BENTONVILLE, ARK. AND ATLANTA — Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and Atlanta-based The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) have both experienced a boost in sales for their fiscal first-quarter earnings of 2021. Home Depot’s earnings were higher than estimates by Wall Street. The home improvement retailer’s net sales increased by 32.7 percent to $37.5 billion, while Wall Street had predicted $34.9 billion. A year ago, the fiscal first-quarter net income for the company was $2.25 billion or $2.08 per share, and this year, it is $4.15 billion or $3.86 per share, higher than what Wall Street expected at $3.08. According to the CNBC, Home Depot’s increase in sales is due to a thriving housing market, despite high prices for lumber and increasing interest rates hindering the sales of newly built houses in recent months. Home Depot reported 447.2 million sales transactions, which was an increase of 19.3 percent from fiscal first-quarter 2020. The retailer also reported that customers are spending on average more money per visit, with the average total receipt price increasing 10.3 percent to $82.37. CNBC reports customers could be spending more money because prices at the store have increased. Walmart Inc. has also generated more sales in …
NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) has sold 635-641 Sixth Avenue in Manhattan’s Midtown South neighborhood for a gross sales price of $325 million. The office property comprises two adjoining buildings rising eight stories and totaling 267,000 square feet. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter and generate net cash proceeds to SL Green of approximately $312.5 million. The buyer was undisclosed. SL Green acquired the asset in 2012 for $173 million. The Manhattan-based office landlord completed a redevelopment of the buildings in 2015, featuring a new lobby, elevators, building systems and a penthouse rooftop equipped with a bocce court and event space. The buildings date back to the early 1900s and once housed the Simpson Crawford Department Store. Today, the property is 94 percent leased. Software company Infor is the anchor tenant and recently executed a renewal and extension of its lease through 2030. “New York City’s revitalization continues as does the demand for Class A office buildings,” says Harrison Sitomer, senior vice president of SL Green. “The disposition at a sales price of more than $1,200 per square foot is a result of extensive repositioning and leasing efforts at the property.” …
NEW YORK CITY — Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) reported approximately $4.7 billion in net sales for its 2021 fiscal first quarter that ended on May 1, an increase of about 56 percent from $3 billion in net sales during that period last year. Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette cited the windfalls of federal stimulus funds and the expanding vaccine rollout as key to the company exceeding expectations. In addition, Gennette said that more Macy’s customers are engaging with its online platform, enabling the New York City-based retailer to post a 34 percent increase in digital sales from the first quarter of 2020. Macy’s has revised its full-year guidance and is now projecting to generate between approximately $21.7 billion and $22.2 billion in net sales this year; previously it had estimated that range to be roughly $19.7 billion to $20.7 billion. Macy’s stock price opened at $19.44 per share on Tuesday, May 18, up from $5.55 per share a year ago.
NEW YORK CITY — Paramount Group Inc. (NYSE: PGRE) has announced plans to overhaul the base and interior spaces at 60 Wall Street, a 47-story office tower in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District. The project is set to kick off when the building’s sole occupant, Deutsche Bank, vacates the tower next summer. Paramount Group plans to invest $250 million for the renovation, according to New York Business Journal. Originally built in 1989, the 1.6 million-square-foot tower is LEED Gold-certified and sits along Wall Street with Pine Street bounding the property on the north. Paramount Group, a New York City-based owner and manager of Class A office towers, has tapped architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) to oversee the renovation. The firm has also selected Paul Amrich and Howard Fiddle of CBRE to lease and manage 60 Wall Street for tenants to replace Deutsche Bank. The revitalization plan includes opening the base of 60 Wall Street’s façade with new triple-height windows and a vast skylight to allow for more natural lighting. The renovation is set to also include the installation of a 100-foot green wall, which will improve air quality and provide greenery to the tower’s public spaces. The indoor green wall …
By Taylor Williams Demand for industrial space continues to surge throughout New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, prompting developers to undertake more projects on a speculative basis and avail themselves to the classic mantra of “If you build it, they will come.” E-commerce users, spanning every industry from building materials to electronics to food, continue to spearhead the demand side of the equation. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2020, a year in which a global health crisis spurred furious increases in online shopping, e-commerce sales accounted for 14.4 percent of all retail sales, up from 7.3 percent in 2015. That figure is expected to grow to nearly 20 percent by 2024. Lenders are eager to finance speculative industrial projects, and developers are scouring the Mid-Atlantic for viable sites as spec projects increasingly account for bigger portions of their portfolios. “Pre-COVID, and even dating back several years, you might see 20 percent of the Mid-Atlantic industrial projects being done as build-to-suits,” says Rob Borny, senior vice president of capital deployment and head of the East Region for Nevada-based Dermody Properties. “It’s now moving toward being significantly less [build-to-suit activity] due to robust tenant demand, as well as the shorter lead …
SAN DIEGO — Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX), in partnership with TruAmerica, plans to acquire 66 multifamily communities in San Diego County for more than $1 billion. The sale is one of the largest real estate transactions in county history, according to reports by The San Diego Union-Tribune. The seller, Conrad Prebys Foundation — a philanthropic organization created by local real estate owner Conrad Prebys — began shopping its multifamily portfolio in February, according to KPBS, a public broadcasting service in San Diego. The assets largely feature below-market-rate rents for low-income renters. The report by KPBS lists that the portfolio includes Conrad Villas apartments in Spring Valley, alongside communities located in San Ysidro, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista, National City, Lemon Grove, Lakeside, Spring Valley, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, El Cajon, Escondido, Ramona and Santee. The 5,800-unit, market-rate portfolio is set to undergo $100 million in renovations under the new ownership, according to the Union-Tribune. Blackstone also plans to partner with the nonprofit organization Pacific Housing to provide services for residents, including after-school tutoring, financial literacy classes, and health and wellness initiatives at no cost. The deal will add to Blackstone’s existing portfolio of $4.5 billion worth of assets in San Diego …
COLUMBUS, OHIO — The board of directors for L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB) has unanimously approved a plan to separate the company into two independent, public companies consisting of Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret. L Brands expects to create these companies through a tax-free spinoff of Victoria’s Secret to the shareholders of L Brands. “The spinoff will enable each company to maximize management focus and financial flexibility to thrive in an evolving retail environment and deliver profitable growth,” L Brands stated in a news release. As separate businesses, each will benefit from a sharpened focus on pursuing growth strategies best suited to each company’s customer base and strategic objectives, adds Sarah Nash, chair of the board for L Brands. The Columbus-based retailer had been evaluating the possibility of either a spinoff or a sale of Victoria’s Secret with input from its financial advisors, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Ultimately, the board decided that the spinoff would provide shareholders with more value than a sale. The transaction is expected to close in August. L Brands reported net sales of $3 billion for the first quarter of the company’s 2021 fiscal year that ended May 1, compared with $1.6 billion …
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Trammell Crow Co. and its capital partner, Clarion Partners LLC, have broken ground on two Class A warehouse and distribution facilities within the KCI Intermodal Business Centre in Kansas City. Located adjacent to the Kansas City International Airport, the buildings will total 676,000 square feet. Completion is slated for the fourth quarter. The first building will span 216,320 square feet with a clear height of 32 feet, 48 dock positions, four private entrances, two drive-up ramp dock doors, parking for 62 trailers and parking for 225 cars. The second building will span 459,680 square feet with a clear height of 36 feet, 88 dock doors, three private entrances, four drive-up ramp dock doors, parking for 110 trailers and parking for 366 cars. Kadean Construction, M+H Architects and Stock & Associates make up the project team. KCI Intermodal Business Centre is a master-planned industrial business park spanning 687 acres. It currently includes six fully built facilities. Plans call for an additional 1.2 million square feet across three buildings.
INDIANAPOLIS — David Simon, CEO and president of Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG), says he is pleased with the company’s first-quarter results and that business has “substantially improved after addressing the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.” According to Simon, the mall owner is experiencing cash flow growth, increasing shopper traffic, increasing retailer sales and leasing momentum across its portfolio. Additionally, Simon says it is experiencing similar results in its recently acquired Taubman Realty Group portfolio, and is “encouraged by collective progress in increasing profitability.” Simon reported that its first-quarter revenue fell to $1.2 billion, compared with $1.3 billion the same period a year ago. For the three-month period ending March 31, occupancy at Simon’s U.S. malls and outlet properties totaled 90.8 percent, compared with 94 percent the year prior. Simon’s stock price closed at $126.75 per share Monday, May 10, up from $55.08 per share one year ago. Simon’s global property portfolio is comprised of more than 200 malls and outlet centers. It also owns an 80 percent interest in Taubman Realty Group, which owns 24 retail assets in the U.S. and Asia.
NEW YORK CITY — Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) has unveiled plans to overhaul its flagship Herald Square store at the corner of 34th Street and Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The plan would add a commercial office tower atop the store. The size and design features of the office component were not disclosed. The plan includes a private investment totaling $235 million by Macy’s that would modernize the public spaces around the flagship store, including upgraded subway access, improved transit connections and pedestrian-friendly and car-free streetscapes at Broadway Plaza and Herald Square. Macy’s would improve Herald Square Subway Station’s entrances and add publicly accessible elevators at Seventh Avenue, Broadway, 34th Street and 35th Street that are compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The renewal plan is expected to generate $269 million annually in new tax revenues for New York City, support 16,290 annual jobs and spark $4.29 billion in annual economic output, according to Macy’s. “Today’s announcement is a resounding vote of confidence for Manhattan and the entire state, and a strong indication that New York’s retailers and consumers will drive this economic recovery,” says Melissa O’Connor, president and CEO of the Retail Council of New York State, the …