Top Stories

Texas Instruments to Open $3.1B Manufacturing Facility in Metro Dallas, Create 500 Jobs

by Taylor Williams April 19, 2019

RICHARDSON, TEXAS — Dallas-based Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) will open a $3.1 billion manufacturing facility in Richardson, a northeastern suburb of Dallas, in a move that is expected to create approximately 500 new jobs. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott made the announcement on Thursday, April 18. The facility, which local news sources report will span approximately 870,000 square feet, will be dedicated to the manufacturing of semiconductors and chips used in a variety of devices, including smartphones and other industrial machinery. A timeline for construction was not released. Texas Instruments (TI) had been engaged in site selection for a new plant for several months and even considered locations outside Texas, according to The Dallas Morning News. The paper reports that TI owns the land on which the new factory will be built, and that the Plano Independent School District, which serves the area in which the new plant will be located, has agreed to reduce TI’s property taxes for 10 years, which will save the company approximately $100 million. Company officials also cited Richardson’s strong workforce and proximity to key pieces of infrastructure as reasons to expand in the area. “We’ve selected Richardson because of its access to talent, an existing …

April 19, 2019

California Loans Office Top Stories Western

PCCP Funds $103M Development Loan for Google-Leased Office Building in California

by Amy Works April 18, 2019

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. — Renault & Handley Mid-Peninsula Joint Venture has received a $103 million senior loan for the development of 600 Clyde Avenue, a 189,974-square-foot office building fully preleased to Google in Mountain View. PCCP LLC provided the loan for the five-story building, which will be situated on 5.2 acres. The property is slated for delivery in July 2020. When completed, the project will feature a 9,600-square-foot sky deck with outdoor seating and working stations, a fitness center, employee showers and bike storage. Additionally, an adjacent four-story parking garage will accommodate circulation of full-size employee shuttle buses, which are commonly used by large tech employers in the Bay Area. The property is near the intersection of U.S. Highway 101 and State Route 237, about three miles from downtown Mountain View and the Mountain View Caltrain station. Mountain View-based Google currently operates in 24 office buildings in 13 states and Washington, D.C. In February, the company announced it will invest $13 billion in 2019 to expand its data centers and office footprint to 24 states. Renault & Handley Mid-Peninsula Joint Venture originally acquired the site located at 580 and 620 Clyde Ave. in 1968. The firm developed the land into …

April 18, 2019

Leasing Activity New York Northeast Office Top Stories

SL Green Signs First Republic Bank to Anchor Office Building Redevelopment in Manhattan

by Kristin Harlow April 17, 2019

NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. has signed First Republic Bank to a 211,521-square-foot lease at 460 W. 34th St. in the Hudson Yards neighborhood on Manhattan’s west side. First Republic Bank will occupy a portion of the ground and mezzanine floors with two new retail bank branches, as well as the entire second through sixth floors for its corporate office space. The lease term is 15 years. SL Green, which is self-described as the largest office landlord in New York City, had previously entered into a contract to purchase a majority and controlling interest in the building and is scheduled to close on the acquisition in May. Media outlets reported at the time that the acquisition values the 20-story office building at $440 million. SL Green plans to redevelop the 638,000-square-foot, Class A office tower with work to commence immediately following the acquisition. According to SL Green, the transaction marks the company’s first major investment in the Hudson Yards neighborhood. The building, located at the intersection of Hudson Yards and Manhattan West, was once known as the Master Printers Building. The redevelopment plans will honor that industrial heritage, according to SL Green. The project will include relocation …

April 17, 2019

Acquisitions California Development Office Top Stories Western

Marquee Move: Warner Bros. to Purchase Portion of Burbank Studios, Anchor Office Campus in $1B Deal

by John Nelson April 16, 2019

BURBANK, CALIF. — Entertainment and media giant Warner Bros. has inked a deal to purchase a portion of The Burbank Studios, a new 35-acre film, TV, broadcast media and new media campus in Burbank formerly known as NBC Studios. The purchase includes office space, eight soundstages, a mill building and a commissary. The seller is Worthe Rea Estate Group, a Los Angeles-based office developer. Additionally, Warner Bros. inked a lease to be the sole and long-term tenant of a planned two-building office campus adjacent to The Burbank Studios. The Los Angeles Times is reporting the combined value of the studio acquisition and new office space exceeds $1 billion. The co-developers of the office campus are Worthe and San Francisco-based Stockbridge Real Estate, which plan to break ground on the project this fall. The office development will be known as the Second Century Project, named in honor of Warner Bros.’ 100th anniversary in 2023, which is the expected completion date of the design and construction phases. Second Century will include a seven-story building spanning 355,000 square feet and a nine-story building spanning 445,000 square feet. “This is an opportunity to reimagine not only our workspace but our future,” says Kim Williams, …

April 16, 2019

Leasing Activity Retail Top Stories

Discount Retail Chain Fred’s to Close 159 U.S. Stores by June

by Taylor Williams April 15, 2019

MEMPHIS, TENN. — Fred’s Inc. (NASDAQ: FRED), a discount chain and pharmacy, will close 159 underperforming U.S. stores, approximately 30 percent of the company’s total footprint. Memphis-based Fred’s will have about 400 general merchandise stores left open following this round of closures. Fred’s, which competes with smaller-format discount retailers like Dollar General as well as big-box stores like Walmart, also owns and operates two additional chains: Getwell Drug & Dollar and Yazoo Trading Co. The majority of those stores house full-service pharmacy departments, but the company is also looking to sell its pure-play pharmacy assets. In September of last year, Fred’s struck a deal to sell prescription files of its pharmacy patients and inventory information at 179 stores across the Southeast to Walgreens (NASDAQ: WBA). The shuttered stores are located in Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee, according to CNN. Liquidation sales are underway at these stores, which are expected to fully close by the end of May. Fred’s CEO Joseph Anto noted that in addition to losing profitability, most of the shuttered stores are nearing the ends of their lease terms. “After a careful review, we have decided to rationalize our footprint by closing underperforming stores, …

April 15, 2019

Development Maryland Southeast Top Stories

Greenberg Gibbons, Seritage Growth Partner for $150M Redevelopment Project at Metro Baltimore Mall

by David Cohen April 12, 2019

COCKEYSVILLE, MD. — Greenberg Gibbons has formed a joint venture with Seritage Growth Properties to redevelop a 13.8-acre parcel at Hunt Valley Towne Center in Cockeysville. Greenberg Gibbons owns the property, a mixed-use shopping center situated at 118 Shawan Road, 18 miles north of downtown Baltimore. Initial plans for Phase I of the $150 million redevelopment include renovations to the former two-story Sears building and Sears Auto Center. Michael’s and HomeGoods are open on the first floor, while more retail and entertainment concepts are being targeted for the second floor. “[This venture is] an example of our strategy to partner with successful local developers to unlock value at our properties through intensive redevelopment and site densification,” says James Bry, executive vice president of development and construction at Seritage Growth Properties. Wegmans, Regal Cinemas and Marshalls anchor the center. Other tenants include Jos. A. Bank, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Francesca’s Collection, DSW and Ann Taylor Loft. — David Cohen

April 12, 2019

Development Indiana Industrial Midwest Top Stories

Brightmark Energy Receives $260M Financing for Plastics-to-Fuel Plant in Indiana

by Alex Tostado April 11, 2019

ASHLEY, IND. — Brightmark Energy has received $260 million in financing to build the nation’s first commercial-scale plastics-to-fuel plant in Ashley, a small town of fewer than 1,000 residents in the northeast corner of Indiana. The financing includes $185 million in Indiana green bonds, which were underwritten by Goldman Sachs & Co. Brightmark plans to invest $47 million in the plant, according to KPC News, a local news outlet. Brightmark is the controlling owner of RES Polyflow, an Ohio-based energy technology company that innovated the process for converting plastics directly into transportation fuel and other products. Brightmark acquired a majority interest in the company in November. Brightmark Energy Ashley Indiana will convert up to 100,000 tons of plastics into 18 million gallons per year of ultra-low-sulfur diesel and naphtha blend fuels and nearly 6 million gallons a year of commercial-grade wax in a process that is expected to be 93 percent efficient. The outputs could also be used to produce the feedstocks necessary for manufacturing plastic again, “thus creating the world’s first truly circular economy technology for plastics,” according to Brightmark. “We are excited about the market’s confidence in the validity of this technology to economically convert single-use plastics for …

April 11, 2019

Leasing Activity Office Top Stories Washington Western

Dropbox Signs 120,886 SF Lease at Spec Office Tower Under Construction in Seattle

by Kristin Harlow April 10, 2019

SEATTLE — Dropbox Inc. has leased four floors totaling 120,886 square feet at a speculative office tower currently under construction in Seattle’s central business district. Skanska is developing the 38-story building, known as 2+U. Dropbox, a San Francisco-based file storage and sharing company, is expected to occupy the space at 2+U in late 2020. With this new signing, 2+U is now 60 percent leased. Other tenants joining Dropbox include Indeed.com and coworking firm Spaces. The 686,000-square-foot tower is scheduled for completion this summer. Located at the corner of Second Avenue and University Street, the development is adjacent to the Seattle Art Museum and Benaroya Hall. The property is lifted 85 feet off the ground in order to create an outdoor “urban village” underneath the building. The village area will include nearly a half-acre of open space with 17,000 square feet of retail and arts space. Floor plates at 2+U will range from 18,000 to 30,000 square feet. In addition to a rooftop deck, tenants will enjoy unobstructed views of the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains. Dropbox currently occupies space at the Columbia Center in the city. “We’re thrilled to expand in Seattle,” says Greg Conklin, engineering director and Seattle site …

April 10, 2019

Acquisitions Company News Restaurant Retail Texas Top Stories

Chuck E. Cheese to Trade on New York Stock Exchange Following $1.4B Merger

by John Nelson April 9, 2019

IRVING, TEXAS — Following a merger with the parent company of the Chuck E. Cheese brand, London-based Leo Holdings Corp. plans to rebrand itself and take the new company public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “CEC.” The enterprise value of the combined company, which will be known as Chuck E. Cheese Brands Inc., is estimated at $1.4 billion. Leo Holdings, which is self-described as a special purpose acquisition firm, has entered into a “definitive business combination agreement” with Queso Holdings Corp., which is the parent company of CEC Entertainment Inc., the owner, operator and leading franchisor of the family dining and entertainment brand Chuck E. Cheese. The other principal in the merger agreement is Queso’s controlling stockholder, an entity owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE: APO), a publicly traded equity firm based in New York. CEC Entertainment is based in the Dallas suburb of Irving and also owns, operates and franchises Peter Piper Pizza, a family dining concept. As of year-end 2018, CEC Entertainment and its franchisees operated a system of 606 Chuck E. Cheese venues and 144 Peter Piper Pizza restaurants, with locations in 47 states and …

April 9, 2019

Leasing Activity Retail Top Stories

Parent Company of Kay, Zales, Jared to Close 150 Jewelry Stores

by Taylor Williams April 8, 2019

HAMILTON, BERMUDA — Signet Jewelers (NYSE: SIG), which owns jewelry retailers Kay, Zales and Jared, will close approximately 150 North American stores after the 2019 holiday shopping season, the company said in its latest earnings report. These store closings follow Signet’s previous shuttering of 262 stores, most of them in North America, and are part of a larger downsizing program that will reduce the Bermuda-based retailer’s total store count by 13 percent over a three-year period. According to the earnings report, Signet’s same-store sales declined by 2 percent during the fourth quarter of the most recent fiscal year, which ended on Feb. 2, 2019. Same-store sales were projected to drop by another 2.5 percent during the current fiscal year. In a statement, Signet CEO Virginia Drosos pointed to several factors behind the company’s struggles, including increased competition in the jewelry space and weak demand from the United Kingdom market. Drosos also noted that sales of select merchandise for the holiday season fell below projections. A Signet spokesperson also told Business Insider that the broader struggles of American malls, in which many Signet stores are housed, contributed to the decision to close this wave of stores. “Signet is too highly exposed …

April 8, 2019

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