustainability and workplace wellbeing. “Our new campus and state-of-the-art research facilities will house cutting-edge fundamental and applied research alongside globalized product development teams, all in service to a single goal — creating meat from plants that is indistinguishable from its animal protein equivalent,” says Ethan Brown, founder and CEO of Beyond Meat. The JLL team of Gary Horwitz, Blake Searles, Connor Hall and Kamil Agha represented Beyond Meat in the leasing transaction. The company also tapped DPPM Project Management …

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail