WARRENDALE, PA. — Teen clothing retailer rue21 is set to close about one-third of its stores nationwide as it shifts its focus to e-commerce. The privately held company will shutter 400 stores, according to reports by The Associated Press, leaving more than 700 rue21 locations in 48 states. The retailer confirmed upcoming closures in a Facebook post, stating that “it was a difficult but necessary decision.” A spokeswoman for rue21 recently alluded to the retailer’s unfavorable financial state, according to reports by Women’s Wear Daily. The decision to shrink the company’s store footprint comes about two weeks after entering into forbearance agreements with lenders in order to stave off a default. In 2002, the company filed for bankruptcy under its former name — Pennsylvania Fashions Inc. It emerged under the name rue21 the following year. The company, based in the Pittsburgh suburb of Warrendale, didn’t say how soon the stores would close. Rue21 took to Facebook, once again, to explain to customers that they could search for stores near them on the company’s “Store Locator” page. Those set to close will show a “Closing Store” label above the address. Rue21 is the latest retailer to struggle amid the expansion of …
One measurement of the health of the U.S. office sector stood out in the first quarter of this year. Net absorption totaled 4.9 million square feet, down from an average of 9.4 million square feet per quarter in 2016 and the lowest since 2014. In short, growth in the office sector “continued to disappoint,” according to Reis. The New York City-based real estate research firm, which tracks 82 markets nationally, recently released its analysis of the property sector’s vital signs in the first quarter. The positive news is that the office vacancy rate held steady at 15.8 percent from the prior quarter, and was down 20 basis points from the first quarter of 2016. The overall asking rent rose 1.8 percent on an annual basis. Construction was also relatively low at 7.9 million square feet in the first quarter of 2017, down from an average of 8.8 million square feet in 2016. Much like retail real estate’s war with e-commerce, office markets are competing with the pressures of using space more efficiently and hiring employees who work from remote locations, says Reis senior economist Barbara Byrne Denham. “Firms have persistently leased less space for their growing workforce,” she says. The …
SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — TriGate Capital, a Dallas-based real estate private equity firm, has purchased First Colony Commons, a 410,121-square-foot retail center in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land. Covington Realty Partners, a Chicago-based investment firm that specializes in Class A assets in primary markets, sold the property. HFF arranged the $38.2 million in acquisition financing for the property and represented both parties in the sales transaction. Nexbank SSB provided the floating-rate, non-recourse loan for the property, which features a 12-year term and a five-year extension option. Situated on 37.8 acres at 15201-15555 Southwest Freeway near Interstate 69 on Houston’s southwestern outskirts, the center was 99 percent leased at the time of sale. Tenants include The Home Depot, Tuesday Morning, Babies “R” Us and Office Depot. More than 85,000 residents earning an average annual household income of $134,000 or more live within three miles of First Colony Commons. Rusty Tamlyn and Ryan West of HFF headed the investment sales effort. Jim Curtin of HFF led the debt placement transaction. “This power center had a lot of moving parts, which presented challenges for buyers and lenders,” says Tamlyn. “TriGate was able to navigate through the issues and will have potential value-add opportunities …
GREENWICH, CONN. — Starwood Capital Group has agreed to acquire Forestar Group Inc., a residential and mixed-use real estate development company, for $605 million. Starwood will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Forestar’s common stock for $14.25 per share in cash. The Forestar Board of Directors has unanimously approved the merger agreement and has recommended approval of the merger by Forestar’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017. “Over the past 18 months Forestar has significantly reduced costs and outstanding debt, exited non-core assets and focused on its core community development business. While executing these key initiatives, the board and management have been evaluating longer term strategic alternatives,” says James Rubright, chairman of the Forestar board. “After conducting a thorough review assisted by highly experienced financial and legal advisors, the board believes that engaging in the transaction with Starwood is the best option to maximize stockholder value.” JMP Securities LLC is serving as financial advisor to Forestar, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as legal advisor. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal advisor to Starwood. Austin, Texas-based Forestar Group maintains a portfolio of 50 residential and mixed-use …
BOSTON — After more than three years of ownership, Shorenstein Properties has sold Center Plaza, a 741,200-square-foot mixed-use asset in downtown Boston. Synergy Investments, a Boston-based real estate owner and investor, and GreenOak, an international real estate investment and lending firm, have jointly purchased Center Plaza for $365 million. Developed by Beacon Capital in phases in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Center Plaza consists of three interconnected, nine-story buildings comprising more than 600,000 square feet of office space, 77,000 square feet of street-level retail and a below-grade parking garage with 575 spaces. Situated at 1-3 Center Plaza, the retail and office development features nearly 875 feet of frontage along Cambridge Street. Center Plaza, which is currently 60 percent leased to 31 tenants, sits at the entrance to Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. The project is situated across the street from Boston’s City Hall. Shorenstein Properties purchased Center Plaza in January 2014 for $307 million, according to the Boston Business Journal. The media outlet also reported that Shorenstein’s planned $25 million overhaul of Center Plaza never took shape. The NGKF Capital Markets Boston team led by Robert Griffin, Edward Maher, Matthew Pullen and James Tribble represented Shorenstein Properties, which sold the …
HOUSTON — While it’s not an ideal time to be a multifamily property owner in Houston, it is a good time to be working on behalf of one. With their clients sitting on excess supply, apartment locators — middlemen who match tenant preferences to properties — are being increasingly called upon to deliver tenants. Locators work on commission, typically earning about 20 percent of the first month’s rent for their services. But in Houston’s soft market, that figure is rapidly rising. Ricardo Rivas, chief investment officer at Allied Orion Group and one of several panelists who spoke at the InterFace Houston Multifamily conference on March 28, noted that while locators are costly, the services they provide in a down market are crucial. “They [locators] are our best friends right now,” Rivas said to 175 industry professionals who gathered at the Royal Sonesta Hotel. “We reach out to them, we throw them parties and we give them big incentives to bring tenants over.” Todd Marix, a senior managing partner in HFF’s Houston office who spoke on an earlier panel, addressed the rising operating costs that landlords are facing. In his view, fees paid to apartment locators are quietly doing major damage …
NEW YORK CITY — TF Cornerstone has secured a $325 million refinancing for Carnegie Hall Tower, a 555,000-square-foot, trophy office property on Manhattan’s “Billionaire’s Row.” The 60-story building is located at 152 W. 57th Street. Carnegie Hall Tower opened in 1991 and was designed by Cesar Pelli. The building features a vaulted entrance and a through-block grand lobby adorned with Italian marble, brass and hardwood accents similar to its landmark neighbor, Carnegie Music Hall. Many floors offer 360-degree views of New York City, including Central Park, the skyline, the Hudson and East rivers and the Atlantic Ocean. “Delivered in 1991 during an economic recession, the property took time to lease up and stabilize,” says Jeremy Shell, executive vice president of TF Cornerstone. “The market was soft but the principals of our firm were persistent in waiting out the vacancies of the early 1990s. [Cornerstone] went to great lengths to keep the property solvent and to ultimately realize their vision for Carnegie Hall Tower.” Some of the tower’s current notable tenants include TR Winston & Company, Metacapital, Kingdon Capital, 13D Management, Grubman Indursky Shire & Meiselas law firm and Greystone & Company. Singer & Bassuk Organization (SBO) arranged the financing through …
NEW YORK CITY — Despite a rash of bankruptcies and store closures by major retailers during the first quarter of 2017, the U.S. retail market overall is quite healthy, according to a report by Reis, a New York-based commercial real estate analytics firm. To gather its data, Reis tracked multi-tenant neighborhood and community shopping centers of 10,000 square feet or larger in 77 primary metro areas throughout the United States. Last week, Payless ShoeSource became the 10th retailer to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy so far this year, according to CNBC. Others include Gander Mountain, BCBG Max Azria, Wet Seal, Limited Stores, Gordmans Stores, hhgregg, Eastern Outfitters, RadioShack, General Wireless Operations and Michigan Sporting Goods Distributors. Aeropostale also closed nearly 600 locations in 2017, while Sports Authority gave back 460 storefronts after its liquidation. Macy’s, JC Penney and Sears are undertaking additional store closures Despite the headline-grabbing stories that would imply retail is struggling, Reis reports that the vacancy rate held steady at 9.9 percent during the first quarter of 2017 — identical to both the previous quarter and previous year. Both asking and effective rents increased as well. Asking rents rose to $20.55 per square foot, an increase of …
CHICAGO — Care Capital Properties Inc. (NYSE: CCP) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire six behavioral health hospitals in a sale-leaseback transaction for $400 million. The six-property portfolio contains a total of 712 beds in California, Arizona and Illinois. The hospitals primarily provide acute inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care, addiction services, geriatric psychiatric care and child and adolescent psychiatric care. Signature Healthcare Services LLC, one of the largest privately owned behavioral healthcare providers in the United States, currently owns the properties. As part of the transaction, CCP has agreed to fund up to $50 million in expansion and improvements within the portfolio. CCP will also have an option, exercisable beginning in the fourth quarter of 2018, to purchase one additional building for an amount that is expected to be approximately $20 million. Acquired properties include Aurora Charter Oak Hospital in Covina, Calif.; Aurora Vista del Mar Hospital in Ventura, Calif.; Aurora San Diego Hospital in San Diego; Aurora Arizona West in Glendale, Ariz.; Aurora Arizona East in Tempe, Ariz.; and Aurora Chicago Lakeshore Hospital in Chicago. Upon completion of the transaction, which is slated for the second quarter of 2017, CCP will lease the properties to affiliates of …
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Over 1,200 leaders from across all facets of the student housing industry descended on Austin last week for the 9th annual InterFace Student Housing conference, held at the J.W. Marriott. The conference concluded April 7 after two-and-a-half days of networking and educational sessions on topics ranging from the state of the industry, to leasing and marketing, development and design. While the industry is evolving, sunny skies continue to be the forecast for years to come. Rising rental rates are coupled with record-breaking levels of asset sales, and an increase in institutional and foreign investment, further legitimizing the sector. The conference kicked off Wednesday, April 5, with the 6th annual SHB Open Golf Outing at Barton Creek Resort & Spa, and then moved to the third floor of the J.W. Marriott Austin, where a record-breaking number of attendees met to network and dine over a range of industry topics. The afternoon began with a round of Speed Networking, where over 100 industry experts participated in short, four-minute conversations designed to spur discussion and foster new relationships. The group then moved into 25 InterFace+ Info Roundtables on topics ranging from the possible obsolescence of interior amenities, to international student housing opportunities and …