Top Stories

Alcion Ventures, Genton Property Group Receive $239M to Develop Four Seasons Private Residences in LA

by Nellie Day May 31, 2017

LOS ANGELES — A joint venture between Alcion Ventures and Genton Property Group has received $239 million in financing to develop the Four Seasons Private Residences Los Angeles. Construction has already begun for the luxury project, which features 59 for-sale units. It is scheduled for completion in mid-2019. The Four Seasons Private Residences will be situated across from the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, near the intersection of Third Street and Wetherly Drive. The property will be near Cedars-Sinai Hospital, Beverly Hills’ Golden Triangle and the North Robertson Boulevard shopping district. The 12-story, LEED-certified tower will feature custom residences with interiors inspired by California-modern designer Richard Neutra. Architecture firm CallisonRTKL designed the property. The units will offer a variety of floorplans with luxury features and amenities, including floor-to-ceiling, retractable glass walls, open-concept indoor/outdoor living and dining spaces, professional-grade gourmet kitchens, spa bathrooms with soaking tubs, separate glass-walled showers with dual-sinks, marble-topped vanities, rooftop gardens, and views from the Hollywood Hills to the downtown skyline. Property features include a heated outdoor lap pool and poolside cabanas, state-of-the-art fitness center with spin, cardio, weight equipment and private training and yoga rooms, private spa treatment rooms, an IMAX theater for private …

May 31, 2017

E-Commerce as Share of Core Retail Sales

Features Retail Top Stories

Core Retail Sales Are at All-Time High Despite Industry Shakeout, Says Nadji at RECon

by Jeff Shaw May 30, 2017

LAS VEGAS — The roof isn’t about to cave in on the retail industry despite a rash of store closures and bankruptcies. Far from it, insists Hessam Nadji, president and CEO of Marcus & Millichap. Core retail sales, which exclude auto and gasoline sales, have risen 28 percent from the peak of 2008 on a nominal basis and 12 percent when adjusted for inflation, according to combined data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau and Marcus & Millichap. Unlike the period leading up to the Great Recession, when unsustainable consumer spending was fed by temporary factors such as overleveraging and homeowners using positive equity in their homes as ATMs to fund unaffordable lifestyles, those behaviors have largely been squelched in this recovery, Nadji points out. “We have not overleveraged. We have not stretched the consumer,” Nadji told a crowd of several hundred retail real estate professionals gathered at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel last Monday, May 22, to hear his presentation followed by a panel discussion on the state of the industry moderated by Bill Rose, director of the national retail group at Marcus & Millichap. The hour-long program was part of RECon, the annual dealmaking …

May 30, 2017

New York Northeast Office Top Stories

Ivanhoé Cambridge, Callahan Capital Properties Acquire 85 Broad Street in Downtown Manhattan for $650M

by Katie Sloan May 30, 2017

NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between Ivanhoé Cambridge and Callahan Capital Properties has acquired 85 Broad Street, a 1.1 million-square-foot office tower located in Manhattan’s Financial District, for $650 million. The 30-story tower recently underwent a capital improvement program, which included the renovation of existing amenities and the addition of new building services. The property amenities include a 14,000-square-foot wellness center with a yoga room, Le Pain Quotidien restaurant, a 125-seat tenant cafeteria, conference center and bike room. “We are proud to acquire such a high-quality, marquee property,” says Arthur Lloyd, president of Ivanhoé Cambridge. “85 Broad Street features state-of-the-art building services and amenities and appeals to both traditional and TAMI users. This acquisition expands our footprint, and brings our New York office portfolio to more than 6.7 million square feet.” Office tenants at the tower include Oppenheimer & Co., WeWork, PureFunds, MSQ Ventures and Nielsen. Goldman Sachs originally built the tower to serve as its headquarters in the 1980s, according to reports by Bloomberg. The company moved to 200 West St. in 2010. Montreal-based Ivanhoé Cambridge invests in properties and real estate companies in select cities around the world. Through subsidiaries and partnerships, the company holds interests in …

May 30, 2017

Features Top Stories

Locally Inspired Design, Restaurant Offerings Enhance the Airport Retailing Experience

by Katie Sloan May 30, 2017

Airports by and large are jumping on the “shop local” bandwagon, offering more and more locally based dining options. Airports that infuse the local character into their design and restaurant and retail offerings will likely entice travelers to stop and spend their dollars. Chicago Midway International Airport is set to undergo a major renovation of its concessions and food offerings. In February, the city council approved the ordinance authorizing a concession redevelopment and management lease agreement with Midway Partnership LLC to redevelop, manage and operate the airport’s concessions program. The partnership is comprised of Vantage Airport Group, SSP America and Hudson Group. Meanwhile at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, passengers can enjoy three different terminal locations of Tortas Frontera, a Mexican restaurant under the leadership of local chef Rick Bayless. Both Condé Nast Traveler and Bon Appétit have named the eatery America’s best airport restaurant. In March, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed a plan that would allow food trucks, a staple for Chicago’s culinary scene, to set up on site at O’Hare and Midway airports. Current regulations regarding food truck locations would be modified under the proposal, according to local media reports. “The implementation of local venues is pretty much expected now. …

May 30, 2017

Northeast Retail Top Stories

Urban Edge Properties Acquires Retail Portfolio in Northeast, Midwest for $325M

by Nellie Day May 26, 2017

NEW YORK CITY — Urban Edge Properties (NYSE: UE) has purchased a seven-property retail portfolio primarily within the New York City metro area and Missouri for $325 million. The portfolio contains a total of 1.5 million square feet. The acquisition includes Yonkers Gateway Center in Yonkers, N.Y.; Manchester Plaza in Manchester, Mo.; and The Plaza at Woodbridge in Woodbridge, The Plaza at Cherry Hill in Cherry Hill and 21 E. Broad Street/One Lincoln Plaza in Westfield, all in New Jersey. The portfolio is currently 83 percent leased. The tenant rosters contain a mix of big-box stores such as Burlington, Best Buy, DSW and Toys “R” Us; grocers like Aldi and Trader Joe’s; furniture outposts like Raymour & Flanigan and Bob’s Furniture; and restaurants like Five Guys, Cake Boss and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, among others. Occupancy rates range from 74 percent for The Plaza at Cheery Hill to 100 percent for the Westfield asset. New Jersey-based Acklinis Realty Holding LLC owned the portfolio for more than 30 years. The contributors exchanged their property interests for about $122 million of Urban Edge operating partnership units, which were valued at $27.02 per unit. Urban Edge assumed about $33 million of existing mortgage debt, …

May 26, 2017

Industrial Texas Top Stories

Daikin Industries Opens $400M HVAC Manufacturing Campus Near Houston

by John Nelson May 25, 2017

WALLER, TEXAS — Daikin Industries Ltd., a manufacturer of indoor heating and cooling systems and refrigerants, has opened the 500-acre Daikin Texas Technology Park (DTTP) in Waller, about 43 miles northwest of Houston. The Japanese company’s new $400 million business campus consolidates many of the company’s HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) manufacturing and logistics facilities in Texas and Tennessee. “The DTTP is the largest facility investment our company has made in its 90-year history, and we believe that investing in Texas and keeping jobs in the United States is mutually beneficial for both our company and the economy,” says Takeshi Ebisu, president and CEO of Goodman Global Group Inc., a subsidiary of Daikin. Spanning roughly 4 million square feet, the DTTP supports the design, engineering and assembly of heating and cooling products for residential and commercial use, marketed under the Daikin, Goodman and Amana brands. Amana is a registered trademark of Maytag Corp. or its related companies (including Whirlpool) and is used under license to Goodman Co. Daikin also plans to assemble VRV (variable refrigerant volume) products at the DTTP that were previously imported from other Daikin business units outside of North America. Noriyuki Inoue, Daikin’s chairman of the …

May 25, 2017

Features Retail Top Stories

RECon Recap: ‘The Magic’ Is Reimagining Real Estate, Panel Concludes

by Jeff Shaw May 25, 2017

LAS VEGAS — In the midst of a particularly tumultuous period for the retail sector, evidenced by waves of store closures, what advice do seasoned shopping center executives have for aspiring young professionals seeking to make their mark in this business? The question arose Monday during a panel discussion moderated by Marcus & Millichap’s Bill Rose, national director of the brokerage firm’s retail group, at the Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel. The hour-long program, titled “Retail eVolution: A New Beginning, Not the End As We Know It,” analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of today’s retail market. The panel discussion capped off the first day of events at RECon 2017, the shopping center industry’s biggest deal-making event of the year. This year’s show, which is put on by the International Council of Shopping Centers, included 37,000 registrants, 1,200 exhibitors spread across 853,000 square feet and participants from 58 countries. The panelists pointed out that the current disruption taking place in the retail real estate sector — driven by a combination of shifting demographics, the growth of online retailing and a U.S. market that is over-retailed in some categories — creates both risk and opportunity. Hessam Nadji, president and CEO of Marcus & …

May 25, 2017

New York Northeast Retail Top Stories

LNR Partners Sells 723,326 SF Shopping Mall in Westbury, New York for $92M

by Kristin Harlow May 24, 2017

WESTBURY, N.Y. — LNR Partners LLC has sold The Mall at the Source, a 723,326-square-foot shopping center in the Long Island community of Westbury, for $92 million. The transaction included the 210,798-square-foot Fortunoff Building, a vacant anchor property formerly occupied by now-defunct department store Fortunoff. The property, which includes a four-story parking garage, is situated on 38 acres at 1504 Old Country Road. Located 28 miles from New York City, the mall is positioned within the Nassau Hub submarket. LNR sold the property as the manager for CMAT 99-C1 Old Country Road LLC, which is a subsidiary of Starwood Property Trust Inc. There was also a co-seller on the transaction, a real estate mortgage investment conduit (REMIC) trust for which C-III Asset Management LLC is the special servicer. Jose Cruz, Kevin O’Hearn, Chris Phaneuf, Michael Oliver, Stephen Simonelli and Andrew Scandalios of HFF marketed the property on behalf of the sellers. HFF also secured a loan for the Fortunoff Building. An undisclosed private foreign buyer purchased the mall and acquired the title to the Fortunoff Building. Starwood Property Trust is a commercial mortgage real estate investment trust. C-III Asset Management is a real estate investment management and commercial property services company. …

May 24, 2017

Florida Mixed-Use Office Retail Southeast Top Stories

Hines to Develop 600,000 SF Mixed-Use Tower in Downtown Miami

by Katie Sloan May 23, 2017

MIAMI — Hines is set to break ground on 110 10th Street, a 45-story, 600,000-square-foot mixed-use tower located within Miami Worldcenter, a 27-acre development in downtown Miami. The tower will be the first Class A office building of scale constructed in Miami’s Central Business District in eight years, and will offer a mix of office space and retail. The project is located directly adjacent to Miami Worldcenter’s 360,000-square-foot retail promenade. “More companies are moving to downtown Miami each day and existing brands are expanding here,” says Nitin Motwani, managing principal for the master developer of Miami Worldcenter, Miami Worldcenter Associates. “An office tower at Miami Worldcenter will offer tenants a chance to be in a mixed-use setting that’s centrally located, walkable and connected.” New Haven, Conn.-based architecture firm Pickard Chilton Associates was chosen to design the building, which will feature three indoor/outdoor terraces. Construction on the first phase of Miami Worldcenter began in 2016, including a 60-story Paramount luxury multifamily community and retail space. Construction on 110 10th Street is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2018, with initial occupancy occurring in late 2020. Hines has been active in the Florida real estate market since 1982 with the development of …

May 23, 2017

Features Midwest Office Top Stories

If These Walls Could Talk: The Power of Environmental Graphic Design

by John Nelson May 23, 2017

On a basic level, environmental graphic design (EGD) is about communicating information through visual media and tactical installations. But it’s not just about conveying information, it’s also about expressing ideas and identity. On a more engaging level, EGD is about making a space memorable and about connecting people to spaces through the thoughtful and strategic use of graphics, signage, art and artistry. EGD includes a wide array of applications and expressions. From practical and simple design to inspiring and uniquely thoughtful compositions, EGD professionals blend environmental graphics with both the built environment and interior design to reinforce identity and bring elements of an organization’s professional culture into the space. In other words, EGD isn’t just about where you are — but more importantly, who you are. For owners, managers, businesses and brokers, understanding the power and potential of high-quality EGD is critically important. It can greatly enhance the properties that people own, operate, lend on or broker — helping to sell a space and vision or sell a client on your brand, building or business. Influential Storytelling EGD attracts people to not only a polished, beautiful space, but can also visually demonstrate the potential of a space through a wide …

May 23, 2017

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