CHICAGO — Play2Day, a childcare service for infants and toddlers ranging in age from 2 months to 5 years old, will open at Lincoln Common in Chicago. The 1,510-square-foot location is expected to open in the third quarter of this year. Play2Day joins the growing roster of Lincoln Common retailers, including Equinox, Velvet Taco, Philz Coffee, Athletico, Compass and Kohler Waters Spa. Developed by Hines and McCaffery, Lincoln Common features 100,000 square feet of retail space, 538 apartment units, 40 condominium units, a five-story office building, 850-stall parking garage, 156-room senior living community and more than an acre of open space.
SPRINGFIELD, MASS. — The Davenport Company, a Boston-based developer, has broken ground on a new retail building for CVS Pharmacy in Springfield, located in the western part of the state. The property is being constructed on Main Street at a site that was damaged by a tornado in 2011. Davenport acquired the parcel in 2016 and redeveloped it to include medical office and residential space. Davenport is also redeveloping a former factory in Springfield into a market-rate multifamily community, and will begin construction of that project this month.
HOUSTON — Harvey Construction has completed Central Houston Nissan, a 162,500-square-foot property that will serve as the hub for Central Automotive Group, which comprises an additional three of the Japanese carmaker’s Houston dealerships. The grand opening of the dealership, which is located at 2901 S. Loop West and will employ more than 200 people, will be held June 12. Kirksey Architects designed the 16-acre property, which will offer customers an array of amenities and services, including two coffee bars, three lounges, a children’s play area and an entertainment center.
CONROE, TEXAS — Houston-based Gordon Partners will soon begin construction of Phase II of Waterpoint Center, a mixed-use development located along the southern shore of Lake Conroe, about 40 miles north of Houston. Plans for Phase II include the development of an additional 35,000 square feet of retail, office and restaurant space, as well as the expansion of the marina to include an additional 70 boat slips. Construction is expected to be complete in the second quarter of 2020.
LANCASTER, PA. — HFF has negotiated the sale of Chelsea Square, a 96,455-square-foot, grocery-anchored shopping center in Lancaster, located roughly midway between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. Regional grocer Weis serves as the anchor tenant alongside Talbots, Jos. A. Bank, M&T, Domino’s Pizza and Great Clips. Built on 10.6 acres, the property is located along the Manheim Pike, a retail corridor with a daily traffic count of approximately 46,000 vehicles. Chris Munley and Carl Fiebig of HFF represented the seller, Boston-based Beacon Communities, in the transaction. The buyer was Pennsylvania-based Goodman Properties. The sales price was not disclosed.
POWAY, CALIF. — Parkview Financial has funded a $31.8 million construction loan to San Diego-based Poway Property LP for the development of Outpost, a mixed-use project located at 13247 Poway Road in Poway. Upon completion, the three-building property will feature 53 apartment units and ground-floor retail space, which is fully pre-leased to Crunch Fitness and Three Local Brothers. Additionally, the asset will include two levels of underground parking offering a total of 337 parking spaces. The residential portion of the property will feature 16 one-bedroom, 22 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom units with stainless steel appliances, stone countertops and engineered hardwood/vinyl flooring. On-site community amenities will include patios, a courtyard, rooftop deck and leasing office. Construction began last summer, with completion slated for 2020.
WESTMINSTER, CALIF. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of Westminster Golden Center, a shopping center located at the southwest corner of Westminster Boulevard and Swan Avenue in Westminster. A private investor acquired the property from another private investor for $7 million. Situated on 1.5 acres in the Little Saigon submarket, the shopping center consists of three buildings offering a total of 16,480 square feet of space spread across 11 retail suites. Michael Matter and Aveesh Singroha of Marcus & Millichap’s South Bay office represented the seller and buyer in the deal.
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 2,331-square-foot building net leased to Wendy’s in Elk Grove Village for $1.5 million. The property is located at 900 Busse Road. Brian Parmacek of Marcus & Millichap marketed the property on behalf of the seller. Calvin Lee of Marcus & Millichap secured and represented the buyer.
In cities around the country, growing numbers of developers are prioritizing the inclusion of local and independent boutique retail tenants in centers with more recognizable national chains. At a time when the retail industry is undergoing some profound changes, it should not be surprising that we have seen a correspondingly significant shift in conventional wisdom about how to build a tenant roster. That shift is especially evident in adaptive reuse projects, and in retail and mixed-use developments located in more urban areas. Consequently, we have some great real estate in the country being occupied by largely unproven brands and businesses. These local or up-and-coming retailers may not have extensive backgrounds or long and proven sales histories, but they do have the exclusive, authentic feel that developers — and communities — are looking for. Projects like Heights Mercantile, a low-rise urban market district in Houston’s Heights neighborhood, are thriving through tenant rosters populated largely with chic and exclusive independent brands. Even the small handful of national names at Heights Mercantile — Lululemon Athletica, Warby Parker, Marine Layer Inc. — are either exclusive to the region or have the kind of “cool” factor consumers are drawn to. There are a number of …
DENVER — A joint venture between Evergreen Devco and City Street Investors has broken ground on The Shops at Beeler Park, located at the northwest corner of 56th Avenue and Central Park Boulevard in Denver’s Stapleton neighborhood. Situated on 6.8 acres, The Shops at Beeler Park will feature two multi-tenant buildings and five single-tenant buildings offering a total of 16,500 square feet of retail space. Completion is slated for November. The project team includes Farnsworth Group as architect and Waner Construction Co. as contractor. Evergreen has already sold two pads to Hello Car Wash and Stapleton Endodontics, and plans to sell or lease the remaining portion of the project to other neighborhood service and restaurant pad users. Allen Lampert and Steve Markey of David, Hicks & Lambert Brokerage, along with Pat McHenry of City Street Investors, are handling the leasing for the property.