BOCA RATON, FLA. — Boca Raton, Fla.-based Office Depot Inc. (NASDAQ: ODP) announced Wednesday that the company plans to close an additional 300 stores over the next three years in an attempt to cut $250 million in costs by 2018. Office Depot closed 42 stores in the second quarter of 2016, completing the company’s previously announced “U.S. retail store optimization plan,” which called for the shuttering of 400 stores nationwide. The company now has a total of 1,513 stores open in the United States, with plans to close an additional 25 throughout the year. The company hopes to expand the pilot program for its smaller, 15,000-square-foot format to 24 stores by the end of 2016, with 100 stores targeted for 2017. The new, smaller footprint is designed to provide customers with easier shopping using a smaller, more curated assortment of products, while expanding in-store services. The announcement comes on the heels of the termination of a merger with Staples Inc. in May, which resulted in a cash payment from Staples of $250 million. As a result, Office Depot has initiated a dividend of 2.5 cents per share, payable on Sep. 15 to shareholders of record at the close of business …
TOLEDO, OHIO — Welltower Inc. (NYSE: HCN), a seniors housing and healthcare facility REIT, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a portfolio of properties on the West Coast operated by Vintage Senior Living for $1.15 billion. The transaction spans 2,590 units in 19 independent living, assisted living and memory care communities concentrated in Southern and Northern California and in the state of Washington. Welltower will transition management of these communities to Senior Resource Group (11 properties), Sunrise Senior Living (seven properties) and Silverado (one property), once the acquisition has been completed. “This acquisition reinforces our high-quality healthcare real estate portfolio and leading presence in two of the top U.S. metro markets,” says Tom DeRosa, CEO of Welltower. “Together with our operating partners, we are excited about the opportunities to provide the best senior care with a focus on wellness and innovation.” Vintage Senior Living will continue to operate its communities until the purchase has been completed. The transaction is expected to close in tranches beginning in September and will be subject to lenders’ approvals and customary regulatory approvals. “These properties are in attractive markets, including irreplaceable locations near San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and Nob Hill, with a …
MIAMI — Weingarten Realty (NYSE: WRI) has acquired The Palms at Town & Country, a 664,000-square-foot, open-air shopping center in Miami, for $285 million. WRC Properties, an affiliate of TIAA-CREF, is the seller, according to the Miami Herald. The property features 71 retailers including Publix, Kohl’s, Nordstrom Rack, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Marshalls. National retailers comprise 87 percent of the revenue for the property. The Palms at Town & Country is located on 70 acres at 8505 Mills Drive, and was renovated in 2010. JLL is the exclusive leasing agent for the property, and has created events such as the Festival De Primavera Fashion Show, the Palms Restaurant Crawl and the All-American 4th of July Celebration that attracts thousands. Weingarten Realty’s stock price closed Thursday, July 28 at $42.67 per share, up from $34.62 per share a year ago, a nearly 19 percent increase. Weingarten Realty, a Houston-based REIT, is an owner, manager and developer of shopping centers throughout the United States.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — First Potomac Realty Trust (NYSE: FPO) has sold Storey Park, a mixed-use project currently under development in the NoMa submarket of Washington, to 1005 LLC for $54.5 million. When completed, Storey Park will include 350,000 square feet of office space, 65,000 square feet of retail and 300 loft apartments. An estimated completion date was not disclosed. The buyer is a partnership between Perseus Realty LLC and W-G Capital LLC, an affiliate of Four Points LLC and Greencourt Capital. First Potomac and Perseus Realty jointly acquired the site in August 2011, with First Potomac owning a 97 percent interest. The proceeds from the sale were used to repay a $22 million land loan at the property, and First Potomac used its portion of the remaining proceeds to repay outstanding borrowings on its unsecured revolving credit facility. Perseus Realty began as a Washington, D.C.-focused investment firm in 2004 and has created a development portfolio within the metropolitan area. W-G Capital is a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm focused on real estate investments in the United States with a particular focus on the northeast corridor and the nation’s capital. FPO is a real estate investment trust that owns, operates, develops and …
CINCINNATI — Chicago-based fitness franchise The Barre Code is set to open a new location at 615 Main St. in downtown Cincinnati early next year. The new 2,250-square-foot location will include a studio room and changing rooms with fully stocked vanity areas. Megan Fair of CBRE represented the tenant in the lease transaction. CBRE’s project management team is also facilitating a buildout at the location.
HORSHAM, PA. — Horsham-based Workspace Property Trust (WPT), in partnership with global investment firm Safanad, has agreed to buy 108 office and flex buildings from Liberty Property Trust (NYSE: LPT) for approximately $969 million. The acquired properties — located in Arizona, Florida, Minnesota and Pennsylvania — total roughly 7.6 million square feet. The sale is expected to close before the fourth quarter of this year. Of the 30 properties to be acquired in Pennsylvania, two dozen are located within the Great Valley Corporate Center in Malvern, according to reports by The Philadelphia Business Journal. The balance of the portfolio is largely located in Florida, with 34 buildings to be acquired in the Tampa market and 11 properties to be acquired in Southern Florida. At the closing of the transaction, WPT’s total portfolio will be composed of approximately 9.9 million square feet of leasable space across 149 properties in five markets. Workspace Property Trust specializes in the development, management and operation of office and flex space. The company is a partnership between Rizk Ventures, Forum Partners, JMP Group, EverWatch Capital and, with the closing of this transaction, Safanad. Liberty Property Trust is an $8.2 billion real estate investment trust, which owns …
BOSTON — Senior Housing Properties Trust (NYSE: SNH) has obtained a $620 million mortgage loan for two life sciences buildings in Boston’s Seaport District. The 15-story, Class A towers include 1.6 million square feet of lab space, corporate office space, structured parking and ground-floor retail space. SNH purchased the towers in May 2014 for $1.1 billion. They are 96 percent leased to Vertex Pharmaceuticals through 2028. Vertex is the manufacturer of hepatitis C and cystic fibrosis pharmaceutical treatments. The 10-year loan is interest-only, carries a fixed interest rate of 3.53 percent and matures in August 2026. SNH will use the loan proceeds to repay a portion of the outstanding borrowings under the company’s $1 billion unsecured revolving credit facility, as well as for general business purposes. Following the repayment, there will be approximately $900 million available under SNH’s unsecured revolving credit facility. “We are pleased to take advantage of the current low interest rate environment to term out the majority of the outstanding balance on our unsecured revolving credit facility and to extend the average maturity of our debt to 8.9 years,” says David Hegarty, SNH’s president and chief operating officer. “We believe that this transaction also highlights the value …
LEAWOOD, KAN. — AMC Theatres (NYSE: AMC) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the largest theater exhibitor in Europe, London-based Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group, from private equity firm Terra Firma. The transaction is valued at approximately £921 million, or $1.2 billion. The transaction is comprised of roughly £500 million, or roughly $665 million, for the equity, 75 percent of which is in cash; and 25 percent of which is stock consideration. The deal also includes the assumption of £407 million, or roughly $542 million, worth of net debt. The transaction is contingent upon antitrust clearance by the European Commission and is subject to consultation with the European Works. With 242 theaters and 2,236 screens, Odeon & UCI is currently the number one theater operator in Europe. The combination of AMC and Odeon & UCI will result in AMC’s operation of 627 theaters and more than 7,600 screens in eight countries, making AMC the largest movie theater operator in the world. AMC is also currently in a process to acquire Carmike Cinemas (NASDAQ: CKEC). AMC will continue to be headquartered in Leawood, and Odeon & UCI will continue to be headquartered in London, and will operate as a …
THREE RIVERS, MICH. — Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions has arranged the sale of a 91,264-square-foot shopping center in Three Rivers, approximately 30 miles south of Kalamazoo. Carson Equities LLC sold the building to Stockbridge Northridge LLC for an undisclosed price. The Three Rivers Shopping Center, located at 1320 W. Broadway St., is situated on 11.7 acres and is 81 percent occupied. Tenants at the center include Peebles, Dunham’s Sports and Family Farm & Home. The property is shadow anchored by Home Depot and Meijer. Rich Deptula of Friedman represented both parties in the transaction.
SAN DIEGO — Stockbridge Capital Group has selected Vestar as the property management firm for Mira Mesa Marketplace, a regional shopping center in San Diego. The Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, Ross Dress For Less and CVS/pharmacy occupy the 487,807-square-foot retail center. Vestar is currently managing nearly 2 million square feet of retail space in the San Diego area, including Clairemont Town Center, Marketplace at Windingwalk, Penasquitos Village and Rancho San Diego Towne Center.