PHOENIX — Akara Partners has completed the purchase of a development site at 355 N. Central Ave. in downtown Phoenix. The buyer plans to develop Kenect Phoenix, a mixed-use residential and retail property, on the site. Designed by Tempe, Ariz.-based RSP Architects and the Chicago office of Perkins + Will, the 23-story building will feature 320 residential apartments units and approximately 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The residential component will feature a mix of floor plans from studio to three-bedroom units. On-site community amenities will include integrated furnishings with food and beverage options throughout the building, social and co-working lounges, fitness center, and a rooftop deck with a swimming pool, grills and fire pits. The first apartments are slated for completion in fall 2019. Acquisition details were not released.
AVENTURA, FLA. — Aventura Mall Venture, a partnership between Turnberry Associates and Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG), has received $1.75 billion in financing for Aventura Mall in Aventura, a city in South Florida’s Miami-Dade County. JPMorgan Chase Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley Bank provided the financing. According to multiple news outlets, the loan will be used to pay off a $1.2 billion CMBS loan that Turnberry and Simon secured in 2013, and a $214 million loan that mall owners took out in 2016 to fund a 315,000-square-foot expansion. The new three-level wing includes experiential additions to the Arts Aventura Mall program, a 93-foot-tall Aventura Slide Tower, the first Topshop Topman in Florida, Zara, Under Armour, Treats Food Hall and new dining options offering indoor and outdoor seating. The nearly 3 million-square-foot Aventura Mall is home to more than 300 tenants, including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Anthropologie, H&M, Urban Outfitters and a 24-screen AMC movie theater. Jack Kessler, Rebecca Livingston Lando, Bruce Booken, Jason D’Amico, George Cass, Rebecca Trinkler and Haley Ayure of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC provided legal representation for Turnberry and Simon. “This transaction is important because it enables Aventura Mall to …
NEW YORK CITY — CoverGirl will open its first-ever brick-and-mortar store in New York City’s Times Square this fall. The 10,000-square-foot flagship location will feature an experiential beauty “play room” with interactive elements, full-service makeup application, on-the-go services and digital experiences. The retail store will be an experiential interpretation of CoverGirl’s new campaign, “I Am What I Make Up,” which it released at the beginning of this year. CoverGirl, a Coty Inc. brand, will be the first mass legacy beauty brand to launch a flagship store in North America, according to a release from the company.
GLENDALE, ARIZ. — CBRE has arranged the sale of Westgate Entertainment District, a mixed-use development located near Loop 101 and Glendale Avenue in Glendale. YAM Westgate, a venture formed by Scottsdale-based YAM Properties, purchased the 46.6-acre entertainment, retail and office destination, including 30 acres of undeveloped land, from The New Westgate LLC, formed by iStar Properties. The price was $133 million. Philip Voorhees, Jimmy Slusher, Kirk Brummer, Sean Heitzler, Jesse Goldsmith, Steve Julius and Bryan Taute of CBRE represented the seller and buyer in the deal. Opened in 2016, the Westgate Entertainment District features more than 40 retailers and restaurants, including a 20-screen AMC Theatre, Dave & Busters and Yard House. Additionally, the property offers 159,026 square feet of Class A office space, as well as 76 multifamily lofts located on the upper floors.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a portfolio of three retail properties totaling 143,963 square feet in Austin. The single-tenant properties span a total of 21.3 acres and are leased to JC Penney, Frost Bank and Gold’s Gym. Vincent Knipp and Ryan Wolf of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a private developer, in the transaction. Bill Rose, also of Marcus & Millichap, procured the buyer, a private investor. Both parties requested anonymity.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Taiwanese bakery 85°C Bakery Café has signed leases to open two new stores in Austin, one in the Highland area on the city’s north side and one on Lakeline Boulevard on the city’s northwest side. John Nguyen of NewQuest Properties represented the bakery in its lease negotiations. Bryan McMurrey of CBRE represented the landlord in the lease for the Highland location, which will have a soft open on June 25.
LAS VEGAS — Colliers International – Las Vegas has brokered the purchase of a retail property located at 6825 W. Russell Road in Las Vegas. Daniel and Cathy Pereyra purchased the property from an undisclosed seller for $5.3 million. The property features 23,596 square feet of retail space. Dan Gluhaich of Colliers represented the buyer in the transaction.
DENVER — Pinnacle Real Estate Advisors has arranged the sale of a single-tenant retail property located at 1200 W. Alameda Ave. in Denver. A local Colorado buyer acquired the property for $3 million. 7-Eleven occupies the 3,000-square-foot property, which was constructed in 2018, on a net-leased basis. Rob Edwards and Tom Ethington of Pinnacle represented the seller, a Colorado developer, in the deal.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Swedish furniture giant IKEA has nixed its plans to build a 289,000-square-foot store in Fort Worth, according to an emailed statement sent to the Dallas Business Journal. The store was slated to be part of a 478,000-square-foot development. Construction was scheduled to begin this year with the store targeting summer 2019 for opening. According to the statement and industry sources, the abandoning of the project stems from a changing retail landscape, not an issue with financing or incentives from the city.
MCKINNEY, TEXAS — Phillips Edison & Co. (PECO), an owner and operator of grocery-anchored retail centers, will build an 8,500-square-foot retail property in McKinney, a northern suburb of Dallas. Expected to be completed later this year, the property will be part of McKinney Market Street, an 88,389-square-foot shopping center anchored by Market Street, a subsidiary of Idaho-based grocer Albertsons. Tenants that have preleased space at the new development include Sport Clips, The Gelato Cone and Credit Union of Texas.