DALLAS — The Ainbinder Co., the developer of High Point Crossing retail center in northeast Dallas, has signed four anchor tenants to the 180,000-square-foot development. Academy Sports + Outdoors, Marshalls, Burlington and Five Below will serve as anchor tenants at the property, which is under construction and expected to open in the fall. Jeff Kittleson, Robert Aycock and Andrew Aycock of CBRE represented The Ainbinder Co. in the lease negotiations.
LEWISVILLE, TEXAS — Venture Investment Sales has brokered the sale of an 8,700-square-foot retail center in Lewisville. The property’s location at 5040 State Highway 121 is adjacent to Grandscape, a 400-acre mixed-use development. Tenants include T-Mobile, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Texas Direct Auto. John Zikos, Jonathan Cooper and Don Miller of Venture represented the seller. A local family trust purchased the asset for an undisclosed price.
KATY, TEXAS — NewQuest Properties has unveiled plans for the Phase II expansion of Katy Grand, a 21.7-acre, cinema-anchored retail development in Katy. Phase II will deliver 36,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space on 7.4 acres in late fall. Leases with three new tenants — Japanese book retailer Kinokuniya, Taiwanese eatery 85C Bakery Café and Kula Revolving Sushi Bar — have already been signed.
What’s that thing everyone always says about millennials? That they crave new experiences, novel environments and locally produced items that have a story — or at least a little substance — behind them? Yes, that’s it. Ask and ye shall receive. They’ll even ship this request to you. Well, maybe not right to your door, but straight off a boat and into your nearest underused plot of viable land. We’re talking shipping containers, which have become the new avant-garde approach to traditional retail experiences. “I think any time you can find a new creative use for an item or a space it is going to capture interest,” says Hartley Rodie, who is developing the Churchill, a 16-container shopping and dining project on North 1st Street in Phoenix that is scheduled to open in fall 2018. Being a millennial himself, Rodie and his partner, Kell Duncan, both 29, were inspired to undertake this new project after examining what was missing — both within their own lives and within their community. “Neither of us felt fulfilled by our areas of focus, so the question became ‘what’s next?’” he says. “I knew whatever it was going to be, for me, it was important to …
SAN FRANCISCO — NKF Capital Markets has arranged the sale of Diamond Heights Shopping Center, a 75,630-square-foot retail center in San Francisco. Nicholas Bicardo, Brandon Rogoff and Bryce Holman of NKF Capital Markets arranged the transaction on behalf of the private seller. Donahue Schriber acquired the asset for an undisclosed price. Safeway anchors the center, which is also home to Walgreens, Bank of America and the United States Postal Service.
WESTWOOD VILLAGE, CALIF. — Kennedy Wilson has brokered the a $2.7 million retail lease for The Waffle, located at 10925 Weyburn Ave. in Westwood Village. Owned by Gain Polone and John Papsidera, the restaurant is moving into the space formerly occupied by Jerry’s Deli. The modern casual restaurant offers breakfast and lunch options. Christine Deschaine of Kennedy Wilson represented the landlord, Tucker Investment Group, while Newmark Knight Frank represented the restaurant.
BOISE, IDAHO — Tropical Smoothie Cafe, a fast-casual cafe concept, opened 101 new cafes in 2017 and signed 187 agreements that will grow the brand’s footprint in markets nationwide. The company aims to reach 1,000 locations by 2020. In its 20th anniversary year, Tropical Smoothie Cafe reached milestones including the opening of its first location in Idaho, 50th in Michigan and 630th cafe overall. Amidst the ongoing growth throughout 2017, Tropical Smoothie Cafe also appointed six industry veterans including Rob Collins as chief marketing officer, Pete Ward as general counsel, Paul Marsden as chief financial officer, Jaime Denney as senior vice president of operations, Cheryl Fletcher as vice president of franchise development strategy and Kristi Kingery as vice president of supply chain.
PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. — HFF has arranged a $14.2 million senior loan for Sheridan Village, a 63,654-square-foot retail center and self-storage facility in Pembroke Pines. Scott Wadler and Jesse Wright of HFF arranged the seven-year, fixed-rate loan through Mercantil Bank NA on behalf of the borrowers, construction firm ANF Group Inc. and its affiliate Sheridan Real Estate Group LLC. The borrowers will use the loan proceeds to retire the existing construction loan. Phase I of Sheridan Village was completed in December 2016 and includes 15,098 square feet of retail fronting Sheridan Street. The second phase, completed in December 2017, includes an additional 14,029 square feet of retail and 34,527 square feet of climate-controlled self-storage space, situated on two floors above the ground-floor retail space. Both phases are fully leased or preleased to tenants including Dunkin’ Donuts, Cricket Wireless, Memorial Healthcare System, a pharmacy and an Italian restaurant.
CHICAGO — Westwood Financial has acquired Kingsbury Center in Chicago’s North and Clybourn retail corridor for an undisclosed price. The 53,079-square-foot shopping center is located at 1415-1435 N. Kingsbury St. Completed in 2012, the center is 100 percent leased to Buy Buy Baby, PetSmart, Road Runner Sports and Jimmy John’s. Amy Sands and Clinton Mitchell of HFF represented the undisclosed seller.
The Jacksonville and North Florida retail markets are seeing an increase and influx in new investment activity. Analysts are watching the volume, vacancy rate and new construction, and all signs point to a seller’s market, but compared with other Florida cities, the cap rate and the opportunities are still attractive to retail investors. What sets Jacksonville apart from other cities in Florida and across the country is the area’s strong employment growth and the amount of developable land still available. The rate of employment in Jacksonville is growing at double the national average. In addition, the city continues to attract back-office facilities for major banks and for Amazon, and its seaport is busier than ever. Housing also continues to boom in areas like Northern St. Johns County. According to third-quarter 2017 analyst reports, Jacksonville’s retail vacancy rate went down slightly from 4.6 percent in the previous quarter to 4.5 percent, or 93.5 million total square feet. Absorption totaled 710,101 square feet through the first three quarters of 2017, with about 590,000 square feet ready for occupancy or delivered, and 700,109 square feet under construction. Retail Tenant Shift Nationally, we saw stalled volume of sales during the downturn along with declining …
