HOLIDAY, FLA. — Maryland-based Graphite Real Estate has purchased Holiday Centre, a Publix-anchored shopping center located at 4637-4701 Sunray Drive in Holiday, a northern suburb of Tampa. The undisclosed seller sold the 67,035-square-foot retail property for $9.9 million. Ari Ravi of RIPCO Investment Sales represented the seller in the sale, and RGA Reinsurance Co. originated acquisition financing on behalf of Graphite. In addition to the Publix, Holiday Centre was 98 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Planet Fitness, Publix Liquors and Bright Now Dental.
CHICAGO — McHugh Construction has completed the $30 million transformation of the historic Ramova Theatre in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood. The long-shuttered, single-screen cinema is now an 1,800-person concert hall. The 36,000-square-foot project also included the build-out of a space for Other Half Brewing, an independent craft brewery and taproom; Ramova Grill, an 18-seat diner; and Ramova Loft, a second-floor, 200-person event venue. Ramova Theatre originally opened in 1929 and closed in 1985. After sitting dormant for nearly 40 years, the theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. McHugh began the building’s restoration that same year. McHugh worked with O’Riley Office, Baum Revision and historic preservation specialists to restore the building’s architectural details with its original Spanish courtyard-style lobby and auditorium. Project funding came from investments from the local populace, tax-increment financing subsidies from the City of Chicago, a state grant and a Historic Places loan.
BEAR, DEL. — Locally based developer and general contractor Reybold Group is underway on vertical construction of a new, 16,893-square-foot retail center in Bear, about 10 miles south of Wilmington. The site is adjacent to the St. Andrews residential community. Upon completion, which is scheduled for later this year, the property will feature eight storefronts. One undisclosed tenant has signed a lease at the development.
NEW YORK CITY — JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) announced plans today to expand its brick-and-mortar footprint by adding 500 Chase bank branches over the next three years. The New York City-based institution also plans to renovate 1,700 existing bank locations across the United States. New branches will expand JPMorgan Chase’s footprint in existing markets like Boston; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Philadelphia; and Minneapolis. The company will also enter several new markets, including low- to moderate-income rural communities that previously had little access to traditional banking service. The multi-billion-dollar expansion effort will also contribute to local economic growth through the addition of 3,500 new employees, including construction jobs and local hiring upon completion, according to the company. JPMorgan first announced expansion efforts in 2018 with a $20 billion economic growth effort that included the addition of 400 new Chase branches over the subsequent five years. Since that time, the company has added more than 650 new branches, including 400 locations in 25 new states. Brick-and-mortar expansion efforts by JPMorgan have marked a stark shift in strategy, as a number of rival banks have been closing branches over the past few years and shifting more toward digital banking efforts. This year, Chase …
LANCASTER, KY. — Atlanta-based spirits company Staghorn is underway on the development of its first distillery, named Garrard County Distilling Co., situated on a 210-acre site in Lancaster, roughly 40 miles south of Lexington in Garrard County. Upon completion, the $250 million project will feature a 50,000-square-foot distillery, as well as two rickhouses and a visitor center with a tasting room and restaurant, with plans for up to 24 aging warehouses by 2030. The distillery is expected to create more than 60 permanent jobs and produce up to 150,000 barrels of bourbon each year. A construction timeline was not disclosed.
LOMBARD, ILL. — Aldi has opened a 22,951-square-foot store at Roosevelt Plaza, a shopping center in the Chicago suburb of Lombard. An affiliate of Next Realty LLC owns and manages the property. Aldi leased the space that was formerly home to X-Sport Fitness and joins tenants Hobby Lobby, Harbor Freight Tools, Fruitful Yield, Roadhouse 38 and Starbucks. The tenant build-out involved installing freezer and cooler spaces and removing the locker room facilities used by the previous tenant.
DALLAS — American Girl will open a 14,720-square-foot store next month at The Shops at Park Lane, a 33.5-acre mixed-use development in the University Park area of Dallas. In addition to a full range of dolls and accessories, the two-level store will feature a full-service café, personal shopping assistants, private party rooms, salon services and a floor-to-ceiling dollhouse exhibit. The opening is scheduled for early March. Northwood Retail owns and operates The Shops at Park Lane.
AURORA, COLO. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a restaurant property located at 25455 E. Smoky Hill Road in Aurora, a suburb east of Denver. A developer sold the asset to a local all-cash investor in a 1031 exchange for $2.6 million. Starbucks Coffee occupies the 2,155-square-foot property on a net-lease basis. James Rassenfoss and Drew Isaac of Marcus & Millichap’s Denver office represented the seller, while Kyle Malnati at Kentwood Commercial represented the buyer in the deal.
CHICAGO — Mid-America Real Estate Corp. has arranged the sale of Lawndale Plaza, a 104,240-square-foot shopping center in Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood. Anchored by Freshway Market, the property is home to Citi Trends, Taco Bell, PNC, Rainbow, Cosmo Superstore and O’Reilly Auto Parts. Rick Drogosz and Emily Gadomski of Mid-America represented the seller, Mercer Street Holdings Three. Acre Investment Co. LLC was the buyer.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Entertainment concept Level99 has opened a new, 40,000-square-foot venue at Providence Place, a shopping mall located just northwest of the capital city’s downtown area. Comprising 43 rooms, the facility offers interactive challenges as well as a restaurant, Night Shift Brewing Kitchen & Tap. Investment fund Act III Holdings, led by Panera Bread founder Ron Shaich, backs Level99. Brookfield Properties owns Providence Place.