NEW YORK CITY — After the auction for troubled retailer Filene’s Basement was re-opened last Friday, a partnership between off-price retailer Syms Corp. and Vornado Realty Trust has been declared the winning bidder and its bid of approximately $65 million has been approved by the Bankruptcy Court handling the restructuring. The partnership will take control of a vast majority of the currently operating Filene’s Basement location and the retailer’s inventory. It was not said whether Filene’s headquarters and distribution buildings were included in the purchase. In addition, a separate joint venture in which Vornado owns a 50 percent interest has paid approximately $16.8 million to terminate its existing lease with Filene’s Basement at the Downtown Crossing project in Boston. Vornado also provided approximately $8.2 million in funding to amend its lease at 4 Union Square South in Manhattan; the lease was assumed by Syms. The agreement also stipulated, among other things, a minimum $1.5 million annual increase in rent. The Filene’s Basement lease at Vornado’s Bergen Town Center property, located in Paramus, N.J., was also assumed by Syms. Last week, an affiliate of Men’s Wearhouse won the initial auction for Filene’s Basement, acquiring 17 of the retailer’s 20 store leases, …
SEATTLE — Eddie Bauer Holdings, Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday. The company entered into an asset purchase agreement with an affiliate of private equity firm CCMP Capital Advisors to buy the company’s assets in bankruptcy for $202 million. CCMP plans to keep the majority of Eddie Bauer’s stores open and retain most employees. The sale is subject to bankruptcy court approval, and is expected to transpire within 60 days unless a higher bidder comes along. Eddie Bauer currently operates 371 stores in the U.S. and Canada. CCMP has a history of retail investing; the company’s investments have included Quizno’s, Guitar Center and Cabela’s. A statement by Neil Fiske, president and CEO of Eddie Bauer, blamed the bankruptcy on the debt burden on the company left over from the bankruptcy of Spiegel and the prolonged recession which has not been kind to many apparel retailers. Fiske, who ran Bath and Body Works for 4 years prior to joining Eddie Bauer in 2007, also discusses many turnaround plans that the company is enacting.
CULVER CITY, CALIF. — Culver Centrale is a new mixed-use residential and retail property currently in development in Culver City. Scheduled for completion in November, the property will offer 18 residences averaging approximately 1,800 square feet and 5,500 square fee of street-level retail space. The developer, Joseph Miller, is president of The Runyon Group, a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based real estate investor and manager. “The residences at Culver Centrale draw from the best elements of classic design and interpret them in a modern way,” Miller says. “Nothing has been reinvented, only refined. Culver Centrale is all about light, warmth, simplicity and above all, quality. I spent the better part of a year picking out the best finishes; I went to Italy to inspect the cabinets and tiles. I think that this hard work is evident in each of the residences.” Culver Centrale will be the first and only mixed-use project and the only new residential project in downtown Culver City, notes Miller. The project will also come online without having to face any competition in the form of other new projects of this kind. Miller was able to secure the only entitlement for construction in downtown Culver City for this type …
CHINO HILLS, CALIF. — The $72 million Chino Hills Government Center is now complete. The new center includes Chino Hills City Hall, Chino Valley Independent Fire District Administration headquarters, Chino Hills Police Station, James W. Thalman Chino Hills Branch Library and Government Center parking structure. The city of Chino Hills contracted San Diego-based Barnhart Inc. to construct the 133,000-square-foot project, which encompasses a 10-acre campus. Barnhart was selected for the project through a RFP process. “The Government Center was designed to be the main focal point around a new downtown area, which creates easy access to City Hall, the Sheriff Station, library and shopping/residential areas for public use,” explains Brian Cahill, director of operations at Barnhart. The phased-project was completed in 18 months. The first phase, which was completed in August 2008, included a $14 million police station. At the end of last year, the $27 million City Hall, a $11 million, four-story parking deck and the $7 million Fire Administration Headquarters opened. The $13 million library component opened in January. Additionally, the project included improvements to the $22 million, 33-acre community park and a portion of the roadway, as well as infrastructure improvements. “A unique element of the project …
DELRAY BEACH, FLA. — A $325 million mixed-use development, which spans 8.5 acres on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Federal Highway in Delray Beach, is poised to become the midway point of the city’s retail offerings. Upon full build-out, Atlantic Plaza II will include 132,000 square feet of retail space; a 106,000-square-foot, Class A office building; 197 residences and an underground parking garage for 1,000 cars. Sitework for the first phase will begin this summer, and groundbreaking is expected in 2 years. Subsequent phases will follow in the next 5 to 7 years. “We look at this project as becoming the 50-yard line for Delray Beach, the one endzone being a very dynamic beach community, which is within walking distance of the site,” says Bill Milmoe, president of CDS International Holdings, which is developing the project. “The other endzone is the downtown area, which is also within walking distance of the site.” A CDS-owned shopping center currently sits on the site. Atlantic Plaza II is a vast improvement, Milmoe says, because it offers better positioning for future tenants. “The current retail is recessed off the main street, like a typical suburban shopping center with a lot of parking,” he …
SANTA ANA, CALIF. — San Francisco-based The Prime Group has acquired Adagio at South Coast, a 349-unit apartment community located at 3124 S. Main St. in Santa Ana. One of the largest investments sales this year in Orange County, the property sold for $43.1 million, or $123,496 per unit. “This transaction demonstrates our ongoing interest in buying well-located, quality multifamily properties in coastal California,” notes John Adair, principal of The Prime Group. In the last 6 months, the company has completed apartment acquisitions in California totaling more than $181 million. Situated in the South Coast Metro submarket, the property was originally constructed in 1974 and renovated in 2000. The sale closed 22 days after contract signing, which is quick for such a large transaction. “In today’s market, it can be very challenging to get a deal over the finish line for a variety of reasons,” says Ray Eldridge of CB Richard Ellis. “The fact that a transaction of this size closed in just 22 days demonstrates the importance of working with a consistent, motivated and reliable buyer.” Eldridge also noted that the acquisition was a strategic move for the buyer, which also owns two nearby apartment assets. Eldridge and Michelle …
FORT PIERCE, FLA. — Tulepan Management will start construction in the next few weeks on phase one of its 182,000-square foot Coral Square Shoppes. The property, spread across 17 acres on S. U.S. Highway in Fort Pierce, will contain a variety of restaurant, entertainment and office space. The first phase, which will deliver next spring, will include a 17,000-square-foot Sav-A-Lot Food Store and 25,000 square feet of retail space. Architect Kenneth McGee designed the center, and Kast Construction will provide general contracting services. Before drawing up plans for the property, Tulepan had to make sure the site was environmentally stable. Contamination remained from a former dry cleaning store, and the center had been decimated by hurricanes. “It was a property that had been sitting there since the hurricanes,” says Randy Tulepan, vice president of leasing for Coral Springs, Fla.-based Tulepan Management. “It had been neglected for quite some time.” To aid in the cleanup cost, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the firm a grant from its Brownfield Economic Development Initiative. Tulepan says Coral Square Shoppes will fill a retail void in a community that is starved for national attention, and new retailers should, in turn, fuel …
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-based developer Crescent Resources has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to reduce the firm’s debt level and boost its capital structure. The filing applies to Crescent and certain affiliated legal entities, but not its entire portfolio of commercial real estate assets. A group of existing lenders has come forth with $110 million in debtor-in-possession financing aimed at helping Crescent remain in full operation during its restructuring. Andrew Hede, who has just been named CEO of Crescent, will lead the company through its bankruptcy filing. The firm’s previous CEO, Arthur Fields, has stepped down. “It is critical to understand that the filing and restructuring should have minimal impact on the company’s continuing operations, which will remain ‘business as usual’ throughout the process,” Hede wrote in an open letter on the company’s Web site. “Despite the unprecedented challenges facing the real estate industry, Crescent’s underlying business model is solid with many very attractive assets.” The filing is aimed at improving Crescent’s standing in the marketplace and is not a sign that the company is going out of business. Crescent Resources has divisions in Atlanta; Nashville, Tenn.; Orlando and Tampa, Fla.; and Washington, D.C. A few …
NEW YORK CITY — An international consortium that includes New York-based investment and development firm Youngwood & Associates and Korean bank Kumho Investment Bank has entered into an agreement to acquire the New York City headquarters of American Insurance Group Inc. (AIG). The two connected buildings, which are located at 70 Pine St. and 72 Wall St. in Manhattan’s Financial District, contain 1.4 million rentable square feet. AIG occupies the 66-story Pine Street tower. The office buildings was built in 1932, at the same time as 72 Wall Street, and was the tallest skyscraper in New York City until the construction of the World Trade Center. AIG has occupied the tower since the 1970s. The purchase was arranged by CB Richard Ellis. Terms of the transaction were not released pending the completion of the sale, but multiple sources have estimated the sale price at approximately $100 million. In a statement, Greg Carney, a partner with Youngwood & Associates, said,” We are pleased to announce this important transaction and view it as a key stepping stone in our long-range plan to establish a major presence for Korean institutions in the U.S. property and capital markets. According to a release issued by …
CONYERS, GA. — The Liquid Products Division of Golden State Foods has signed a 5-year lease with Ashley Capital for 100,952 square feet in the Rockdale Logistics Center, making it the center’s first tenant since Ashley bought the warehouse in 2007. The Conyers property spans 25 acres and encompasses more than 540,000 square feet. Golden State Foods currently occupies a manufacturing facility in Conyers across the street from Rockdale Logistics Center and will use the new space for storage. “They’ve grown recently in the liquid products division, and they needed to use more space in their existing plant for manufacturing,” says Bobby Mason of Atlanta-based Lavista Associates. Mason was the sole broker on the deal, representing Ashley Capital. “[GSF] is one of the few business that actually had a demand based on the growth in the business.” Even though the tenant needed more space and Rockdale Logistics Center is across the street from GSF’s manufacturing facility, the transaction still took some work. “There’s no easy deals anymore, unfortunately,” Mason says. “This is the first deal of this size that’s been done in a while.” — Jon Ross