Retail

South Texas is in the midst of a growth spurt in the commercial real estate industry. Within the area’s retail sector, demand for freestanding emergency rooms and cold storage facilities is growing rapidly. Though atypical, requests for such spaces are becoming increasingly common in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). An estimated 1.3 million people call the RGV home. Both Hidalgo and Cameron counties are equipped with multiple hospitals to meet the healthcare needs of residents. There are three freestanding emergency rooms in Hidalgo County and two in Cameron County, with several more currently in the pipeline. Three of the larger healthcare providers within the RGV — Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance in Edinburg (the largest hospital in the area), South Texas Health System, which has five hospitals in cities McAllen and Edinburg and HCA Hospital in McAllen — all have plenty of emergency rooms to cover the cities they serve. Between Harlingen and Brownsville, both the longstanding Valley Baptist Health System and the newer Harlingen Medical Center have plenty of emergency rooms to handle residents’ healthcare needs. Despite having this many established players in the market, new operators of healthcare real estate like Neighbors Health System, which owns and operates Neighbors …

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CHULA VISTA, CALIF. — Sudberry Properties and Ayres Hotels have broken ground on Millenia Commons, a 131,800-square-foot “lifestyle destination center” and a 135-room Ayres Hotel in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista. The center and hotel will be part of the 210-acre, multi-billion-dollar Millenia master-planned community, which is currently being developed in South San Diego County. Millenia Commons will include tenants like HomeGoods, Cost Plus World Market, Ross Dress for Less, buybuy Baby, Mattress Firm, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Papagayos Grill & Cantina, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt, Great Clips, Jamba Juice, McDonald’s and Pacific Dental Services. Flocke & Avoyer is handling the project’s retail leasing efforts. The retail component will extend on both sides of Millenia Avenue, just south of Birch Road, on two separate parcels. The urban design will place an emphasis on walkability and outdoor gathering spaces. The design of the center is intended to complement the style of the overall Millenia master plan. Sudberry Properties is the developer of Millenia Commons, which Andrew Hull Stevenson Architects designed. Hazard Construction is doing the initial grading and infrastructure work for this component, though Sudberry is in the process of selecting additional contractors. The boutique hotel is scheduled to open …

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A trend in retail activity in Western New York and the Finger Lakes Region over the past six to 12 months has been the announcement or arrival of a number of high-end or specialty retailers and restaurants. Although traditionally these retailers are more selective about the markets they enter, as they continue to grow nationally they have to expand the list of potential markets they will consider. Some of them find that the Buffalo and Rochester metropolitan areas are markets in which high-end or specialty retailers or restaurants can thrive, particularly when Upstate New York’s lower occupancy costs and lighter competition are sufficient to offset potentially lower unit volumes. Whole Foods’ much-anticipated Western New York debut will be this summer in the Northtown redevelopment project by W.S. Development in Amherst. Whole Foods has also signed a lease in Brighton, a suburb of Rochester, for a 50,000-square-foot store at Palazzo Plaza, a proposed 90,000-square-foot shopping center on Monroe Avenue at Interstate 590. The project, being developed by the Daniele Family Companies, is currently making its way through the entitlement process. In a sign of the renaissance in progress in both Downtown Buffalo and Downtown Rochester, the first-ever national brand polished steakhouse …

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Construction costs in Hawaii are beginning to plateau after seeing year-over-year increases for the past several years. The market has seen gray shell retail building costs of about $275 per square foot; and to vanilla shell, another $80 per square foot to $100. Restaurants range from $300 per square foot to $350 to take them from gray to finished shell without fixtures. Remarkably, even with escalating construction costs, retail leasing and development are both extremely active. This, combined with retail vacancy of about 3 percent and record rents, has spurred a wave of new projects. Some of the new retail projects currently under construction are: Kilauea Lighthouse Village, Kilauea Town, Kauai — The center is a 47,000-square-foot development anchored by a 10,000-square-foot Market at Kilauea. Construction on Kilauea Lighthouse Village has begun and is expected to be complete in late 2017. It is owned by Hunt Development and leased by Colliers International. Kahala Bowl Shopping Center, Honolulu – Anchored by McDonald’s, the 10,000-square-foot center is owned by Kamehameha Schools and leased by JLL. Kealanani Shopping Center, Kapolei — This 20,000-square-foot center, anchored by Panda Express, is an outparcel of the Walmart in Kapolei. It is owned by Panda RG Inc. …

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There are two major trends affecting retailers across South Florida: the reduction of affluent foreign tourists in the market and the internet, which is forcing retailers to shift their concepts at an accelerating pace. Both factors have led to a slight decline in market conditions, specifically a deceleration of growth rates, but not significantly enough to cause great concern or to feel South Florida has become a “falling market.” Instead, much like origami, one must shape retail concepts to adapt to the new online reality. The American dollar is still very strong against Latin American and most foreign currency. This has created a downward spiral for hotel occupancy and retail sales in South Florida’s tourist driven areas such as South Beach and Lincoln Road. Miami-Dade County hotel occupancy was down 0.6 percent year-over-year to 83.5 percent in February/March 2017. This tourism decline has also created a shift in foreign investing. While large foreign investors are still active in the market, there has been a noticeable exit of smaller foreign investors. This has created an unusual twist in the South Florida market as now domestic (primarily from the Northeast) and Canadian investors are actively looking and purchasing retail opportunities given they …

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OAK BROOK, ILL. — Inland Real Estate Group has arranged the sale of 49 newly developed CVS Pharmacy properties across 16 states for more than $211 million. Inland handled the deal on behalf of the buyer, an affiliate of the company. The portfolio contains a total of 651,216 square feet. The CVS Pharmacy properties are located in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Vermont. “This was an attractive acquisition opportunity due to the fact that we were able to buy all 49 CVS stores in one transaction,” says Joe Cosenza, vice chairman of Inland Real Estate Group and president of Inland Real Estate Acquisitions, the purchasing arm for the company’s various entities. “I like CVS, I like the properties and the investment is good for Inland.” This portfolio acquisition follows on the heels of Inland’s October 2016 purchase of 24 additional newly developed CVS Pharmacy properties for more than $116 million. Those assets are located in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin. David Neboyskey and Kristin Orlando acted as in-house counsel for Inland in this latest portfolio transaction. The Inland …

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PORTLAND, ORE. — Kimco Realty Corp. (NYSE: KIM) has acquired Jantzen Beach Center, a 746,000-square-foot open-air shopping center in Portland, for $131.8 million. The property is located at in northern Portland near the Oregon-Washington border. Jantzen Beach Center was 96 percent occupied at the time of sale. Notable tenants include Home Depot, Target, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Ross Dress for Less, Burlington, Petco, Best Buy, DSW and Michaels. Jantzen Beach Center was built in 1972. It underwent more than $40 million in renovations and upgrades between 2010 and 2014. The center’s location near the Oregon-Washington border allows it to pull visitors from more than 70 miles away due to Oregon’s lack of sales tax. “The center pulls customers from the 9 percent sales tax state of Washington into the no-sales-tax state of Oregon,” says Nick Kassab of HFF, who, along with Brian Ley, represented the unnamed seller in this transaction. “Given that opportunities to acquire a top-performing center of this size and scale in the Pacific Northwest are few and far between, the sale received significant interest from institutional investors across the country.” Kimco purchased the center free and clear of any existing debt. The New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based REIT acquired …

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The Puget Sound region is one of the fastest growing areas in the U.S. We are seeing that reflected in the retail landscape, with innovation and expansion throughout the area. We are at the forefront of retail evolution, thanks to having some of the best-known retail innovators in our back yard who have turned the world of retail upside down by giving every consumer access to virtually every product available via home delivery. And yet, they are also innovating into brick and mortar experiences. Retailers are continually looking for ways to improve the consumer experience, not only through product offerings, but in forward-thinking store concepts that focus on experience and social community. REI’s focus is providing quality outdoor products at approachable price points in an interactive environment. While the most active/desirable retail areas (based on sales per square foot potential and residential and daytime populations) are the CBD, South Lake Union, Capitol Hill, University Village and downtown Bellevue, the demand for quality/value, experience, fitness and food remain consistent trends in the market. Nordstrom Rack has been expanding throughout the U.S. and will soon be opening a new store in Bellevue’s Phase II at Lincoln Square to meet this desire for …

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It’s long been known that Atlanta, along with many other markets in the United States, is over-retailed. However, not all retailers are “overstored.” With the recent number of store closings announced (Sports Authority, hhgregg, Kmart, Sears, JC Penney, to name a few), it’s understandable that some have concerns over the current state of retail. That said, for many retailers, these closures become opportunities to enter certain markets or grab better positions within an existing market. As some retailers forfeit locations, these Atlanta vacancies will be absorbed. Burlington Stores recently backfilled the former Sports Authority adjacent to the Mall of Georgia in Buford, and will do the same with the former Best Buy adjacent to The Mall at Stonecrest in Lithonia. Ashley HomeStore will backfill the former Staples in Snellville. In Alpharetta, American Signature Furniture opened in the former Sports Authority box, and entertainment destination Dave & Buster’s is set to open in a former AMC Theatres. The retail industry is undergoing a shift as a result of the emergence of e-commerce and morphing consumer habits. It’s the retailers that are able to adapt and evolve along with changes in technology and consumer attitudes that will thrive, as very few are …

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It’s no secret retail vacancies in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area are at all-time lows. Vacancy rates at the end of first quarter 2017 were 4.6 percent, down from 5.5 percent a year ago, according to CoStar. More tenants are actively looking for the right spaces for their businesses so the retail sector is not overbuilt. Junior anchor tenants have “right-sized” requirements, thus decreasing their space needs. For example, Office Depot is downsizing its typical footprint from 24,000 square feet to 14,000 square feet. Grocery stores that have gone dark have been backfilled with fitness gyms, other grocers or entertainment-type tenants. In addition, market rents jumped markedly from $30 per square foot plus NNNs to $35 to $40 per square foot plus NNNs in the high demand spaces. In Class A retail environments such as the Frisco Mile, rates are $50 to $65 per square foot plus NNNs. Even in the new 99 Ranch Market space in Frisco, rents are $50 per square foot plus NNNs and the tenants are not blinking. Requests for higher finish-outs are continuing, but tenants are willing to pay these higher rents in order to use the landlords’ money for their improvements. Job and Housing …

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