PLANO, TEXAS — Daiso Japan, a retail store known for selling items for $1.50, has scheduled a grand opening celebration weekend for its Plano store on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 23-24. The Plano Daiso store is located at 101 W. Spring Creek Parkway, Suite 731. Daiso operates 3,300 stores worldwide with a total of 44 stores in the United States, and plans to open 20 stores throughout Texas. The company’s first Texas location opened last summer in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton.
INVERNESS, ALA. — Branch Properties LLC has acquired two shopping centers in the Birmingham suburb of Inverness from Bayer Properties. The acquisitions include Inverness Corners, a 242,635-square-foot shopping center anchored by Winn-Dixie and Kohl’s; and Inverness Plaza, a 74,818-square-foot shopping center anchored by PGA Superstore and Planet Fitness. The adjacent centers were renovated last year. The sales price was not disclosed.
WASHINGTON, PA. — Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. has completed the previously announced acquisition of The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Cannery Casino Resorts sold the property for $440 million, inclusive of $10 million previously paid by the buyer to the seller, plus other transaction-related fees and expenses. Concurrently, Gaming and Leisure Properties closed on the sale of the entities holding the gaming licenses and operating assets to Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. for $138 million and entered into a 29-year, triple-net lease agreement, with initial annual rent of $25.4 million per year. Gaming and Leisure Properties funded the real estate transaction, net of proceeds received from the sale of the operating assets to Pinnacle, through a combination of cash on hand, proceeds from the company’s at-the-market equity program and borrowings from its revolving credit facility. The transaction was approved by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Sept. 7 and the Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commission in August 2016.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Opus Group plans to develop a 30-story multifamily and retail development at 365 Nicollet Ave. in downtown Minneapolis. The pet-friendly high-rise will feature 369 apartments and 9,500 square feet of ground-level retail space. Floor plans will range from alcove units to three-bedroom options, including 36 penthouse suites. All units will include granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and floor-to-ceiling windows. On-site amenities include residential parking, a bike lounge with repair station and seating areas, sauna steam room, a yoga room, hot tub, pool and outdoor cabanas. Construction of the project, which is designed to meet LEED certification, is slated to begin in early October with completion scheduled for summer 2018. Opus Development Co. and Opus Design Build will be the project’s developer and design-builder, respectively. Opus AE Group is the architect and structural engineer of record.
WILTON, FAIRFIELD AND WESTPORT, CONN. — Westport, Conn.-based Vidal/Wettenstein has arranged the sales of three properties in Connecticut. In the first transaction, North American Pharmacal sold an office building located at 213 Danbury Road in Wilton for $2.1 million. The name of the buyer was not released. David Fugitt and Bruce Wettenstein of Vidal/Wettenstein represented the seller in the transaction. In the second deal, E&J Twin Properties acquired a multi-tenant office building, located at 303 Linwood Ave. in Fairfield, for $1.8 million. Randy Vidal was the listing broker. In the final transaction, Fin-Max Realty LLC acquired a Shake Shack property, located at 1849 Post Road East in Westport, for nearly $4 million. Robert Lewis represented the buyer and undisclosed seller in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a mixed-use property located at 239 Elizabeth St. in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood. An estate sold the property to a private investor for $7.2 million, or more than $900 per square foot. The six-story property comprises a studio unit, five two-bedroom apartments, five one-bedroom apartments and one retail unit. Peter Von Der Ahe, Joe Koicim and Joshua Grossman of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and buyer in the transaction.
FRISCO, TEXAS — NewQuest Properties has acquired land to develop a retail center in Frisco. Construction will begin on the development, which will be known as Frisco Ranch, in October. The 110,000-square-foot center will be situated on nine acres just northeast of the intersection of Preston Road and Warren Parkway. The site was acquired through direct negotiations between the seller, Lebanon Joint Venture, and Houston-based NewQuest Properties, which was represented by Heather Nguyen and John Nguyen. Three anchor tenants have signed on for the development. The tenants are: 99 Ranch Market, which has preleased 44,875 square feet; Daiso Japan, which has leased 10,000 square feet; and 85°C Bakery Cafe, which has leased 3,000 square feet. The same trio of retailers also anchors NewQuest’s Carrollton Town Center, a similar retail center located in Carrollton. Callaway Architecture of Dallas is the architect for Frisco Ranch, which is expected to open in summer 2017.
DALLAS — Snappy Salads, a Dallas-based salad restaurant concept, has signed a lease at 717 Harwood St. in downtown Dallas. The restaurant will open at the corner of Harwood and San Jacinto streets, where it will open its first downtown location on the ground floor of the newly renovated 717 Harwood tower.
NEW YORK CITY — HFF has arranged $26.9 million in acquisition and construction financing for 314 Scholes Street, a three-building industrial complex located in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. HFF arranged the five-year, floating-rate loan through M&T Bank for the borrower, The Hudson Companies. The borrower plans to convert the 97,475-square-foot complex into 83,211 square feet of creative office space and 14,543 square feet of retail space. Designed by S9 Architects, the project is slated for completion in 2018. Christopher Peck and Rory Shepard of HFF secured the financing for the borrower.
CALEXICO, CALIF. — San Diego-based Canada Investments has acquired Emerson Plaza, a shopping center located at 724 Emerson Ave. in Calexico. Gastone and Maria Elena Lopez sold the property for $700,000. The 6,000-square-foot property features a gas station and four retail units. Rob Bloom of Duhs Commercial represented the buyer and seller in the transaction.