The retail market in Los Angeles is demonstrating exponential growth. Rents are going up, cap rates are going down and occupancy is soaring. Naturally, as lease prices rise, so do sale prices. As such, it is becoming increasingly difficult for investors to find opportunities where substantial rent growth is possible. Tenant competition is also fierce, and landlords are benefitting from extremely high demand throughout the market. Competition Abounds It’s only natural that retailers are competing over space as occupancy rises. One trend that has emerged in Los Angeles is competition among not only direct competitors, but indirect competitors as well. For example, a small grocer might compete with a Ross Dress 4 Less for the same location. Fueling this competition is an increase in large national retailers seeking out smaller urban spaces in downtown areas. Target, for example, is opening a store in LA’s Koreatown on Vermont and 6th streets at the base of a high-rise apartment building. When national soft goods chains open in urban hubs, there will be an evolution of retail surrounding those stores. Smaller discount stores and mom-and-pop retailers will likely suffer, which will lead to vacancies that tend to open the doors for new specialty …
MURRIETA, CALIF. — Developer and operator Anthem Memory Care has broken ground on Vineyard Place, a $12.6 million memory care community in Murrieta, about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Anthem expects to open the 38,000-square-foot, 66-unit community in summer 2016. Working with Anthem on developing and building Vineyard Place are CM Consulting, Markham Development Management Group, CBTwo Architects, Consolidated Contracting and LTC Properties, which is providing financing. Anthem, based in Lake Oswego, Ore., also operates a dementia care community in Chico, Calif., and four in Denver. It is currently developing three communities in the greater Chicago area.
MARINA, CALIF. — AMCAL Monterey Bay LLC has opened The Promontory, a 174-suite, 579-bed off-campus student housing development near the campus of California State University at Monterey Bay. The development is comprised of three four-story buildings featuring 174 fully furnished suites, in which students share a common kitchen and living room in the two-, three-, and four-bedroom housing pods. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, and each individual bedroom locks for privacy and security. Each of the three buildings also features an interior courtyard for studying and socializing. The community shares 6,500 square feet of interior common amenities that include study rooms, a cyber cafe with kitchen facility, computer lab, theater, game room and fitness center, as well as an outdoor basketball court. AMCAL Monterey Bay LLC purchased the 8.27-acre parcel of land from the City of Marina in January 2014. The project is privately funded by Bank of the West and private equity financed. Construction was completed in 18 months, which included the demolition of the abandoned Fort Ord Motor Pool. The development will be managed by the University Corp., the nonprofit that manages all of the campus’ student housing. AMCAL Monterey Bay LLC negotiated and signed a 20-year master …
LAKE FOREST, CALIF. — Lake Forest-based Del Taco is set to develop 27 new locations with three groups in central California. Three new locations are set to open within the next six months. Mike Sater, one of BP/Tesoro ARCO and AM/PM’s largest west coast franchisees, has signed a 20-store development agreement for six counties in the central valley. Sater’s first two Del Taco stores will open in Fresno and Clovis, with a third planned for Merced.
CORONA, CALIF. — The 330-unit Promenade Terrace apartments in Corona has sold to an unnamed buyer for $78.5 million. The community is located at 451 Wellesley Drive. Promenade Terrace is less than a half mile from Corona Hills Plaza, a 534,000-square-foot power center. It is also within walking distance of Corona Hills Marketplace, a 270,000-square-foot shopping mall, and near light rail transit to Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties. Alexander Garcia, Jr., Stewart I. Weston, Christopher Zorbas, David Sperling and John Montakab of Institutional Property Advisors represented both the buyer and unnamed seller in this transaction.
SAN FRANCISCO — A joint venture between MetLife, the John Buck Company and Golub Real Estate have announced plans to build Park Tower at Transbay, a 743,000-square-foot office tower near the Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco. The Class A tower will be located at Howard and Beale streets. The project will be a component of the Transbay Transit Center, a multi-billion-dollar redevelopment project that will feature residential, commercial and transportation facilities just three blocks from the San Francisco Bay. Park Tower at Transbay will feature 14 sky decks, as well as a ground-level park and a three-story lobby. The completion of the office complex is expected to coincide with the scheduled completion of the Transbay Transit Center. MetLife is an equity investor in the partnership, while John Buck and Golub are the developers. JLL is handling the project’s leasing.
BELLFLOWER, CALIF. — CBRE Group has arranged the sale of Rosewood Shopping Center, a retail center located in Bellflower. Bristol Central LP acquired the 60,094-square-foot property for $13.2 million. Currently 74 percent leased, tenants include Fresenius Medical Care, Carl’s Jr., Health Care Partners, Papa John’s Pizza and Montano Family Dentistry. Arthur Flores of CBRE represented the seller, Rosecrans Bellflowers LLC, in the transaction.
PALM SPRINGS, CALIF. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Sunrise Center, a retail center located at 100 S. Sunrise Way in Palm Springs. The property sold for $10.2 million, or $206 per square foot. Renovated in 2009, tenants include Fresh & Easy Market, VIP Urgent Care, Palm Liquors, Power of Fitness and Regal Cleaners. At the time of sale, the property was 96 percent leased. Jack Hopkins and Matthew Hardke of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer, an investor in an 1031 exchange, while Gregory Mills and Dave Lincoln, also of Marcus & Millichap, represented the undisclosed seller. Sharone Sabar of Marcus & Millichap arranged debt placement for the acquisition.
MURRIETA, CALIF. — Developer and operator Anthem Memory Care has broken ground on Vineyard Place, a $12.6 million memory care community in Murrieta, about 80 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Anthem expects to open the 38,000-square-foot, 66-unit community in summer 2016. Working with Anthem on developing and building Vineyard Place are CM Consulting, Markham Development Management Group, CBTwo Architects, Consolidated Contracting and LTC Properties, which is providing financing. Anthem, based in Lake Oswego, Ore., also operates a dementia care community in Chico, Calif., and four in Denver. It is currently developing three communities in the greater Chicago area.
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF. — Beverly Hills-based BIG Shopping Centers USA and RED Development have added five retail assets totaling 1.5 million square feet to their recently launched joint venture BIG RED Portfolio LLC. Acquired properties include Chandler Festival, a 494,858-square-foot power center, Chandler Village, a 296,460-square-foot power center and Chandler Gateway, a 261,678-square-foot power center, all located in Chandler, Arizona; One Pacific Place, a 91,143-square-foot outdoor shopping center located in Omaha, Nebraska; and Greenway Station, a 291,315-square-foot lifestyle center located in Middleton, Wisconsin.