From urban convenience stores to experiential brand hubs, small-format retail spaces are redefining how businesses connect with customers as shoppers increasingly seek accessibility, personalization and efficiency.

These compact, strategically located stores—often grocery-anchored—are designed to enhance the shopping experience by offering curated product selections, seamless omnichannel integration and greater convenience.

Alex Nyhan, CEO of First Washington Realty—an investment management firm that specializes exclusively in grocery-anchored neighborhood retail and has a portfolio of 22.4 million square feet across 144 shopping centers—believes the increasing demand for flexible, small-format stores in key locations will continue to appeal to investors. Here’s what he told us about the retail trends influencing investment strategies in commercial real estate this year and beyond.

How are evolving market dynamics and technological advancements shaping the retail industry today?

Nyhan: All retail is not alike and the fates of neighborhood shopping centers and enclosed malls have diverged in recent years. Occupancy rates are higher for neighborhood shopping centers because they are around the corner and close to home, due to hybrid work, the rise of the omnichannel shopper and the flight of some tenants from mall formats to neighborhood centers.

Within the retail industry, tenants are getting more agile due to necessity. The reason they need to be more flexible is because there is very little vacancy and almost no new supply being constructed, and tenants want to be able to sell products from their stores but also fulfill online orders. If you are a tenant and you can pick between paying one landlord versus paying both a retail landlord and a warehouse landlord, many tenants prefer to just have the one landlord. As neighborhood shopping centers, we own the last mile.

In addition to flexibility on store size, tenants are also experimenting with AI. We are in the early innings, but I am excited about how AI can help our tenants deliver a better customer experience, manage inventory and possibly trim their cost-to-serve. These applications of AI should help tenants be more successful, which means we can be more successful.

How are retailers optimizing their store spaces to improve efficiency?

Nyhan: Retailers are always seeking ways to maximize the productivity of what happens within the four walls of their store. If they are able to be closer to the customer via a neighborhood retail center, the retailer will be able to maximize the throughput of online orders and facilitate experimentation of how to best optimize the space.

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Tell us more about investor demand for your grocery-anchored neighborhood retail spaces. Is there enough product out there available for acquisition?

Nyhan: The grocery-anchored retail asset is in demand for institutional investors and we see that playing out through transactions like Blackstone’s purchase of ROIC. Institutional investors like grocery-anchored retail for the same reasons we have invested in the category since 1983: People go to the grocery store in all economic environments, people still spend money in neighborhood shopping centers during a pandemic or an inflationary period because neighborhood shopping centers offer essential goods and services needed for everyday life. Investors also like grocery-anchored retail because cash flows are attractive, going-in yields are reasonable on a relative basis and the supply-demand dynamics are favorable.

Regarding acquisitions, there is never enough high-quality product for institutional investors because ownership in the sector is fragmented and many individual owners prefer to hold their assets over a long time horizon. Because of this, credibility and relationships are the key factors driving a successful acquisitions strategy. We have invested more than $4.3 billion in centers in the last several years and have been averaging about $900 million of transactions each year—so we are quite familiar with the buying and selling dynamics of this subsector.

Why do you see smaller format retail as a strong long-term investment opportunity?

Nyhan: The demand for smaller format retail at neighborhood shopping centers has withstood the ‘stress test’ of a global pandemic and inflationary pressures. These resilient fundamentals drive our conviction that this is a very appealing subsector for investment and institutional capital.

In the end, our business is simple: Find good real estate, grow rents and the attractiveness of the center with our team’s operational expertise and manage the amount of capital we inject.

Can you share an example of a major acquisition that contributed to your growth in the small-format retail sector?

Nyhan: In 2022, we acquired the former Donahue Schriber Realty Group, which allowed us to expand our portfolio to more than 20 million square feet of retail space serving more than 3,600 tenants across 22 states and Washington, D.C. This move positioned us to be a leading private, open-air real estate investor and operator in the country, with over 150 high-quality neighborhood and grocery-anchored retail properties in communities across the country.

Acquiring this portfolio was a great success and pivotal growth moment for us since it gave us access to a large swath of well-performing small-format retail centers and allowed us to swiftly expand our team with experienced and highly qualified professionals.

Demand for experiential retail has also grown a lot over the past few years. Have you seen increased demand for such spaces across your centers?

Nyhan: Dynamic, experiential retail is key to our shopping centers. For our retail strategy to be successful, we need to stay on the pulse of the trends shaping the communities we serve. This means actively seeking out and bringing in retail tenants that curate interesting, lively and diverse environments—whether food and beverage offerings, recreational or educational activities. 

A good example of this is Level99, an interactive social gaming venue that we recently welcomed to The Corbin Collection, a shopping center we own in West Hartford, Conn. This first-of-its-kind destination offers a real-world, social challenge-based entertainment setting for adults featuring over 50 mental and physical challenges set in immersive artistic environments. In between fun and competitive play, customers can enjoy Detroit-style pizza, Connecticut-made beer and innovative cocktails at the adjoining Two Roads Kitchen & Tap restaurant. This tenant’s unique and playful approach supports our efforts to curate dynamic tenant mixes that drive meaningful activation and engagement at our centers.

Do you focus on specific regions for growth?

Nyhan: We are less concerned with particular regions or MSAs and focus more on the dynamics of the individual neighborhoods themselves. Our retail assets are usually located in well-populated areas with a highly educated demographic of consumers, thus making them more resilient amid economic shifts.

Speaking of shifts, is there any way you can ensure the resilience of your retail centers amid economic uncertainties?

Nyhan: We are not in the prediction business. We are in the business of owning and operating the best neighborhood shopping centers that do well when the economy is doing well and also when the economy is doing poorly. Our returns are not correlated in any material way with the performance of the broader market.

The post CPE Asks: What’s Driving Demand for Small-Format Neighborhood Stores? appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Retail merchants are by and large paying higher occupancy costs, which have grown to levels not seen in more than six years.

Even as some retail categories, such as grocery, fast food, beauty and sporting goods are “thriving on robust demand,” Datex reports that nearly as many categories, including drug stores, dollar stores, specialty food and pet supplies face rising occupancy costs, inflationary pressures and shifting consumer preferences.

Among secondary retail trends, ongoing progress in “return to office” could reshape some shopping habits, for the better or the worse, depending on the retailer.

Datex reports that cities reliant on weekday office traffic often struggled when workers went remote, while residential areas benefited from increased local spending. “As on-site work rebounds, both markets must adapt again to shifting foot traffic and consumer habits,” the report noted.

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Rent collections have been stable overall, but so far this year have shown signs of weakening, versus both three- and six-month averages. Meanwhile, although leasing rates are rising, leasing deals are slower to get done, “prompted by nervousness as inflation, changing logistics and labor costs pressure margins,” Datex stated.

The retail real estate sector is constantly evolving, shaped by local economic pressures, shifting consumer preferences and fast-paced technological advancements. “Toward that end, the 2025 retail real estate environment remains both resilient and fragile,” according to the report.

Datex based this research on its Datex Tenant Track, which analyzes tens of thousands of shopping centers and retailers across the U.S., in the context of six years of historical data.

Winners and losers

James Bohnaker, senior economist at Cushman & Wakefield, told Commercial Property Executive he finds the report consistent with what his company is seeing in the data, for example, with retailers facing a challenging consumer environment alongside rising occupancy and labor costs.

“Policy uncertainty and fragile consumer confidence are topics that every retailer is weighing, creating less conviction in real estate decision making, leading to longer transaction timelines and more careful planning,” he explained. “We are seeing more store closures and bankruptcy announcements as a result of these challenges.”

Bohnaker added that tenant demand at the macro level remains fairly resilient, and coupled with the fact that high-quality retail space is in short supply, this is keeping occupancy levels high and pushing rents higher.

With respect to both tenant leasing demand and rents, the Datex report aligns with what he has been seeing, Garrick Brown told CPE. Brown is the head of research for Gallelli Real Estate and the publisher of The Brown Book, which tracks the plans and real estate decision-makers of more than 13,000 retail space–using tenants in North America.

“While there has been a marked uptick in retail bankruptcies and closures from some select retail categories (drug stores, furniture/furnishings, craft and seasonal stores leading the way), we continue to track outsized growth from grocery (driven largely by ethnic, organic and small format concepts), beauty (everything from cosmetics to salons to Medispas), [and] gyms/health clubs,” he said.

Other strong growth categories have been medical/dental, cannabis, veterinarian and car wash concepts.

“In other words, the future of retail real estate is not necessarily about traditional retailers,” Brown remarked. He continued, “heading into 2025, we see retail at a crossroads.”

Although the economy that the new administration inherited was strong by most measures, the ongoing return of inflation—as well as tariffs and deportations (especially at the scale Trump promised on the campaign trail)—“threaten to send inflation out of control, with retailers bearing the brunt of the impact,” Brown warned. “If the latter is the case, 2025 will likely see greater levels of retail store closures than recorded last year and strong headwinds for even retail’s strongest growth categories.”

The post Retail’s 2025 Outlook: A Tale of Diverging Trends appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Empire Realty had purchased the property for $8.1 million back in 1989. In 2020, Bensalem Shopping Center became subject to a $12.5 million CMBS loan originated by LMF Commercial, with Wilmington Trust as a trustee.

Anchored by Patel Brothers—the largest Indian grocery chain in the U.S.—Bensalem Shopping Center features a diverse mix of regional and national tenants such as Dollar General, Eggmania, Advance Auto Parts, Jack’s Cold Cuts, Smart Choice Pharmacy and Unlimited PCS, among others. The 1972-built property was fully leased at the time of sale.

The retail center occupies some 8.8 acres at 1961 Street Road, in an area where the daily traffic count reaches 32,600 vehicles, according to JLL. Downtown Philadelphia is roughly 18 miles away.

JLL Senior Managing Director Jim Galbally and Director Patrick Higgins led the Investment and Sales Advisory team working on behalf of Empire Realty.

Philadelphia’s retail scene

In 2024, the Philadelphia retail market experienced robust demand, resulting in a net occupancy increase of nearly 600,000 square feet, according to a recent CBRE report. Of the total, 480,000 square feet pertained to newly constructed space.

In line with national trends, this market faced challenges as well. However, the wave of retail store closures and bankruptcies created opportunities for in-demand retailers. Investor interest remained strong—especially for grocery-anchored centers.

By the end of last year, approximately 202,000 square feet of retail space was under construction. The vacancy rate clocked in at 7.5 percent, while rents averaged $19.17 per square foot, the same report shows.

The post Empire Realty Sells Philly Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

CTO Realty Growth has purchased Ashley Park, a 559,000-square-foot retail center in Newnan, Ga., for $79.8 million. The previous owner was Apollo Global Management, which had bought it for $89.8 million in 2015, according to CommercialEdge information.

CTO acquired Ashley Park below replacement costs, President & CEO John Albright said in prepared remarks. Having below-market rents, the asset provides an opportunity for strategic lease-up, he added.

Ashley Park occupies 60 acres at 354 Newnan Crossing Bypass, near the intersection of Interstate 85 and Georgia State Route 34, about 38 miles southwest of downtown Atlanta. The shopping center receives roughly 6 million visits per year.

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Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Regal and Dillard’s anchor the property, which was 93 percent leased at the time of sale. Dick’s Sporting Goods is also CTO’s fifth-largest tenant.

Greater Atlanta’s retail vacancy rate stood at 3.7 percent in December, 50 basis points below the five-year average, according to a report by Colliers. A shortage of supply—only 544,000 square feet of product were underway in December—and several retail chain closures contributed to the tight index.

CTO’s growing retail footprint

With this purchase, CTO’s portfolio reached 5.2 million square feet, marking a 12 percent growth. Last year, the company expanded its footprint by 1.3 million square feet across six retail properties and one vacant parcel.

The most important deal closed in August, when the firm purchased three open-air shopping centers totaling roughly 1.2 million square feet for $137.5 million. The properties are in Charlotte, N.C., Tampa, Fla., and Orlando, Fla.

The post CTO Realty Grows Atlanta Footprint With $80M Buy appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Put another way, even that conservative estimate of the economic damage adds up to about 4 percent of California’s GDP.

That’s the beginning of the context for Rising from the Ashes: Assessments on the Impacts to CRE Post the LA Wildfires, a new report from JLL Research.

As day after day of news video footage from the fire zones showed, the heaviest property damage was to single-family residences, nearly 11,000 of which were destroyed, representing more than half of the SFR stock in the two fire zones (Palisades and Eaton). In addition, more than 300 multi-housing structures were destroyed.

On one hand, the 11,000-odd housing units destroyed or significantly damaged represent just 0.4 percent of the market’s housing stock, yet the estimated 24,000 families displaced by the fires have to live somewhere.

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And JLL reminds us that Southern California was already a long-term supply-constrained market. As higher-income families relocate to single-family rentals, others will spill over into the multifamily sector. “Already the exacerbation of Los Angeles’ multi-housing supply shortage will result in elevated rent growth in the medium term,” according to the report.

Impact to retail, office, industrial  

Though less publicized, the region’s retail, office and industrial commercial real estate sectors were also hit. About 200 commercial buildings, predominantly retail properties and food-and-beverage establishments, were destroyed. They represent, JLL stated, nearly half of the retail establishments and about one-third of the total retail space in the fire zones.

In the near term, home centers and hardware retailers could benefit. “Longer term,” JLL added, “mixed-use developments may be a way to address both the housing shortage exacerbated by the fire as well as replace the lost retail space, which has not been growing for a long time.”

The fires’ effects on office space are expected to be indirect, potentially by displacing office workers, especially in the professional and technology services sector and the media and entertainment sector.

The impacts on industrial real estate could be more direct, with rebuilding efforts boosting the demand for warehouse space and IOS properties.

Additionally, JLL reported, home appliances, furnishing and day-to-day necessities must be replaced, further bolstering the need for warehousing. “This will help lower industrial vacancies in and around the affected areas, particularly in the San Fernando Valley and San Gabriel Valley markets where total vacancy currently stands at 4.2 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively.”

Given the efforts by the state government to streamline rebuilding, JLL noted, the real challenges lie in physical construction. “Due to significant demand, labor and materials will be expensive, further complicating rebuilding efforts.”

Finally, those generally higher replacement costs for commercial real estate have the potential to make existing buildings more attractive for investors.

The post How Rebuilding From LA’s Wildfires Is Impacting CRE appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Brixton Capital has purchased Washington Square, a 215,506-square-foot shopping center in Petaluma, Calif., for $67.5 million. Paragon Commercial Group sold the asset in a transaction arranged by JLL.

Paragon had acquired the retail center from Fulcrum back in 2021 for $56.2 million, according to CommercialEdge data, with the help of a $34.2 million loan provided by Zions Bank.

Built in 1971 and renovated in 1996, Washington occupies some 20 acres at 301 S. McDowell Blvd. The new owner intends to upgrade the shopping center by improving the parking facilities, replacing the roofs, repainting the exterior and upgrading the HVAC systems. Brixton also plans to enhance the façade, renovate the landscaping and install new signage.

READ ALSO: What’s in Store for Retail in 2025?

The Safeway-anchored center boasts a diverse mix of regional and national tenants such as Staples, Panda Express, Harbor Freight Tools, Planet Fitness, Five Below, GameStop, Bank of America, Marin Health and Hallmark, among others. At the time of the sale, the property was 99 percent leased.

Washington Square is considered to be among the top 3 percent of U.S. neighborhood shopping centers based on annual visits and the busiest center within a 15-mile radius, according to JLL. The firm’s Managing Directors Bryan Ley and Eric Kathrein and Director Warren McClean brokered the transaction on behalf of Paragon.

San Francisco’s retail scene

In the fourth quarter of 2024, San Francisco’s retail sales witnessed a 5.2 percent year-over-year increase, reflecting a strengthening local economy. The metro’s transaction volume for last year reached $190.1 million, up 3.7 percent from 2023’s figure of $183.3 million, according to a recent Cushman & Wakefield report.

In addition, San Francisco’s retail market recorded a positive net absorption of 65,700 square feet in Q4, following eight consecutive quarters of negative absorption, the report also shows. As a result, the metro’s overall retail vacancy rate dropped to 7.7 percent by the end of last year.

The post Brixton Capital Buys San Francisco Shopping Center for $68M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The deal calls for RCG to pay cash after the assumption of $470 million in pre-existing debt. GNL received a $25 million non-refundable deposit from the Atlanta-based real estate investment firm at the signing of the binding agreement.

GNL, a New York-based REIT, expects to use the net proceeds from the multi-tenant portfolio sale to significantly reduce the outstanding balance on its revolving credit facility. Strategic benefits of the portfolio sale cited by GNL include reducing leverage, improving its liquidity position and boosting occupancy to 98 percent, among other key portfolio metrics.

The transaction is expected to close in three phases with the sale of 59 unencumbered properties set to close by the end of the first quarter. The sale of 41 properties with loan assumptions is anticipated to close by the end of the second quarter.

READ ALSO: Net Lease Investment Volume Surges

Including the completion of the multi-tenant portfolio sale, GNL expects to have completed nearly $3 billion in dispositions by the end of the year. The portfolio, which is 91.6 percent leased, comprises assets in 28 states totaling 14.7 million square feet. The portfolio’s composition is 61 percent power centers, 22 percent grocery-anchored and 17 percent anchored centers. The top five tenants are: Petsmart, 4.9 percent; Dick’s, 4.5 percent; Kohl’s, 3.8 percent; Best Buy, 3.2 percent and Michael’s, 3.1 percent.

The portfolio covers most of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest and Southwest, including Texas. The farthest west the portfolio goes is Nevada. Some of the properties in the planned deal are Fountain Square, a 166,346-square-foot center with tenants including Michael’s, Petsmart and Golf Galaxy, in Brookfield, Wis., and Centrum Shopping Center in Pineville, N.C., a 122,256-square-foot center with tenants including Home Depot, Best Buy and Super G Mart, an international supermarket.

Advisors for the transaction include BofA Securities serving as GNL’s exclusive financial advisor for the sale and BMO Capital acting as an advisor. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is providing legal counsel to GNL. Truist Securities served as a financial advisor to RCG Ventures and provided committed financing for the transaction. McGuireWoods LLP is providing legal counsel to RCG Ventures for real estate acquisition and financing matters. King & Spalding LLP is providing legal counsel to RCG Ventures for fund formation and transaction-related matters. Gibson Avenue Capital LLC is serving as an advisor to RCG Ventures.

Transforming GNL

The New York-based REIT launched its strategic disposition plan in 2024, with the objective of reducing debt, enhancing financial flexibility and lowering the cost of capital as it transitioned to a pure-play, single-tenant net lease company.

In August, GNL sold The Plant, a 367,000-square-foot super-regional retail center in San Jose, Calif., to a partnership between Arc Capital Partners and Milan Capital Management for $95 million. Completed in 2008, The Plant has 17 buildings across 45 acres. Tenants include Best Buy, Ulta Beauty, Ross Dress for Less, Petsmart, Game Stop, Applebee’s, McDonald’s and Starbucks.

GNL took ownership of the shopping center following a 2023 merger with The Necessity Retail REIT, which had purchased the asset in 2022.

Also, during the summer, GNL sold a 366,000-square-foot office property in Shinfield Park, Reading, U.K., for more than $27 million. GNL had owned the Foster Wheeler office property for about eight years.

In June, GNL sold a portfolio of nine cold storage properties to Americold Realty Trust, which had been leasing the assets, for $170 million. GNL had paid $153.4 million for the cold storage portfolio.

RCG Ventures growth

The planned deal with GNL continues a late-year shopping spree for RCG Ventures, which acquired two retail centers in two separate deals in December. The firm, founded in 2003, has acquired more than $1.6 billion in retail assets and managed as much as 14 million square feet of retail real estate.

RCG Ventures picked up Pinnacle Nord du Lac, a 215,058-square-foot retail center in Covington, La., for $27 million from Cypress Equities in mid-December. Pinnacle Nord du Lac was 96 percent leased at the time of sale. Tenants include Hobby Lobby, Academy Sports & Outdoors and Petco.

A few days earlier, the company purchased Oakland Plaza, a 167,000-square-foot shopping center in Troy, Mich., from Continental Realty Corp., on behalf of its Continental Realty Opportunistic Retail Fund I LP, for $25.6 million. The retail center was 97 percent leased when sold with tenants including Kids Empire, Rally House and several restaurants.

The post RCG Ventures Strikes $1.8B Portfolio Deal appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

American Assets Trust Inc. has sold Del Monte Shopping Center, a 673,155-square-foot retail destination in Monterey, Calif. Federal Realty Investment Trust purchased the asset for about $123.5 million.

AAT had acquired the asset in April 2004 for $115 million, according to CommercialEdge information. The current sale will allow the company to focus on other markets where it can achieve greater operational efficiency, President & CEO Adam Wyll said in prepared remarks.

Located at 1410 Del Monte Center, the property is at the intersection of Highway 1 and Munras Avenue. It’s the only regional mall within a 24-mile area. Downtown Monterey is less than 2 miles away, while the city’s regional airport is within 5 miles.

READ ALSO: What’s Driving the Retail Sector’s Growth?

Completed in 1967 on almost 47 acres, Del Monte Shopping Center was expanded in 1987 and most recently renovated in 2007. Its roster features more than 65 national retailers, including Apple, Macy’s Whole Foods Market, Lululemon and Sephora, among others. Regional brands are also part of the mix.

The property was 83 percent leased at the time of sale. Laura Tinetti and Molly Morgan of JLL’s 10Twelve boutique lifestyle leasing team will represent FRT in the remerchandising and leasing of Del Monte Shopping Center going forward.

AAT’s retail inventory

American Assets Trust’s retail portfolio comprises approximately 2.4 million rentable square feet. One of its largest properties in California is Carmel Mountain Plaza, a 520,228-square-foot shopping center in San Diego.

The retail sector is expected to adapt to changing consumer preferences, economic challenges and technological advancements. A key trend for 2025 is the focus on necessity-based retail, with grocery-anchored shopping centers proving resilient to evolving demographics. Suburban migration and hybrid work are driving demand for convenience-oriented shopping experiences.

The post Central Coast Shopping Center Sells for $124M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

SCHEELS has signed a 210,000-square-foot lease at Brookfield Properties’ Mayfair Mall, a 1.2 million-square-foot property in Wauwatosa, Wis. The vacant space will undergo a full renovation and expansion before the opening of the new store, set for the spring of 2027.

SCHEELS leased the space that was previously occupied by Boston Store. The latter closed its doors in 2018, when its parent company The Bon-Ton Stores Inc. went out of business, BizTimes reported.

The Wauwatosa location is slated to become Wisconsin’s largest all-sports store and employ more than 500 people. The company has two more locations in the state, in Appleton and Eau Claire.

It will also be the 36th SCHEELS nationwide. The firm’s 35th location, a 240,000-square-foot property in Cedar Park, Texas, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2026.

Mayfair Mall, up close

Mayfair is an enclosed, two-level mall that was completed in 1957 and renovated in 2001. Its roster includes Macy’s and Nordstrom as anchor tenants, but also Barnes & Noble, Urban Outfitters, Gap, Five Guys and Victoria’s Secret, among others.

The mall occupies an 84-acre site at 2500 N. Mayfair Road near Interstate 41, less than 11 miles west of downtown Milwaukee.

Redevelopment plans in motion

In 2022, the city of Wauwatosa acquired the 15-acre Boston Store property with the intention of bringing it back to life and signed a development agreement with Brookfield in 2024. The agreement involved securing a new retail anchor for the vacant space and redeveloping the adjacent land into a multifamily community. The site is at the south end of Mayfair.

Brookfield initially secured Dick’s Sporting Goods as a tenant, according to Milwaukee Business Journal. However, the company decided to refuse the location in August 2024.

Now, with the SCHEELS contract in place, the city will transfer the store and 7 adjacent acres to Brookfield in exchange for about 4 acres owned by the property company, located to the south of the store, the same source reveals. More than 900 housing units and additional retail space will be developed across four buildings on that parcel.

The post Brookfield Scores Big Lease at Milwaukee Mall appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Completed in 1990, Century Square underwent renovations in 2016. The retail center encompasses 16 buildings spread across some 64 acres, CommercialEdge also shows.

Anchored by Lowe’s Home Improvement, Hobby Lobby, Shop’n Save, Dunham’s Sports, Luxury Cinemas and Planet Fitness, Century Square also features a diverse mix of regional and national retailers such as Dollar Tree, Taco Bell, Arby’s, Panda Express, McDonald’s, AT&T, First National Bank and Burlington, among others. The property was 82.7 percent leased at the time of sale.

READ ALSO: Net Lease Investment Volume Surges

Located at 1025-4775 Mountain View Drive, Century Square is some 10 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. The shopping center serves around 192,000 residents within a 5-mile radius, with the average household income of $90,434, according to Red Mountain.

Positive results for Pittsburgh’s retail market

Pittsburgh’s retail market recorded positive results in the last quarter of 2024, according to a recent Colliers report. Developers broke ground on some 116,650 square feet of retail space, significantly more than the 24,688 square feet recorded the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the vacancy rate remained unchanged over the quarter, at 4.9 percent. In addition, last year’s fourth quarter marked the third consecutive quarter of positive absorption for the market, with the year-to-date total to 282,430 square feet.

The post Red Mountain Group Buys Pittsburgh-Area Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

That quarter helped to create a 13 percent increase in full-year 2024 net lease investment volume, totaling $43.7 billion.

Industrial and logistics increased its share to 64 percent in the fourth quarter from 54 percent a year earlier. In 2024, net lease investment volume for industrial assets increased 87 percent from the prior year.

Net lease properties are characterized by a lease structure in which the tenant agrees to pay a portion or all of the taxes, insurance fees and maintenance costs in addition to rent.

Predictable cash flow

The net lease sector’s strong performance was generated by its predictable cash flow and mass appeal to investors seeking solid risk-adjusted returns, Will Pike, vice chairman of net lease properties for capital markets at CBRE, told Commercial Property Executive.

“We expect continued momentum this year, especially in retail and the industrial sector, as capital has proven to prioritize low-risk opportunities amid potential capital markets volatility in 2025,” he said.

Joseph Yiu, a partner at Leste Group, a global alternative investment manager, told CPE he was not surprised because the asset class has always performed well in times of uncertainty.

“With fundamentals and rent growth starting to deteriorate and plateau in other commercial real estate asset classes, 2 percent to 3 percent annual escalations on long-term net leases are beginning to look attractive on a relative value basis,” according to Yiu. “Cap rates on net leases have also widened over the last 24 months, so obtaining neutral or positive leverage is slowly becoming available for creditworthy borrowers.”

Deals consummated at year-end

As some traditional retailers struggle to maintain their customers or credit ratings, Damon Juha, partner & real estate practice vice chair at Saul Ewing, sees investors explore outside the traditional single-tenant NNN retail deals into other product types, such as industrial.

“There seemed to be a convergence of influences: investors responding to the Fed’s interest rate cuts, investors paying all cash (particularly for smaller deals such that the interest did not matter) and parties needing to consummate deals before year-end, particularly in light of the change of the administration,” Juha said.

READ ALSO: Understanding the Net Lease Reset

Net lease deals have historically provided a relatively low-risk alternative at price points where private investors can enter the market without financing, Juha added. ”Our clients continue to want to do deals, but time will tell if inflation risk and interest rates quell this sentiment.”

Growth in logistics and distribution facilities reflects trends like the continued expansion of e-commerce, supply chain shifts and the need for strategically positioned assets, according to Lanie Beck, Northmarq senior director, content & marketing research.

“Private investors drive the bulk of transaction activity, even as economic pressures like elevated interest rates and inflation influence the market,” Beck said.

Recent cap rate increases indicate a recalibration of risk, while stabilized single-tenant net lease properties continue to attract the attention of both private and institutional buyers, she observed.

“Industrial assets, as noted previously, have outperformed. On the other hand, retail and office sectors face mixed dynamics, with investors focusing on essential tenants and niche opportunities like health care or medtail,” Beck added. “Ultimately, the net lease market’s resilience comes from its knack for striking the right balance between stability and opportunity. The sector offers investors a relative haven in uncertain times.”

NNN energy leases

It’s also worth looking at the rise of triple-net multifamily leases, according to Sean Doak, chief revenue officer at PearlX.

“While most often employed in mixed-use developments, NNN energy leases that provide multifamily properties with energy amenities like solar power have been on the rise in the sector as a solution to various problems, most notably as a creative source of capital in a constrained investment environment,” Doak said.

“With elevated interest rates, limited capital availability, rising construction costs and aggressive building code regulations, multifamily developers are having to think outside of the box to make projects financially viable.”

Through an NNN energy lease, multifamily developers can lower development costs, comply with stringent regulations and enhance cash flow after the property’s delivery, all while offloading the insurance, taxes and maintenance overhead onto the tenant—a key feature of what makes NNN leases attractive in the first place, Doak said.

However, not all net lease is the same, Dave Sobelman, founder & CEO of publicly traded REIT Generation Income Properties, told CPE.

“It would be important to disaggregate the data into more defined categories considering more specific outlooks,” Sobelman said.

“For instance, industrial has become a very popular asset class since the advent of the pandemic. However, the bulk of industrial transactions in today’s market are typically sale-leaseback transactions to non-investment grade tenants who require capital and can no longer borrow at rates accretive to their balance sheets. These transactions were few and far between before 2020.”

Additionally, he noted that late in 2024, overall net lease transaction volume may have increased slightly from 2023, but it is still at historically low levels, reflected in a Northmarq report.

“These low levels of transactions have not been seen since approximately 2009 to 2010, immediately after the GFC,” he added.

The post Net Lease Investment Volume Surges appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Anchored by Macy’s, JCPenney and Dillard’s, the retail asset also has an anchor vacancy where Sears used to be. The property also features a Cinemark movie theater and a number of inline stores.

The sale was a financial play for CBL. The property served as collateral for the firm’s non-recourse term loan, and proceeds from the sale were applied to the term loan principal balance, which was thus reduced to $680.3 million.

“The sale of Imperial Valley Mall demonstrates the demand for stable enclosed malls,” a CBL spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive. Moreover, the deal puts CBL on course to meet the loan principal balance extension test in November 2025, without contributing further capital beyond required amortization.

The firm applied the same debt-reducing strategy two weeks ago, when it sold two retail assets in Monroeville, Pa., for $34 million. CBL used part of the net proceeds to lower the outstanding principal of a $333 million loan. 

READ ALSO: What’s in Store for Retail in 2025?

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based CBL is a major retail owner, with 88 properties totaling 55.4 million square feet in 20 states. Its portfolio includes 53 enclosed malls, outlet centers and lifestyle retail centers, as well as more than 30 open-air centers and other assets.

Portfolio occupancy was 90.3 percent at the end of 2024 for CBL, a 100-basis-point-increase over the quarter, but a 60-basis-point decline compared with portfolio occupancy of 90.9 percent at the end of 2023.

SoCal retail market improves

The demand for retail space in Southern California has seen a recent uptick, according to Avison Young, which reports net absorption of 151,000 square feet for the region in the fourth quarter of 2024, the first positive quarter after three straight quarters of negative absorption.

Meanwhile, retail vacancy decreased across all SoCal markets, coming in at 5.7 percent for the region, the report showed. The retail under-construction pipeline totaled 2.3 million square feet across 56 properties.

The post CBL Sells SoCal Mall appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Oceanview Life and Annuity Co., an affiliate of Bayview Asset Management, is the lender. Scheduled to open in phases starting late 2025, West Harbor is currently 80 percent preleased.

Upon completion, the 42-acre area will feature high-end retail, entertainment and dining. Plans call for 117,205 square feet of leasable building space and 204,000 square feet of ground area, along with a 6,200-seat amphitheater. The development represents a $500 million investment into the waterfront community.

The city of Los Angeles and the Port of Los Angeles selected Jerico Development and The Ratkovich Co. through an RFP process. The development will also provide direct waterfront access, including 200,000 square feet of leasable waterside space designated for vessel excursions and other waterfront attractions.

Newmark advised the West Harbor team and arranged the recapitalization by providing an accretive capital solution for the project’s completion and stabilization.

READ ALSO: Why C-PACE Lenders Remain Resolute

The refinancing, structured with a new senior loan and subordinate C-PACE financing, was arranged by Newmark Executive Vice Chairman Bill Fishel, Directors Alethia Halamandaris and Wyatt Strahan, and Associates Anna Sporrong and Broderick Flagg.

This full leverage, non-recourse refinancing of the West Harbor development will provide the time and resources required to bring the experiential retail project to fruition, Fishel told Commercial Property Executive.

Construction financing of this manner of leasehold real estate in any environment is challenging, he added. “The incredible outcome we achieved here belies the decade-plus of work by the Port of San Pedro and the Jerico and Ratkovich teams alongside the thoughtful, differentiated approaches of both Bayview and Petros, pairing existing PACE, bridge and new PACE financings to elegantly effectuate a new waterfront experience for the region.”

In one of South Florida’s largest office deals last year, Bayview Asset Management renewed its 55,071-square-foot office lease at Merrick Park, at 4425 Ponce de Leon Blvd. That deal was led by Colliers Vice Chair Stephen Rutchik and Vice President Tom Farmer, who represented landlord Brookfield Properties.

This week, a 146,901-square-foot grocery-anchored retail center in Los Angeles was financed for $32 million by 21 Alpha Group and Intelligent Design Real Estate through Forbright Bank for Crenshaw Plaza.

The post Los Angeles Retail Project Obtains $62M Refi appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The principals of 21 Alpha Group and Intelligent Design Real Estate have obtained $32 million in senior financing through Forbright Bank for Crenshaw Plaza, a 146,901-square-foot grocery-anchored retail center in Los Angeles.

JLL arranged the three-year, floating-rate loan. Proceeds will refinance existing debt, pay for closing costs and support future leasing expenses. 

The property became subject to a $31 million loan in 2020, when the joint venture acquired it in a $33.7 million portfolio deal that also included the retail space at 3540 Slauson Ave., according to CommercialEdge data. Wells Fargo Bank provided the five-year note.

Crenshaw Plaza, up close

Completed in 1967 and renovated in 2004, the five-building Crenshaw Plaza is at 3210 W. Slauson Ave., covering a 5-acre site. The property was 97 percent leased at the time of sale, its tenants having average leases of 9.3 years. 

Vallarta Supermarkets anchors the retail center, occupying 31.5 percent of the gross leasable area under a 15-year lease. The roster also includes Planet Fitness, Foot Locker and AutoZone.

Crenshaw Plaza is at the intersection of West Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard, which sees approximately 72,000 vehicles per day. The shopping center is also adjacent to the Hyde Park light rail station, on the Metro K Line. 

JLL Capital Markets Director Spencer Bergthold, Senior Managing Director Charles Halladay and Associate Daniel Skerrett led the company’s Debt Advisory team that brokered the deal on behalf of the joint venture.

Grocery-anchored shopping centers continue to prove their resilience in the market, driven by consistent consumer foot traffic and the demand for convenience-oriented retail experiences. In 2025, the retail sector is expected to undergo significant transformation due to shifting consumer preferences, increasingly oriented toward necessity-based centers.

The post 21 Alpha Group JV Lands Refi for Los Angeles Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Shaker Loudon Associates, an affiliate of Benderson Development, has sold a 120,049-square-foot Fresh Market-anchored shopping center in Latham, N.Y., just north of Albany. PCP Binghamton Associates LLC acquired the property for $26.9 million.

Institutional Property Advisors Senior Managing Director Jim Koury brokered the deal on behalf of the seller and procured the buyer.

The Fresh Market Commons in Latham is located at 664 Loudon Road, at the intersection between U.S. Route 9 and State Route 155. Interstate 87 is also close.

Completed in 2010, the three-building property is located on 10 acres. Its tenant roster also includes Petco, Crumbl Cookie, Sleep & Spas, European Wax Center and Verizon, according to CommercialEdge information. The new ownership had approximately 24,000 square feet available at the shopping center to reposition the property’s tenancy.

READ ALSO: What’s in Store for Retail in 2025?

The property is within 1 mile of several other retailers including Walmart, Home Depot, Target and Lowes. Albany International Airport is less than 4 miles west of the shopping center, while downtown Albany, N.Y., is within 8 miles. 

Fresh Market Commons serves a population of more than 182,000 within 5 miles, with annual household incomes exceeding $116,700 within a 3-mile radius, according to Institutional Property Advisors.

The post New York Retail Center Sells for $27M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Major outlet center owner Tanger has acquired another high-end shopping center. The 640,000-square-foot Pinecrest Mall is an open-air, grocery-anchored, mixed-use property in Orange, Ohio, part of Cleveland’s affluent eastern corridor. The $167 million purchase also included the asset’s residential and office components.

Such developments continue to gain popularity across the country, according to Michael Romer, co-managing partner at Romer Debbas.

“This is yet another example of the growing live-work-play trend in commercial real estate,” Romer told Commercial Property Executive. “With a housing shortage nationally, pairing shopping, dining and entertainment together with residential is a smart play on numerous fronts.”

“Open-air shopping has led the charge in the recent comeback of brick-and-mortar shopping, with recent foot traffic on par with prepandemic numbers,” added Rick Strauss, principal with Odyssey.

A Whole Foods Market anchors Pinecrest, alongside retailers Alo Yoga, UNTUCKit, Madewell, Sephora, Warby Parker, Indochino, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, REI, Nike and several others. Dining choices include Shake Shack, Kitchen Social, First Watch, Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, Silverspot Cinema and Pinstripes.

Tanger’s buying spree; open-air heats up

Over the past 16 months or so, Tanger also acquired The Promenade at Chenal in Little Rock, Ark., and Bridge Street Town Centre in Huntsville, Ala.

In October, Tanger Outlets Nashville opened, featuring 60 stores across seven buildings. The 290,000-square-foot, open-air shopping center in southeast Nashville was 97 percent leased at that time.

In August, CTO Realty Growth bought Carolina Pavilion in Charlotte, N.C., Millenia Crossing in Orlando, Fla., and Lake Brandon Village in Tampa, Fla. The three open-air shopping centers totaling some 1.2 million square feet sold for $137.5 million.

The post Tanger Pays $167M for Open-Air Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Simon Property Group Inc. plans to begin a multimillion-dollar transformative project of Smith Haven Mall, a 1.2 million-square-foot shopping mall in Lake Grove, N.Y., on Long Island. The extensive redevelopment will start this summer, targeting completion in 2026.

The renovation project will improve both the exterior and interior spaces of the property. The exterior will be repainted with new signage and entryways. Inside, Smith Haven Mall will have updated flooring, modern fixtures and a revitalized Center Court. The food court will also be transformed with new seating. Outdoors, a green plaza with landscaping and seating areas will be added.

The mall revamp will also feature tenant additions. Zara will open its first location in Eastern Long Island at the property in 2026, Sur la Table will open this fall and Golf Lounge 18 is set to open in March.

READ ALSO: What’s in Store for Retail in 2025?

Smith Haven Mall—originally known as Nesconset Shopping Center—opened its doors in 1969. Since 1995, it has been managed by Simon Property Group. The property has undergone several renovations and expansions over the years, becoming a key shopping destination in the region.

The mall’s tenant roster currently includes more than 130 regional and national retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Apple, Guess, H&M, Claire’s, White House Black Market, LoveSac, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Forever21, Sephora, The LEGO Store, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Starbucks and Bahama Breeze.

Located at 313 Smith Haven Mall, the retail property is at the intersection of highways 25 and 347.

Simon’s recent activity

Simon currently has roughly $8 billion in assets under management across the globe and its portfolio encompasses more than 400 retail properties across 24 countries.

In September, the firm updated and extended its $3.5 billion multi-currency unsecured revolving credit facility. This amendment increased Simon’s financial flexibility, giving it a total of $8.5 billion in revolving credit capacity.

And this January, the REIT announced plans to develop Nashville Premium Outlets, a 325,000-square-foot luxury shopping and lifestyle destination, starting next year. The company agreed to purchase a large site in Thompson’s Station, Tenn., and construction expected to begin in 2026.

The post Simon Eyes Long Island Shopping Mall Revamp appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Retail Opportunity Investments Corp.’s shareholders have approved the proposed merger with Blackstone Real Estate Partners X. The all-cash deal, valued at about $4 billion, is expected to close this week.

ROIC and Blackstone affiliates had entered the merger agreement back in November, under which Blackstone would acquire all outstanding shares of ROIC’s common stock at $17.50 per share. The transaction represents a 34 percent premium over ROIC’s closing share price in July 2024.

The retail REIT‘s portfolio included 93 grocery-anchored properties totaling around 10.5 million square feet across Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Ore., at the end of September.

Blackstone’s interest in ROIC underscores the positive outlook of necessity-based, grocery-anchored retail. This type of assets will continue to draw attention from both investors and developers, according to Commercial Property Executive‘s 2025 retail outlook.

The Blackstone-ROIC merger, up close

Following the merger’s completion, ROIC will become a privately held entity under Blackstone’s management.

The deal will involve a two-phase process. First, Montana Merger Sub II LLC will merge with ROIC’s operating partnership, Retail Opportunity Investments Partnership LP, according to the Trading Calendar. Then, Montana Merger Sub I Inc. will merge with ROIC, which will remain under Blackstone’s control.

The agreement also includes measures for handling ROIC’s restricted stock awards and long-term incentive program units, ensuring that eligible employees receive fair compensation as the company undergoes a change in ownership.

However, the transaction might still be subject to change, the same source shows. Should a superior offer emerge, ROIC’s board has the right to accept the new proposal and pay Blackstone a $78 million termination fee. On the other hand, Blackstone has guaranteed a $239 million reverse termination fee if it fails to complete the deal under the terms of the agreement.

The post Blackstone’s $4B Retail Deal Gets Green Light appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Pinkard’s 2 million square feet of office, flex/office, warehouse/industrial and retail space in the Maryland region have been added to MCB’s nationwide portfolio of operating assets totaling about 15 million square feet.

Pinkard co-founder Katharine Pinkard has been named senior managing director of property management for MCB Real Estate. MCB noted that its current property management division leader, Marty Lastner, recently announced plans to retire.

The acquisition boosts the number of MCB personnel in asset and property management from about 36 to about 50, an MCB spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive.

READ ALSO: CRE Compensation, Hiring Trends

MCB noted that it has in recent months acquired several varied assets that are widely separated geographically.

For example, this past September the company purchased a 368,000-square-foot Class A industrial facility in Howell Township, N.J., for $69.9 million. The seller of the newly completed Howell 1 was Active Acquisitions. MCB also signed a 15-year, full-building lease with a third-party logistics company.

The same month, a joint venture of MCB and a fund managed by DRA Advisors acquired Falcon Ridge Town Center, a fully leased 273,424-square-foot retail center in Fontana, Calif., for $64.7 million.

Given this steady growth, MCB President Gina Baker Chambers emphasized in a prepared statement the Pinkard acquisition’s importance in beefing up the company’s internal team.

Last June, Baker Chambers spoke at length with CPE about the challenges of development projects that are financially sound, environmentally sustainable and responsive to community needs.

Family history

Interestingly, the acquisition represents a kind of marriage between notable families with a historical connection. The Pinkard tradition began in 1922 with one W.C. Pinkard, whose grandson Walter Pinkard Jr. was in charge by the 1970s. Katherine Pinkard and her father, Greg Pinkard, founded Pinkard Properties in 2012, continuing the multi-generational tradition.

But here’s the twist. One of Greg’s brothers, Peter Pinkard, in 2007 was a co-founder of MCB Real Estate; he remains there as a managing partner.

Pinkard Properties’ Greg Pinkard meanwhile will serve MCB Real Estate in an advisory role.

Jarnell Swecker, managing director/marketing at MCB Real Estate, told CPE that while there hasn’t been any formal collaboration between the two companies (until now), “Baltimore is a close-knit market where everyone knows everyone … and Pinkard Partners, with their breadth of experience, matched up as the perfect partner for what MCB wanted to accomplish.”

The post MCB Real Estate Acquires Pinkard Properties appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Milbrook Properties has acquired Westend Square, a 152,335-square-foot shopping center in Tallahassee, Fla., from a private individual. The property changed hands for $24 million.

Institutional Property Advisors Executive Managing Director Douglas Mandel worked on behalf of the seller and procured the buyer.

Shadow-anchored by an Aldi supermarket, Westend Square is at 2020 W. Pensacola St. The 13-acre property is currently subject to a $13.5 million CMBS loan originated by Wilmington Trust in 2015, CommercialEdge data shows. The note is expected to mature this year.

Shopping center in a student housing hub

Completed in 1978, Westend Square underwent a complete renovation in 2022, which coincided with Aldi’s opening. Its roster currently features Five Below, Planet Fitness, Pet Supermarket, Aaron’s Rents, Little Caesar’s, the U.S. Post Office and Citi Trends. The asset was 98 percent leased at the time of sale.

The retail center is near U.S. Route 90 and 3 miles east of downtown Tallahassee. Florida State University’s main campus and its two student housing communities, as well as Florida A&M University and Tallahassee Community College, are within a 3-mile radius. In 2024, there were some 157,000 people living in the 5-mile area surrounding the property.

The retail real estate sector continues to experience notable growth, despite challenges like bankruptcies and closures of legacy chain stores. The demand for physical retail space remains high, with vacancy rates at their lowest in 20 years, PwC Partner Andrew Alperstein told Commercial Property Executive in a recent interview.

The post Milbrook Properties Buys Tallahassee Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Westwood Financial has purchased Eastway Square, a 130,156-square-foot shopping center in Charlotte, N.C., from New Forum Partners. Berkley Capital Advisors arranged the sale.

The property has been under New Forum Partners’ ownership since 2020, when the company acquired Eastway Square from BC Wood Properties for $12.5 million. Atlantic Union Bank originated a $9.3 million permanent acquisition loan for that transaction, according to CommercialEdge information.

Completed in 1991, Eastway Square is anchored by regional supermarket chain Food Lion. The 14.7-acre property is located at 3211 Eastway Drive, at the traffic intersection with Central Avenue and less than 5 miles southeast of downtown Charlotte. The tenant roster includes Ross, America’s Best, Papa Johns, Subway, WingStop, Dental Works and Hibbett Sports.

Eastway Square serves more than 311,000 residents on a 5-mile radius, with an average household income above $112,000. It is one of several grocery-anchored retail properties Los Angeles-based Westwood Financial owns in Charlotte. These include Prosperity Village Square, Steele Creek Crossing, Steelecroft Shopping Center and The Arbors at Mallard Creek.

In today’s retail landscape, developers are increasingly focusing on leveraging location analytics and understanding consumer patterns, so as to create shopping centers that are not only profitable but also integral to the community’s lifestyle.

The post Westwood Financial Buys Charlotte Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

CBL Properties has sold Monroeville Mall and its Annex in Monroeville, Pa., for $34 million. Walmart bought the retail assets totaling 1.2 million square feet, according to CBS News. JLL worked on behalf of the seller, while CBRE Senior Vice President Tom Flynn represented the buyer.

CBL used approximately $7.1 million of the net proceeds to lower the outstanding principal of its outparcel and open-air center loan to $333 million. The deal enabled the release of a collateral parcel.

The retail center traded at an 86 percent discount from its previous sale. CBL had acquired the shopping mall in 2004 for $231.2 million and the transaction included the assumption of a $134 million fixed-rate, non-recourse loan, The Chattanoogan reported at the time.

Redeveloping Monroeville Mall

Monroeville Mall and the adjacent Annex cover an 185-acre site at 200 Mall Circle Drive, just off U.S. Route 22 and close to Interstate 376. Downtown Pittsburgh is less than 13 miles west.

The mall’s roster includes Barnes & Noble, Claire’s, Forever 21, Macy’s, H&M and JD Sports, among others. The Annex has Going Going Gone, Guitar Center, Full Throttle Adrenaline Park and several other retailers as tenants.

Walmart has selected Cypress Equities to manage the property and spearhead its redevelopment into a new retail and commercial destination adapted to the shoppers’ 21 century needs. The last time Monroeville Mall underwent renovations was in 2003, when $10 million contributed to upgrading its decor, as well as installing air chillers.

In 2025, the retail sector is expected to continue the transformation brought about by last years’ trends. Experiential retail and high-quality real estate remain the main drivers for enhancing in-person shopping, as well as reducing vacancies.

The post Walmart Acquires Pittsburgh Mall appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

In the Viewpoint 2025 survey, IRR shared viewpoints from its nearly 600 valuation advisors across the U.S. and the Caribbean.

“In this market, fundamental value isn’t about speculation but real cash flow, strong locations and realistic tenant demand,” Anthony Graziano, CEO of IRR, told Commercial Property Executive.

Investors need to rely less on the cost of money and more on effective management to maximize operations by focusing on sustainable rent levels and assets with lasting economic function, Graziano advised.

“Long-term value lies in markets with strong job growth, economic drivers and favorable migration trends,” he said. “Fundamental value is not a definition—it is a recognition that investors need to get back to basics and study fundamental drivers that create long-term value.”

In the meantime, private investors have shifted capital allocations to alternatives such as senior housing, self storage, build-to-rent single-family and data centers.

Create a lasting impact

Graziano said the best real estate investments go beyond returns—they create lasting impact.

“Today’s most successful projects are mixed-use developments that integrate housing, retail and community spaces, especially in high-growth metros,” he said. “Developers are embracing adaptive reuse, transforming vacant malls, offices and hotels into vibrant mixed-income housing and health-care facilities, addressing market demand and community needs.”

Graziano pointed out that projects such as Nashville Yards and Richmond’s Diamond District showcase this transformation, seamlessly blending commercial space with housing, entertainment and public gathering areas.

READ ALSO: Which Asset Classes Stole the Spotlight in 2024?

Additionally, four developers are proposing a redevelopment of Boca Raton City Center in Boca Raton, Fla., incorporating these principles.

“These developments demonstrate that reimagining underutilized spaces isn’t just good urban planning; it’s a blueprint for sustainable, community-driven growth,” he added.

Trump policy points to ‘America’ first

As an over-arching theme, national economic policy action can have impacts (intended and unintended) on the economy, which nearly always affects the direction of real estate values, Graziano said.

“President Trump’s general thesis has always been clear: America First, which will generally be good for real estate and real estate investment in growth. He’s an expansionary president who focuses on investing in America’s economic strength, and disinvesting in activities that do not tie to American growth.”

The challenge on the real estate front will be balancing the America First growth focus with potential dislocations associated with abandoning prior administration policy, Graziano warned. Some examples include stated reductions in the federal workforce through DOGE, cuts to major programs that could have industry-specific impacts and significant divestiture of federal assets (land, buildings, leases, etc.).

Office determinant on federal workers

For the first time in years, Graziano said he is seeing a real policy push that could bring federal workers back to the office.

READ ALSO: Trump’s Gift to the Office Market

“If private employers follow the lead, it could finally stabilize the sector, especially for well-located Class A buildings,” he said. “Not every office building will make a comeback. Older Class B and C buildings continue to face an uphill battle, and many must be repurposed to stay viable. This is especially true of aging government buildings.”

Industrial shifts to domestic

Graziano said industrial remains the strongest asset class, but after years of rapid expansion, it’s shifting into a more measured growth phase.

He added there’s been a shift toward domestic production following the post-Covid reshoring trends.

“As President Trump implements the threatened tariffs and provides reshoring incentives, the industrial sector could see another wave of demand—especially in border states and major logistics hubs,” he said.

Labor shortages and high development costs remain real barriers, Graziano cautioned. Even with strong demand, constructing the next generation of industrial facilities won’t be easy or cheap, he anticipates. Port cities could see a fall-off in container throughput as imports directly correlate with port industrial demand.

Retail relies on confidence

Retail’s success is tied to consumer confidence.

“If President Trump’s tax policies put more money in people’s pockets, we could see a boost in spending—especially in restaurants, entertainment and service-based retail,” according to Graziano. “But there’s a flip side: if trade policies make imports more expensive, big-box stores and fast fashion retailers could take a hit if there is a consumer backlash on pricing.”

Graziano anticipates that this will also appear in the inflation stats, which could impact the Fed funds’ rate policy. “Expect strong performance from grocery-anchored centers and necessity-driven retail, which tend to weather economic volatility better than most.”

Multifamily remains steady

Multifamily has been one of the steadiest asset classes, but policy shifts could shake things up, according to Graziano.

“Multifamily is stabilizing, though affordability concerns are keeping investors cautious,” he said. “Some pockets of multifamily distress have been building in markets with high inventory deliveries.”

If President Trump extends tax cuts or eases regulations, more investment could flow into new development, Graziano anticipated.

But immigration policies and potential rent controls in some states could impact demand and operating costs. According to Graziano, housing is also a significant component of inflation statistics, so there will be competing interests to keep rent and housing growth strong, but not too strong, which will undermine inflation protections. “Investors must stay flexible and focus on markets with strong job growth and steady population gains to mitigate risks,” Graziano cautioned.

The post What Defines the Best CRE Investments Today? appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

In preparing the report, the law firm analyzed more than 950 purchase and sale agreements and over 500 property management agreements—data from the volume of transactions that DLA Piper handles in major U.S. markets. Overall, the company noted, deal volume in acquisitions and dispositions, including joint ventures, was robust in 2024, despite the still-elevated cost of capital.

Investors were particularly interested in downtown and metro areas in major markets such as Washington, D.C., New York City and Chicago. Among the states, there was “significant transaction volume” in urban and suburban areas across California and Texas, DLA Piper found.

Among non-residential property types, industrial still represented the highest percentage of 2024 investment deals in the data set analyzed in the report, but just barely at 12 percent, down sharply from 21 percent in 2023 and 20 percent in 2022. Office investment ticked up from 8 percent in 2023 to 11 percent in 2024, showing that the sector isn’t completely kaput.

Investment in retail assets was stable at 9 percent of the total in 2024, the same as the year before, and hotels dropped from 4 percent to 1 percent over the same period, the report found.

The steepest year-over-year rise in investment, however, was in data centers. As recently as 2020 and ’21, none of DLA Piper clients were acquiring data centers, and only 1 percent were in 2022. By 2023, 4 percent of the deals involved data centers, and by 2024 the volume had swelled to 9 percent.

READ ALSO: CBRE Survey Indicates Optimism by Investors

Despite these movements in investor interest, the fact of the matter is that residential properties totaled the most: 40 percent of all the 2024 transactions studied by the report, a figure that hasn’t changed much since the pandemic (though only 15 percent of investors acquired multifamily in 2019).

Financial contingencies up slightly

The report also covered financial contingencies among the universe of transactions handled by the company, finding a slight increase in the total percentage of transactions in which financing contingencies were present, up from 10.71 percent in 2023 to 11.11 percent in 2024.

“We saw a more noticeable shift between contingencies for loan assumptions versus contingencies for new loans,” the report explained.

Of the 11.11 percent of transactions where a financing contingency was part of the deal, the percentage of loan assumption contingencies rose from 7.14 to 8.64 percent between 2023 and ’24, while the percentage of new financing contingencies dropped from 3.57 percent to 2.47 percent over the same period.

The report chalked up those movements to the fact that, while interest rates dropped somewhat in 2024, in many cases a buyer can still obtain a better rate by assuming existing financing, which tends to date from the period before the anti-inflation hike in rates.

The report also found that the most common survival period for representations and warranties continued to be 270 days, a period common to 46 percent of the transactions DLA Piper handled in 2024. The number-two most popular survival period was 180 days, which had a 28 percent frequency.

Penalties for breach of representations and warranties didn’t change much between 2023 and ’24, the report noted, especially those deals with purchase prices below $125 million. Larger deals saw more movement to increase average liability caps, especially those of more than $300 million.

Property management trends

Property management fees continued to be toward the middle of the range, the DLA Piper report found, with most coming in between 2 percent and 5 percent of rent, with an increase in fixed fee arrangements.

The clustering of property management fees in the middle range was especially noticeable in the residential sector, where (for example) about two-thirds of fees for apartments came in between 3 percent and 4 percent, with a similar range for student housing and manufactured housing. Senior housing fees were higher, however, three-quarters of which were above 5 percent.

Among non-residential property types, fees were more widely spread. For industrial, 35.9 percent of managers charged 5 percent or more, while the rest charged anything from less than 1 percent to as much as 5 percent. Office and data centers likewise were scattered across the range of fees.

Construction management fees across property types didn’t change much in 2024, the report noted. Most residential management fees are higher than 5 percent, with senior housing an exception at between 2 percent and 3 percent. For industrial, 41.8 percent of construction fees totaled 5 percent or more, but nearly a third of such fees came in between 2 percent and 3 percent.

The post Which Asset Classes Stole the Spotlight in 2024? appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The location is at the intersection of interstates 65 and 840. The town is about 25 miles south of Nashville.

Simon will develop the mixed-use center in collaboration with Nashville-based Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners. That company works in the hospitality, mixed-use and residential sectors; its brands include Graduate Hotels, Marine & Lawn Hotels & Resorts and Field & Stream Lodge Co.

Preliminary project plans call for about 75 retailers, as well as restaurants and a hotel. Residential options and big-box retailers could be added at a later time.

A Simon spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive that the project is in such an early stage that a site plan and renderings are not yet available.

READ ALSO: Retail Development Is Bouncing Back, but the Game Has Changed

Simon already has some noteworthy retail assets in the Nashville area. These include the super-regional  Opry Mills, the metro’s largest shopping destination, featuring more than 200 stores and 20 restaurants. Another is The Mall at Green Hills, which Simon owns through a joint venture with Taubman Realty Group.

Last September, Simon Property Group LP amended, restated and extended its $3.5 billion credit facility. The move was intended to give Simon more financial flexibility as it expands experiential options at many of its malls.

Good neighborhood

Demand for retail space in Nashville rose steadily in 2024, according to a fourth-quarter report from Matthews Real Estate Investment Services. Available space was tight, however, despite the 1.3 million square feet delivered throughout the year. About 760,000 square feet was under construction as of December, a pipeline still below the metro area’s average for the past 10 years.

Based on Nashville’s strong population growth, Matthews predicted that retail vacancy will likely remain below 3.5 percent through the next five years, below the national average.

The post Simon Eyes Nashville Mixed-Use Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Over the last two years, the single-tenant net lease retail sector has experienced its ups and downs as it pertains to investment sales volume. In this time, the market has reported moments of both robust and sluggish activity in alternating quarters. Third quarter 2024, however, witnessed a continuation of second quarter’s slump, with approximately $2.4 billion in transactions recorded. While this represents a 14.6 percent jump over last quarter’s totals, net lease retail sales volume remains depressed, and only $8.6 billion has been logged year-to-date. At this point, the sector is not on track to meet 2023’s annual transaction volume, which would make this year the slowest in over a decade.

READ ALSO: What’s in Store for Retail in 2025?

Climbing sharply in recent quarters, the average net lease retail cap rate now sits at 6.74 percent. The market has seen a 62-basis point jump since the start of the year, and the average has increased 112 basis points from the low mark reached in first quarter 2023. Across the single-tenant market, the retail sector shows the widest range of cap rates across the U.S., with a 147-basis point spread. On the high end, the Midwest has seen average rates creep up to 7.48 percent, while the West region passed the 6.0 percent-mark just this quarter.

Unsurprisingly, private buyers continue to be the dominant investor group for net lease retail assets, representing 50 percent of buyers year-to-date. Their market share has declined from recent years though, as REITs have gradually become more active in the space. After nine months of activity, REITs now comprise 28 percent of retail buyers, compared to 19 percent in 2023 and just 15 percent the previous year. Institutional investors and foreign capital remain largely silent in the retail sector for now.

—Posted on January 30, 2025

With $1.82 billion in transactions reported during second quarter 2024, the single-tenant net lease retail sector posted its slowest quarter since 2011. This is only the third time in 13 years that quarterly activity has failed to exceed the $2.0-billion mark, but with rapidly rising cap rates, it’s been challenging to get buyers and sellers to agree on pricing. High interest rates have exerted pressure on transaction activity as well, and portfolio volume – which has historically contributed significantly to retail sale volume totals – is down more than 49% year-over-year. The market has relied on smaller priced individual asset sales to drive activity levels, which simply don’t add up to impressive totals. With fewer than 300 transactions in second quarter, the net lease retail market is certainly facing its challenges.

Despite the seemingly dismal outlook, expectations call for increased activity in the second half of the year. We regularly see fourth quarter as the strongest and most active for the retail sector, especially as many year-end transactions are motivated by tax savings strategies. Furthermore, if interest rate cuts occur at any time this calendar year, the retail market is positioned to benefit.

International capital remains absent from the net lease retail market, but buyer distribution metrics reflect other noteworthy trends. In the last six months, REIT activity has been noticeably stronger than in recent years. With 38% market share, compared to 19% in 2023 and 15% the prior year, REITs have used current market conditions to their advantage. Conversely, private investors, which comprised 60% to 70% of the retail buyer pool in the last two years, represent less than half the active buyers. Watch for these ratios to adjust as the year progresses, however. With a meaningful uptick in transactions, especially during fourth quarter, it’s likely those tax-motivated private and individual investors will recapture some of today’s market share from the REITs.

—Posted on July 23, 2024

After an up-and-down year in 2023, the single-tenant net lease retail sector started 2024 on a strong note. In the last three months, investment sales volume totaled $3.9 billion, jumping nearly 59 percent quarter-to-quarter. This marks the sector’s strongest reporting period since this time last year and puts the market on track to exceed last year’s annual performance, as long as activity remains consistent.

As the year progresses, however, it’s possible we will see another few quarters of inconsistent transaction volume. Actions by the Fed suggest interest rate cuts are still a ways off, and the bulk of private investor activity is likely to be driven by forced timelines in order to satisfy 1031 exchanges. This opens the door for other investor groups to act opportunistically, and with new net lease retail development still happening across the U.S.—especially for markets with high population growth and stronger economies—activity from public REITs, institutional investors, and international buyers may influence this year’s buyer distribution trends.

Cap rates continued their upward climb, rising 23 basis points from year-end. At an average of 6.38 percent, rates are now 74 basis points higher year-over-year. Interest rates continue to impact investor appetite, especially for private and individual investors who regularly capture the lion’s share of net lease retail acquisitions. In the first quarter 2024, however, we saw public REITs account for over half of all single-tenant retail buyers, reducing private investor activity to only 32 percent of the market.

Investors across all groups should be encouraged by the planned growth and expansion of many retailers that have become net lease favorites. Gas stations, discount retailers, quick service restaurants, and more are among the more aggressively expanding tenants, with some brands committing to open hundreds of new locations in the near-term. Existing stores too are generating opportunities for investors, as companies like Walmart, Starbucks and Dollar General invest billions to renovate and modernize stores, adding value for current owners.

—Posted on May 27, 2024

Lanie Beck is the Senior Director of Content & Marketing Research at Northmarq.

The post 2024 Single-Tenant Retail Quarterly Sales Volume & Cap Rates appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

DLC has obtained $41.7 million in acquisition financing from Webster Bank for Danada Square West, a 314,819-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center in Wheaton, Ill.

The firm had purchased the asset from PGIM Real Estate for $61.7 million earlier this month, in a joint venture with Crow Holdings Capital and Temerity Strategic Partners. JLL represented the borrower in arranging the five-year, fixed-rate note.

Completed in 1988, Danada Square West was 92.7 percent leased at closing. The property is part of a major retail cluster at Butterfield Road and Naperville Road in west suburban DuPage County, roughly 30 miles from downtown Chicago.

A Jewel-Osco grocery store, which has been a tenant since the property opened, anchors the shopping center. The roster also features a mix of national retailers, including TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Burlington, The Paper Store, Ulta and Five Below.

The new owner is focusing on filling the nearly 23,000 square feet that are vacant, with letters of intent already under review. In addition, recent upgrades and leasing momentum from national tenants have set the stage for the property’s further appreciation.

JLL Senior Managing Director Scott Aiese, Managing Director Christopher Knight and Director Alex Staikos led the Capital Markets’ Debt Advisory team representing DLC.

READ ALSO: What’s in Store for Retail in 2025?

The acquisition of Danada Square West was DLC’s first deal with Crow Holdings Capital and its 10th with Temerity Strategic Partners. The firm has acquired more than $400 million in open-air shopping centers in the last 12 months.

In one of the more recent purchases, DLC paid $76.3 million for a shopping center portfolio in metro Columbus, Ohio, in partnership with Principal Asset Management. The two properties total 622,000 square feet.

Chicago retail development soft, rents are up

Chicago has a tight retail market, despite sluggish population and income growth recently in the metro area. By mid-2024, the vacancy rate dropped to a new record low of 5.1 percent, the result of seven consecutive quarters of decline, according to a Marcus & Millichap report. The lowest vacancy rate previously was 5.9 percent in 2018.

The reason for the current market climate, according to the brokerage, is that developers put the brakes on during the pandemic, combined with the higher cost of construction and construction financing in the years immediately after the pandemic. 

Strong net absorption in recent quarters has driven up single-tenant asking rents for Chicago retail, reaching an average of $20.13 per square foot, Marcus & Millichap reported.

The post DLC Locks In Loan for Chicagoland Retail Buy appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The Texas Heritage Marketplace name applies to both the 750,000-square-foot regional shopping center and to the larger mixed-use project, which will eventually also encompass 550 apartments in two communities, plus almost 300,000 square feet of medical office space and self storage units.

The 165-acre site is at the southeast corner of I-10 and Texas Heritage Parkway.

NewQuest’s own architectural team aimed at creating a walkable environment with ample green space. The focus of this is a huge Heritage oak tree that was saved from the path of the recently completed parkway and relocated to the center of the development. (The Heritage oak is a hybrid of the English oak (Quercus robur) and the Bur oak (Q. macrocarpa).

READ ALSO: What’s in Store for Retail in 2025?

NewQuest reportedly has spent about 10 years preparing for this project, biding its time till the right point in the area’s rapid population growth—56 percent since 2020—and until the 6.5-mile Texas Heritage Parkway was completed. The latest trigger was the developer having secured Target as a 149,000-square-foot anchor tenant.

Patience is a virtue

Texas Heritage Marketplace might be part of a pattern for NewQuest. In the 1990s the developer acquired a 65-acre site in Tomball, Texas, also in metro Houston, but didn’t break ground on The Grand at 249, a 404,256-square-foot retail center there, until years later. In October 2023, Commercial Property Executive reported that the center had reached 96 percent preleasing.

Metro Houston’s overall economy is doing well, with job growth of 1.8 percent, above the national average 1.4 percent, year-over-year, according to a fourth-quarter report from Cushman & Wakefield.

The retail market, naturally, is thriving. Though average vacancy bumped up slightly, to 5.4 percent in the fourth quarter, closing 2024 significantly below historical averages.

In the Katy submarket specifically, vacancy was 4.7 percent on an inventory of 31.4 million square feet. Asking rents were up a landlord-pleasing 7.3 percent year-over-year, to $24.82 NNN asking, Cushman & Wakefield reported.

The post NewQuest Breaks Ground on $400M Mixed-Use Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Despite two bumpy decades, retail has demonstrated it’s capable of resilience and innovation. Recent data from PwC and the Urban Land Institute shows that vacancy levels are down, and high-growth areas are seeing a surge of demand for lifestyle and retail options. These trends, along with the anticipation that interest rates will remain stable, have engendered a sense of cautious optimism.

For the savvy retail developer, 2025 holds the promise of opportunity, as long as projects can adapt to new economic realities. And while uncertainty is always a function of the future, the new trends shaping retail development are becoming clearer.

Building where the people are

In the past, a lot more retail developers could buy land, build and assume the customer would follow. Today, higher land and construction costs mean funding a project and squeezing out a profit is more challenging. So, retail developers are increasingly following the people. This has led to the most significant growth in Sun Belt states including Florida, Arizona and Texas.

Even so, building in a high-growth area isn’t enough. “When we first saw lifestyle centers being launched, there was an aspirational mindset that failed to adapt to the realities of a particular area,” said Todd Caruso, retail investor lead for the Americas with CBRE. “There was also a mindset that an architect’s dream of something that worked in California would work just as well in Dallas. Obviously, this simply isn’t cost effective.”

Instead, sophisticated owners and developers are using location analytics to break down potential markets before they break ground. Using technologies such as geofencing and mass mobile retail analytics, developers can more clearly determine how many square feet a community can support. It also lets them match the format of the space and the mix of tenants that are going to succeed in a specific neighborhood.

Thinking outside the big box

Even before COVID-19, the industry faced record numbers of retail vacancies and a flood of bankruptcies and mass store closures, hitting aspirational brands the likes of Lord & Taylor and Nieman Marcus, as well as retail stalwarts such as Sears, JCPenney and Toys ‘R’ Us. Instead of aspirational brands, John Feeney, senior vice president at The Boulder Group, sees the industry moving toward brands that focus on both affordability and convenience. 

“We deal primarily with corporate tenants with strong balance sheets. Standout retailers in the net-lease sector with big expansion plans include Dollar General, TJX Cos. (TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods), Dutch Bros and Chipotle,” mentioned Feeney. “As these tenants expand, they continue to target locations where they can offer their customers convenience.”

Thinking outside the box store also means that retailers are embracing a mixed-use model that blurs the line between shopping centers and community hubs. And while it may be possible to repurpose existing space, new development offers greater opportunities that may not be otherwise possible.

“New developments allow for the creation of spaces that speak to the soul of a community and foster social engagement while also meeting the evolving needs of modern retailers and consumers,” thinks Ron Bondy, executive vice president of leasing at Midwood Investment & Development. “They also offer an opportunity to incorporate cutting-edge design and optimize for sustainability and efficiency.“

Integrating retail into communities

Many retail projects are now linked to residential projects, as many developers assume convenient access to shops and dining can help draw residents. But offering shopping options isn’t enough. Now, many commercial projects include lifestyle options such as medical offices, gyms, workspaces and even sports facilities.

James Cook, Americas director of retail research at JLL, pointed to one example, The Bluhawk in Overland Park, Kan. “It’s anchored by a huge 420,000-square-foot sports and entertainment complex. With youth sports booming in America, this center is serving an underserved population, parents and families at all-day youth sports events looking to shop and grab a bite while they’re there.”

Retail developers are also looking at ways to activate their space to ensure the public will want to use it. Whether it’s an open-air trick-or-treating event, serving as the rally point for a 5K charity run or an experience tied to a streaming series, a retail space that’s open to the community and is social-media friendly will benefit from increased traffic and positive word-of-mouth.

Embracing omnichannel design

Online sales have been growing for the past 25 years, with data from the U.S. Federal Reserve showing e-commerce climbing from less than 1 percent of retail sales in 2000 to more than 15 percent by the end of 2023.

But brick-and-mortar stores are still part of retailer recipes. Shoppers who order items online will often opt for in-person pickup to save time and avoid delivery costs. Having a physical location for product returns and exchanges can develop customer loyalty and give retailers opportunities to up-sell in-store and position themselves for future sales.

READ ALSO: What’s in Store for Retail in 2025?

In an omnichannel world, new retail developers have realized that their design approach has to integrate both their e-commerce platforms and their physical locations.

Omnichannel design starts before the consumer even enters the store. Electric car owners will want charging stations, while those using public transport or rideshares will need dedicated and convenient areas to find their ride.

Once inside, omnichannel design means that retailers need to offer pick-up and delivery staging areas, curbside pickup and return spots. It also requires seamless integration of e-commerce apps with the store so shoppers can find what they need in less time and with less hassle.

For lifestyle centers that include restaurants, this also means accommodating the growth of food delivery apps by setting up special parking, entrances and waiting areas for drivers and diners who’d rather get their food to-go.

New retail development’s cautiously optimistic future

There is plenty of opportunity in new retail development, still. However, that optimism has also been tempered by an understanding that retail models of the past need to adapt to a changing consumer landscape.

As Bondy puts it, “Retailers are not opening as many stores as they did 15 years ago, so the importance of each location as a brand expression is magnified. For landlords, success will hinge on curating tenant mixes that reflect and serve the community’s specific needs and speak to who they are.”

The post Retail Development Is Bouncing Back, but the Game Has Changed appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

DLC Management Corp. has received a combined $43.7 million for a two-asset, 605,820-square-foot retail portfolio in metro Columbus, Ohio.

TriState Capital Bank provided a five-year, fixed-rate $30 million loan for Taylor Square in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, while Dollar Bank issued a five-year, $13.7 million note for Tuttle Crossing in Dublin, Ohio. JLL arranged both transactions.

DLC Management had purchased the two retail centers last month from the joint venture of Island Capital and Casto, for a total of $76.3 million. Institutional Property Advisors represented the seller.

Two metro Columbus retail centers

Completed in 2000 on a 48.3-acre site, the 378,102-square-foot Taylor Square underwent renovations in 2023. The property is at 2793 Taylor Road, just off Interstate 70, which is transited daily by 97,000 vehicles. The Walmart-anchored shopping center features 34 tenants including Marshalls, JoAnn, Dollar Tree and Bath & Body Works. Taylor Square was 99.7 percent leased at the time of the deal.

Tuttle Crossing is a 226,718-square-foot retail center covering an 18.7-acre site. Completed in 1996 and renovated in 2022, the Walmart shadow-anchored property currently has seven tenants including Best Buy, Ashley Furniture, Macy’s Furniture Gallery, Cost Plus World Market and Ross Dress For Less. The shopping center is at 5800 Britton Parkway near Interstate 270, a location transited daily by 117,360 vehicles. Tuttle Crossing was 97.8 percent leased at closing.

Downtown Columbus is 14 miles away from both properties, west of Taylor Square and south of Tuttle Crossing.

JLL Capital Markets Senior Managing Directors Scott Aiese and Claudia Steeb, together with Director Alex Staikos, led the Debt Advisory team that secured the financing package.

Grocery-anchored shopping centers continue to meet the needs of changing demographics, demonstrating their resilience. In 2025, the retail sector will lean even more into necessity-based retail, catering to the increasing demand for proximity-based and convenience-oriented shopping experiences.

The post DLC Management Lands $44M for Columbus Retail Duo appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

This marks the second acquisition for the $300 million joined venture focused on acquiring open-air, grocery-anchored shopping centers. The REIT holds an 80 percent stake, while PECO owns the remaining 20 percent in the partnership.

Kitson & Partners previously owned the asset, according to CommercialEdge data. The company had acquired Oak Grove Shoppes for $9 million back in 2019.

Built in 1983 and redeveloped in 2023, Oak Grove Shoppes encompasses 11 buildings on some 20 acres. Ameris Bank provided a $27.2 million construction loan for the redevelopment of the open-air shopping center, the same source shows.

READ ALSO: What’s in Store for Retail in 2025?

Anchored by Marshalls and a 48,000-square-foot Publix store, Oak Grove Shoppes also features a diverse mix of regional and national tenants such as Subway, BurgerFi, Metro Diner and O2B Kids, among others. At the time of the sale, the retail center was 91 percent leased.

Located at 995 N. State Road 434, the shopping center is within Orlando’s Altamonte Springs submarket. The property is near Interstate 4, which provides access to downtown Orlando.

At the end of last year, the Cohen & Steers REIT owned four grocery-anchored and community shopping centers across the U.S. One of the properties is Marketplace at Highland Village, an approximately 451,000-square-foot open-air retail asset in Dallas that the investment trust acquired through a joint venture with Sterling Organization.

Orlando’s thriving retail market

Orlando’s retail market has been thriving due to its rapidly growing population and robust economy. Last year, the transaction volume amounted to nearly $1.1 billion, a 14.7 percent increase from the previous year, according to a recent Cushman & Wakefield report.

Meanwhile, more than 855,000 square feet of new retail space was delivered throughout 2024, with an additional 1 million square feet under construction by the end of the fourth quarter.

Demand remained strong, with leases totaling 492,000 square feet in the last quarter alone. The average asking rate for retail space in the metro rose to $29.89 per square foot by the end of the fourth quarter, reflecting a 4.4 percent year-over-year increase.

The post Cohen & Steers, Phillips Edison Buy Orlando Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

DJM Capital Partners has sold its ownership interest in Bella Terra, a lifestyle center of more than 1 million square feet in Huntington Beach, Calif. PGIM Real Estate remains the sole owner of the property.

The partners had purchased the asset back in 2015 for $100 million, according to CommercialEdge data. A loan provided by Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. financed the acquisition.

Originally built in 1966 as the first enclosed mall in Orange County, Bella Terra underwent several modifications over the years. The open-air lifestyle property now includes an 880,000-square-foot retail center, a 467-unit multifamily community and an 1-acre park.

READ ALSO: What’s in Store for Retail in 2025?

Anchored by Kohl’s, Burlington, Barnes & Noble, Cinemark Theaters, Whole Foods and Costco, Bella Terra also features a diverse mix of regional and national tenants such as The Cheesecake Factory, Starbucks, World Market, Ulta, Old Navy and Bank of America, among others. The property was 92 percent leased at the time of closing.

In recent years, DJM pursued a strategy of attracting popular restaurants as tenants at Bella Terra, which which led to visitor traffic increase.

Orange County’s retail scene

Located at 7777 Edinger Ave., the lifestyle center is right off the intersection of Interstate 405 and Beach Boulevard. The daily car traffic amounts to more than 250,000 vehicles in that area.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, Orange County’s retail investment sales totaled $164.7 million, according to a recent CBRE report. The metro ended the year with an availability rate of 3.8 percent, reflecting a slight decrease of 0.4 percent from the previous quarter. Factors such as rising construction costs and reduced land availability contributed to a drop in new space deliveries, which fell from 3,000 square feet in Q3 to none in Q4.

The post PGIM Buys Stake in Orange County Lifestyle Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The retail sector is set for yet another year of transformation as it continues to adapt to shifting consumer preferences, economic headwinds and technological innovations.

One of the key trends that will define the sector this year is the steady focus on necessity-based retail, with grocery-anchored shopping centers demonstrating resilience in meeting the demands of evolving demographics. Migration to suburban areas, combined with the influence of hybrid work, are altering retail patterns and driving increased demand for proximity-based and convenience-oriented shopping experiences.

Additionally, with high construction costs and limited new development over the past decade, there will be increased pressure on supply, with competition for existing retail spaces bound to further intensify.

“There has been very little development activity to build new shopping centers over the last 10 years, which is constricting the supply of suburban neighborhood retail locations,” Jeff Edison, chairman & CEO of Phillips Edison & Co., told Commercial Property Executive. “If current trends continue, it will be seven to 10 years before retail construction returns in a meaningful way.”

READ ALSO: Retail Space in Focus: What’s Driving the Sector’s Growth?

As a result, retailers and commercial real estate stakeholders are turning to innovative, community-focused strategies to remain competitive in 2025.

Necessity-based retail still strong

The retail sector experienced multiple shifts in 2024, with both retailers and landlords having to make adjustments, but grocery-anchored retail emerged as a cornerstone of stability amidst broader fluctuations. Edison is confident in the continued strength of these centers. Their resilience is bolstered by consistent foot traffic from consumers who visit grocery stores an average of 1.6 times per week.

Grocery stores play an important role in omni-channel retail and in last-mile delivery. The proximity of grocery-anchored centers to end consumers are also drawing in smaller retailers and local businesses that benefit from the consistent foot traffic. These centers demonstrated their value over the past few years as inflationary pressures drove consumers to seek cost-efficient shopping options closer to home.

“It’s vital that property owners ensure that centers are well-merchandised and tailored to the needs and demands of the surrounding community,” Edison said. “We call this being locally smart. We look at every center as its own business, merchandising our centers to the neighborhoods in which they are situated.”

Among some of the most popular spaces in grocery-anchored centers are quick-service restaurants, health and beauty, and medtail. These sectors cater to consumers’ increasing demand for convenience and necessity-based goods and services across the country.

However, migration to suburban areas and particularly the Sun Belt region influenced retail’s geographic focus, according to Damon Juha, vice chair of Saul Ewing’s real estate practice. Retailers adjusted their footprints to align with this pattern, with demand particularly high for suburban centers that attract hybrid workers with flexible schedules and drive recurring foot traffic that benefits smaller retailers within the centers.

But the scarcity of available retail space, combined with continued supply chain disruptions and inflation have definitely put a lot of pressure on the sector. Nevertheless, store closures—while disruptive—allowed landlords to reconfigure tenant mixes, often driving up rents and refreshing the shopping experience, said James Breeze, vice president of Global Industrial and Retail Research at CBRE.

READ ALSO: How Geopolitics Will Shape CRE Investment in 2025

“The industry also responded with improved logistics and inventory management strategies, and many retailers invested in technology to streamline operations,” Breeze noted.

Going forward, a stabilization in rental rates is expected, according to Scott Sherman, founder & principal of Torose Equities. This normalization follows the exceptional growth seen in the immediate post-pandemic years and signals a recalibration within the sector.

2025 retail trends and predictions

This year, stakeholders will need to navigate a landscape shaped by evolving consumer behaviors, economic challenges and limited supply, and adaptability will be key.

“CRE stakeholders should prioritize developing adaptable retail spaces that can accommodate diverse retail formats,” Breeze said. “Strategic location selection and improving customer accessibility will be essential moving forward.”

Insurance and capital costs will also remain critical areas of focus, according to Juha. Stakeholders will need to manage these expenses carefully to mitigate risks and ensure profitability. Additionally, there will be significant demand for flexibility in lease agreements, suggesting that occupiers will strive to incorporate escape clauses or renewal options to maintain agility in unpredictable times.

Predictions for 2025 also include an ongoing competition from e-commerce, which will compel retailers to create unique in-person experiences. Aging malls may see significant revitalization efforts or be repurposed into mixed-use developments that incorporate residential spaces.

For retail investors and occupiers, success in the coming years will depend on their strategic swiftness in the face of uncertainty. Breeze believes it’s paramount to embrace flexible property models—like mixed-use or open-air developments—that cater to the changing demands of today’s consumers.

What will be key going forward for investors is their ability to focus on regions with long-term growth potential, while occupiers will try to secure lease terms that offer flexibility to adapt to future shifts. As the industry continues to transform, those who can stay ahead of these retail trends and embrace innovation will be best positioned to thrive in a constantly changing market.

The post What’s in Store for Retail in 2025? appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Remington Nevada has sold Mountain’s Edge Marketplace, a 115,000-square-foot neighborhood shopping center in metro Las Vegas, for $50.3 million. CBRE arranged the transaction.

The buyer, an out-of-state investor, also assumed the existing $33 million CMBS note encumbering the property. The 10-year loan, issued by Morgan Stanley Bank in 2022, features interest-only payments at a rate of 4.51 percent for 60 months, followed by a calculated amortization under a 30-year basis, according to CommercialEdge information.

READ ALSO: What’s Driving the Retail Sector’s Growth?

The sale closed at a 6.3 percent cap rate and a 30-day due diligence period, three weeks after the loan assumption approval. The note’s interest rate, in the low 4 percent range, was one of the better-than-market terms that favored the transaction, CBRE’s Roy Fritz said in prepared remarks. Fritz and Preston Fetrow, both with the firm’s National Retail Investment Partners-West division, represented the seller.

Mountain’s Edge Marketplace, up close

The retail center is at 7975 Blue Diamond Road in Mountain’s Edge, a master-planned community in Enterprise, Nev., an unincorporated town in Clark County, southwest of Las Vegas.

Built in 2016 on about 14.8 acres, Mountain’s Edge Marketplace was 98 percent leased at the time of closing. Its tenant roster includes 40 national and local retailers, among which are Ross, Planet Fitness, Starbucks, Supercuts, The UPS Store, China A Go Go and T-Mobile. The center is shadow-anchored by an Albertsons supermarket, a property that was not included in the sale.

The retail center is some 16 miles from downtown Las Vegas, serving roughly 118,000 residents within a 3-mile radius. Its position on Blue Diamond Road benefits from a daily car traffic of 46,000 vehicles.

Mixed picture for the Las Vegas retail market

The Clark County retail market has been seeing both slower sales activity and decreased deliveries, according to a third-quarter report from CBRE. The latter presumably has helped with pulling average availability down by 10 basis points to 5.1 percent.

Overall absorption was 88,000 square feet in the third quarter, though power centers had 63,000 square feet of negative absorption over the same period, CBRE reported. Meanwhile, total investment sales amounted to $52.3 million.

In one of the quarter’s deals, Aspen Real Estate acquired a 226,000-square-foot foreclosed shopping center in Las Vegas for $24.7 million. The transaction marked Aspen’s second foreclosure purchase from LNR.

The post Las Vegas Shopping Center Sells for $50M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The joint venture had purchased the asset from Nuveen Real Estate for $227.3 million back in 2014, according to Pacific Business News. The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. provided a $120.5 million loan for the acquisition.

Completed in 1987 on some 41 acres, Town Center of Mililani underwent a $13 million renovation which was completed in 2017. The retail property is at 95-1249 Meheula Parkway, close to Highway 2.

Times Supermarket, Walmart, Consolidated Theaters, Longs Drugs, UFC Gym and Straub Family Health Center anchor the open-air shopping center. Its roster features a total of 78 tenants which also include AT&T, Bank of Hawaii, Five Guys, Great Heights, Fun Factory, Ninja Sushi, Panda Express, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Supercuts, Taco Bell and Supercuts, among others.

READ ALSO: Retail Space in Focus: What’s Driving the Sector’s Growth?

With a 140-year history of real estate financing, PGIM Real Estate had $212 billion in assets under management and administration as of September 2024. In November, the firm provided a $171.4 million loan for the refinancing of the Southeast Grocery-Anchored Portfolio, a collection of eight retail properties totaling nearly 1.2 million square feet.

Hawaii’s retail scene

Oahu’s retail market has strong fundamentals due to its dense population and dynamic neighborhood areas, PGIM Managing Director Tom Goodsite said in prepared remarks. However, the state saw a significant drop in investment activity in the third quarter of 2024.

There were no retail investment sales recorded between July and September in Hawaii, according to a CBRE report. The third quarter of last year also witnessed a notable shift in rental trends, with the overall average net asking rent decreasing to $39.66, down $8.68 from the previous quarter. Additionally, the availability rate for retail spaces increased to 4.8 percent, up by 0.3 percent over the quarter.

The post MetLife JV Obtains $120M for Hawaii Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Bridge33 Capital has purchased Shops at CenterPoint, a 444,709-square-foot shopping center in Grand Rapids, Mich. The joint venture between DRA Advisors and Pine Tree sold the asset for $70 million, as reported by Crain’s Grand Rapids Business. Mid-America Real Estate Corp. represented the seller.

DRA and Pine Tree had acquired the property from an Apollo Global Management fund and Stonemar for $63.5 million in 2022, as reported by Commercial Real Estate Direct.

Originally completed in 1967 as Eastbrook Mall—an enclosed shopping center—the property underwent significant transformation in 2012 and 2013. During that interval, a portion of the mall was demolished to transform it into an outdoor shopping destination.

READ ALSO: Retail Space in Focus: What’s Driving the Sector’s Growth?

TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Sierra Trading Post, Nordstrom Rack, Golf Galaxy, Ulta, DSW, Old Navy, Dunham’s Sports and Planet Fitness now anchor the Shops at CenterPoint. Its tenant roster also includes a diverse mix of regional and national tenants such as Chick-Fil-A, J.Crew Factory, Five Below, Carhartt, Bath & Body Works, Chuck E. Cheese, Lands’ End, Potbelly, T-Mobile, Five Guys, Fifth Third Bank and Crumbl Cookies, among others. 

Located at 3665 28th St. SE, the shopping center is in an area where the daily car traffic totals more than 70,000 vehicles. Shops at CenterPoint serves approximately 195,000 residents within a 5-mile radius, with the average household income of $106,000.

Mid-America Principals Ben Wineman, Joe Girardi and Daniel Stern arranged the transaction for the joint venture.

A long list of DRA retail transactions

DRA had approximately $11.2 billion in assets under management at the end of September. The company’s funds currently own nearly 6.6 million square feet of retail space across 15 states.

Back in October, DRA and KPR Centers sold a 101,105-square-foot shopping center in Bethel, Conn. Phillips Edison & Co. acquired the property.

The same month, a fund managed by DRA acquired a three-property, 376,462-square-foot shopping center portfolio in Ocean County, N.J., in conjunction with Soundwater Properties. The assets were 94 percent leased at the time of sale.

And in September, a joint venture between a fund managed by DRA and MCB Real Estate acquired Falcon Ridge Town Center, a 273,424-square-foot retail center in Fontana, Calif., for $64.7 million. This marked the partnership’s first purchase.

The post Bridge33 Capital Buys Michigan Shopping Center for $70M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

This is the REIT’s first purchase under its Structured Investment Program. Initially, the company had extended $15 million in mezzanine financing for the asset, which was fully repaid following the latest transaction.

The open-air shopping center came online in 2008 on some 41 acres, and was 97 percent leased at the time of the sale. Encompassing nine buildings, it is anchored by a Sprouts Farmers Market and shadow-anchored by a Costco Wholesale. The Markets at Town Center also features a mix of regional and national retailers such as Ulta Beauty, CVS Pharmacy, Five Below, REI, J.Crew, Ballard Designs, Sugar Factory, Nordstrom Rack, DXL Big & Tall, Gen Korean BBQ, Panda Express and Chipotle, among others.

READ ALSO: Unlocking the Sun Belt’s Retail Potential

Located at 4868 Town Center Parkway, the property is within Jacksonville’s Intracoastal West submarket. The Markets at Town Center serves approximately 192,000 individuals within a 5-mile radius, with the average household income of $95,000, according to Kimko. The property clocks in at more than four million annual visits, according to Placer.ai data quoted by the buyer.

Kimko’s extensive Jacksonville portfolio

Kimco owned six properties in the Jacksonville area, spanning around 1.5 million square feet, at the end of 2024.

In October, in another large move, Kimco purchased Waterford Lakes Town Center, a 976,000-square-foot grocery-anchored lifestyle center in Orlando, Fla., for $322 million. The company took on the responsibility of a $164 million mortgage.

Early last year, Kimco completed the acquisition of New York-based RPT Realty, in an all-stock transaction valued at $2 billion. The transaction encompassed 56 open-air centers, with 43 being wholly owned, amounting to 13.3 million square feet. A little later, Kimco also sold eight retail properties from this extensive portfolio to KPR Centers, totaling 1.5 million square feet, for $180 million.

The post Kimco Pays $108M for Jacksonville Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Armada Hoffler has sold Nexton Square in Summerville, S.C., and Market at The Mill Creek in Mount Pleasant, S.C., both retail assets in the Charleston area, for $82 million.

The blended cap rate was in the low 6 percent range, for a profit margin of more than 20 percent above the initial development costs, according to the company. The dispositions enabled Armada to repay the Nexton Square mortgage and gain nearly $60 million in cash.

Armada had purchased Nexton Square from RealtyLink for $18.5 million back in 2020, according to CommercialEdge data.

READ ALSO: Unlocking the Sun Belt’s Retail Potential

Armada owns and manages a diverse portfolio of multifamily, office and retail assets across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S. In one of its larger moves, in March 2023, the company paid $215 million for the office and retail components of The Interlock’s Phase One, a 9-acre, mixed-use development in Atlanta’s West Midtown submarket. 

A closer look

Completed in 2020, the 133,608-square-foot Nexton Square encompasses 13 buildings on some 16 acres. The open-air lifestyle center includes a mix of regional and national retailers including Fuji Sushi, Wok N Roll, Wild Birds Unlimited, Summerhouse Furniture, Sportsbook, Bold Fitness and Brighton Animal Hospital, among others.

Located at 101 Nexton Square Drive, the property is within Charleston’s Berkeley County submarket. Nexton Square serves more than 10,000 single-family and multifamily units, according to Armada, due to its location near a 4,500-acre master-planned community.

Anchored by a 50,000-square-foot Lowes Foods, the nearly 80,000-square-foot Market at Mill Creek came online in 2018. The tenant roster at the property also includes Starbucks, Fuji Sushi, Marco’s Pizza, Supercuts, Sea Island Urgent Care and Agaves Cantina.

The three-building property on some 12 acres is at 2100 Highway 41, in Mount Pleasant’s north area. According to InvenTrust Properties, Market at Mill Creek serves a population of more than 57,000 within a 5-mile radius, with the average household income at almost $180,000.

The post Armada Hoffler Sells 2 Retail Centers for $82M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

A&G characterized the leases as representing a large, diverse portfolio of stores, often in high-traffic locations, in urban and suburban retail markets. In addition, the leases are for both freestanding stores and locations in power centers, strip centers and city street locations. A&G noted that no fee-owned properties will be included in the auction.

The company further asserted that with box sizes ranging approximately from 7,000 to 46,000 square feet, the spaces’ suitable uses may include gyms and entertainment tenants, dollar stores, local specialty retailers, furniture stores and medical offices.

States with the most Party City locations are Arizona (15), California (82), Colorado (13), Connecticut (12), Florida (59), Georgia (27), Illinois (37), Indiana (16), Massachusetts (20), Maryland (20), Michigan (20), Missouri (12), North Carolina (21), New Jersey (26), New York (46), Ohio (23), Pennsylvania (25), Tennessee (14), Texas (72), Virginia (19), Washington (16), and Wisconsin (10).

Going-out-of-business sales are now under way at those retail locations whose leases will be auctioned. Party City Holdco is retaining more than 95 percent of its 12,000 employees for an unspecified period to assist with the winding-down process.

The nearly 40-year-old retailer’s owner, PCHI, as well as certain of its subsidiaries, voluntarily filed Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Dec. 21. At that time, PCHI cited “an immensely challenging environment driven by inflationary pressures on costs and consumer spending, among other factors.”

The bid deadline and auction likely will be in early February. The auction is slated to take place at the Manhattan office of PCHI’s legal counsel Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

Not a bad time

As part of a restructuring effort, PCHI tapped Newmark’s Excess Space Retail Services Inc. in March 2024 to oversee site selection and lease renewals and optimize the retail locations.

That followed a Chapter 11 proceeding filed in early 2023. By that October, the restructuring process eliminated nearly $1 billion in debt, accompanied by a $562 million lending facility.

A&G has substantial experience with preparing for the mass auction of retail leases. In 2023, the firm was selected to handle the process for hundreds of Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy Baby stores.

And there could be worse times to put the Party City leases up for auction. As participants in ICSC’s annual New York City event told CPE in December, a shortage of available space is constraining absorption in the retail sector. That trend is pushing some retailers to consider space sizes or locations different from what they usually seek.

The post A&G to Auction 700 Party City Leases appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

A $104 million loan for Phase One of Centro City’s 350,000-square-foot retail component was issued by Hudson Bay Capital. It is part of Miami-based developer Terra’s overall $291 million in permanent financing secured for the 38-acre mixed-use development.

The new financing will pay off the development’s existing construction loan, provided by Apollo Global Management and Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies in 2022.

Centro City includes 1,200 market-rate residential apartments, green space for residents, a newly reimagined shopping center with lifestyle-oriented retail and restaurants, a Class A office building and a Mater Academy K-8 Charter School.

Connected to the community

“At Terra, we prioritize creating spaces that offer not just accessibility but real connectivity to the vibrant heart of their communities,” David Martin, CEO of Terra, told Commercial Property Executive.

“Centro City exemplifies this vision, strategically located in the heart of West Little Havana, where residents and businesses can tap into Miami’s key employment centers, cultural landmarks and transportation corridors,” he added.

“This is part of a broader strategy we’ve applied across South Florida, from Coconut Grove’s Grove Central to our upcoming Upland Park development, which will redefine mobility and living in West Miami-Dade. Our commitment is to build more than just developments; we create dynamic, sustainable ecosystems that enhance communities and drive economic growth.”

READ ALSO: Retail Construction Starts Surged in H1 2024

Target, Ross Dress for Less, DD’s, Fresco y Mas, Walgreens and Bank of America are among the tenants for the 95 percent-leased property in the center of Miami-Dade County, just west of Little Havana.

Walker & Dunlop’s Keith Kurland and Gangemi Law Group represented Terra in the transactions. Holland & Knight Partners Joe Dewey, Brett Holland, Shawn Amuial and Shaina Kamen, together with Associate Brian Piper, represented Hudson Bay Capital.

“Mixed-use multifamily developments featuring retail in Miami continue to garner interest from residents, investors, and lenders,” said Michael J. Romer, co-founder & managing partner of Romer Debbas LLP. “This most recent financing is a positive sign as lenders begin to awake from a relatively dormant market cautiously. The combination of multifamily, retail and warm weather is the magic formula entering 2025.”

The post Miami Retail Asset Scores $104M Loan appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Garden Commercial has acquired the 83,800-square-foot Plaza Del Mar, an upscale grocery-anchored retail property located in Manalapan, Fla. for an unspecified price. The shopping center is at 250 S. Ocean Blvd. in Palm Beach County, directly across from Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa.

The deal represents a further expansion in Florida for New Jersey-based Garden Commercial, which has many properties in its home state. The company currently owns and manages more than 25 million square feet of retail and office space.

The seller was a joint venture between Kitson & Partners and Evergreen Investment Advisors. Locally based Kitson, which owns about 1.5 million square feet of retail space as well as residential and other commercial properties, developed the shopping center. The company is also known for its sustainable developments in the state.

Plaza Del Mar features a Publix grocery store and eateries such as Art Basil Modern Italian Cuisine, John G’s, Thaikyo Asian Cuisine and The Ice Cream Club. Apparel store tenants include Chico’s, Evelyn & Arthur and J. McLaughlin, among others. Addicted Chic is set to open later this year.

READ ALSO: Retail Space in Focus: What’s Driving the Sector’s Growth?

Service providers at the property include a dermatologist, bank, hair salon, nail salon, residential real estate specialist Illustrated Properties and Chabad of South Palm Beach, which holds social, educational, and holiday programs and activities. About 8,000 square feet of the property is vacant.

Scott Loventhal and Michael Gartenberg served as Garden Commercial’s in-house representatives for the acquisition. CBRE’s National Retail Partners team in Florida, led by Executive Vice Presidents Casey Rosen and Dennis Carson, as well as Associate Vice Presidents Sriram Rajan and Michael Etemad, represented the seller.

Palm Beach retail slightly weaker in Q3

Palm Beach County experienced a modest rise in retail vacancy during the third quarter of 2024, rising to 3.9 percent vacant, a 30-basis-point increase quarter-over-quarter, according to Colliers. A year earlier, the vacancy rate was 3.4 percent. The uptick was spurred by negative net absorption of 156,600 square feet during the same period.

Even so, the market is expected to remain supply-constrained, Colliers reports, as few tenants move out and little new retail space is completed in the county. Only 32,400 square feet of new retail space came online in Palm Beach County during Q3 2024, compared with 39,600 square feet during the same quarter a year earlier.

However, development activity in South Florida (including retail) might be stimulated in 2025 by the coming rate-cutting cycle. The Colliers report states that investors could be more keen on the property type as well, especially grocery-anchored assets, which have proven resilient, with stable rents and occupancy rates, because of the essential nature of the goods they sell.

The post NJ Investor Buys Upscale Palm Beach Property appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Retail is on pace to remain one of the strongest growth sectors in commercial real estate in the upcoming year, according to PwC’s Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2025 report. Despite an uptick in bankruptcies and legacy chainstore closures, retail leasing is expected to remain robust, driven by evolving consumer preferences and the adaptability of spaces to accommodate new and innovative concepts. 

Commercial Property Executive reached out to PwC Partner Andrew Alperstein to discuss the prospects of the sector in detail. From the sustained demand for physical retail space to the emergence of new growth stories across various categories, this conversation focuses on the trends shaping the future of retail.

READ ALSO: ULI Special Report: Bring on the Upcycle

How has the retail sector performed over the past few years?

Alperstein: According to our 2025 ETRE survey results, participants’ sentiment has continued to improve since 2021. Retail still ranked fifth out of our six property sectors this year, but it was only slightly behind hotels and within reach of both rental housing options, single-family and apartments. This improvement in sentiment is quite significant, reflecting the sector’s resilience and adaptability. It will be interesting to see the survey results for 2026, as the retail sector’s evolving trends and strong fundamentals could potentially boost its standing even further.  

What specific trends have been driving this resilience and adaptability in the sector?

Alperstein: Retail trends that stood out from our report interviews this year revolved around the ongoing demand for physical space, which has remained robust despite economic fluctuations, and the significant redevelopment opportunities arising from the contraction in certain retail sectors, such as drug stores.

What specific factors will continue to drive growth in this previously challenged sector?

Alperstein: There are several key factors driving the sustained growth in the retail sector within commercial real estate. Firstly, we have seen strong leasing activity, particularly in non-merchant categories. Despite an uptick in bankruptcies, demand remains high and new development has been limited, keeping vacancy rates at 20-year lows. 

Another significant factor is the post-pandemic rebound. The demand for physical retail space has surged since 2020, driving vacancy rates to their lowest in over a decade. This rebound was much stronger than many had anticipated. 

So what exactly would you say makes retail investments particularly attractive to investors in the current market?

Alperstein: Investment stability plays a crucial role. Retail investments, especially in open-air shopping centers like grocery-anchored ones, have been less volatile compared to other property types. This stability has attracted investors looking for reliable returns. 

Additionally, the contraction in the drug store industry presents significant redevelopment opportunities. Many of these spaces are being quickly backfilled by expanding concepts, which help maintain occupancy levels. 

Despite high consumer debt, retail sales have remained in positive territory since 2020. Continued consumer spending supports retail growth, even in challenging economic conditions. 

What other tenant categories, beyond experiential concepts, are driving demand for retail spaces?

Alperstein: New growth stories are emerging. Tenant regulars, off-price apparel, grocery stores, fitness clubs, discount stores and restaurants continue to actively lease space. The restaurant sector is quickly expanding for fast food and fast casual concepts. However, new culinary concepts, experiential businesses and medical spas are also driving demand for retail space. Experiential concepts, including entertainment venues, competitive socializing and interactive art installations, are also seeing significant growth. These new entrants are driving demand for retail space. 

Additionally, medical spas and quasi-medical users, such as urgent care and veterinary care facilities, have seen increased demand. These sectors are expanding rapidly and contributing to the overall growth in the retail real estate market. 

Overall, these factors and areas of increased demand highlight the dynamic and resilient nature of the retail sector in commercial real estate. 

What are your expectations for the sector’s performance in the upcoming year?

Alperstein: Based on the trends and data we have observed, I expect the retail sector to continue its impressive performance in the upcoming year. The ongoing demand for physical retail space, particularly in non-merchant categories, is likely to remain robust. This demand is driven by limited new development and high occupancy rates, which have kept vacancy levels at historic lows. The post-pandemic rebound has shown that consumers still value in-person shopping experiences and this trend is expected to persist. 

Overall, the retail sector is poised for continued growth and adaptation, with strong fundamentals and innovative developments leading the way. We anticipate that these trends will sustain the sector’s positive trajectory into the next year, making it an exciting time for retail real estate. 

The post Retail Space in Focus: What’s Driving the Sector’s Growth? appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Retail construction starts exhibited a dynamic activity pattern in 2024, with sharp contrasts between the first and second halves of the year, CommercialEdge data shows.

Early in the year, construction starts surged, with February standing out for a staggering 164 percent year-over-year increase—or nearly 3 million square feet. March and May also posted significant growth at 80.6 percent (1.9 million square feet) and 139.4 percent (2.6 million square feet), respectively, reflecting strong developer confidence and efforts to meet pent-up demand.

Mid-year activity began to moderate, as June recorded a 35.3 percent rise, followed by July’s 64.5 percent growth, which translated into 1.7 million square feet. These figures, while positive, suggested a cooling trend compared to the earlier months. By August, the pace had further slowed, with a 44 percent year-over-year increase, or 1.1 million square feet in project starts.

September showed a significant decrease in pace, with a 53.3 percent decline in construction starts. The downward trend continued through the end of the year: October’s activity showed a 85.5 percent decrease year-over-year, while November’s 96 percent drop marked a dramatic near-halt in new projects.

The sharp second-half contraction may reflect economic pressures, including high interest rates, shifting consumer habits, or a pullback in retail demand. These patterns highlighted by CommercialEdge underscore a pivotal year for the sector, moving from optimism to caution as developers reassess future opportunities in an evolving retail landscape.

—Posted on December 27, 2024

The post Retail Construction Starts Surged in H1 2024 appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

• 102 Greene St., Manhattan

Sale Price: $46 million

RFR Holding has sold the 10,139-square-foot retail building in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood to Japan-based Arkray Inc. The four-story building dates to 1910 and is currently occupied by the luxury brand Cartier, which upgraded the interiors in collaboration with Paris-based architectural firm Studioparisien. The property last changed hands in 2022, when RFR Holding paid $31.5 million. The seller was TA Realty.

• 111 N. 6th St., Brooklyn

Sale Price: $35 million

Empire State Realty Trust purchased the 7,684-square-foot retail building in the borough’s Williamsburg neighborhood from L3 Capital. The property is a three-building, single-story complex that dates back to 1945 and is now part of the new ownership’s collection of prime retail buildings on N. 6th Street. The building also includes a second-floor terrace and will be the future home of Hermès, according to Empire State Realty Trust’s website.

• 72 W. 36th St., Manhattan

Sale Price: $30 million

A private individual working on behalf of George Schwartz estate sold the 16,000-square-foot, three-building retail complex in Koreatown to Houston-based Landry’s Inc. The property originally came online in 1915 and includes a five-story building and a total of 2,760 square feet of office space. It is occupied by Keens Steakhouse, which used it as a longtime location in Midtown Manhattan. The new ownership, Landry’s Inc., is a hospitality brand owned by Tilman Fertitta, the Texas billionaire who owns the Houston Rockets.

• 19-23 St. Marks Place, Manhattan

Sale Price: $27.5 million

UBS Realty Investors has sold the retail property in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood to Lawrence Movtady’s MOVCAP. The 15,851-square-foot building dates back to 1920 and was the former home of Andy Warhol’s Electric Circus nightclub, that operated between 1967 and 1971. The seven-story structure previously changed hands in 2020 for $35 million, when UBS picked it up from Cape Advisors. The new ownership plans to touch up the asset and to continue to operate the multifamily component of the property, comprising 41 rental units, according to Crain’s New York Business.

• 109 N. 6th St., Brooklyn

Sale Price: $18.9 million

Acadia Realty Trust has purchased the 8,322-square-foot retail property in Williamsburg from MARK Capital. The two-story building came online in 1910 and was last upgraded in 2018. The asset includes 5,522 square feet of retail space, 2,800 square feet of storage area and is currently fully occupied by the apparel company Madewell.

—Posted on December 27, 2024

The post Top 5 NYC Retail Building Sales—November 2024 appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Wicker Park acquired the shopping center for $53.5 million back in 2019, according to CommercialEdge data. The property became subject to a $40 million loan originated by Goldman Sachs.

Completed in 1986, the super-regional shopping center comprises two buildings situated on a 31-acre property. The property’s tenants have an average tenure that exceeds 17 years.

Ashley HomeStore, American Signature Furniture, DSW, World Market, Hobby Town, Bassett Furniture, Natuzzi and BrandsMart anchor the property. Cobb Place also features a diverse mix of retailers including Petland, Korean BBQ, Metro PCs, Weight Watchers and Wing Factory, among others.

READ ALSO: Unwrapping Holiday Retail Trends

Located at 840 Ernest W. Barrett Parkway, the shopping center is within Atlanta’s Marietta – Kennesaw submarket. Cobb Place is situated along Interstate 75, one of Georgia’s busiest corridors, and is the state’s second most visited retail area. It is near Kennesaw State University, Cobb County International Airport and Dobbins Air Force Base.

Senior Managing Director Jim Hamilton, Managing Director Brad Buchanan, Director Andrew Kahn and Analyst Anton Serafini led JLL’s Investment and Sales Advisory team working on behalf of the seller.

The same JLL team has recently brokered the sale of Northlake Square, a 82,578-square-foot retail center in Tucker, Ga. Barnhart Guess sold the ALDI-anchored property to Greenberg Gibbons for $17.3 million.

The post Atlanta Shopping Center Commands $64M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Institutional Property Advisors has arranged the $76.3 million sale of a shopping center portfolio in metro Columbus, Ohio. The property collection consists of Taylor Square in Reynoldsburg and Tuttle Crossing in Dublin, two retail assets totaling 622,000 square feet.

Taylor Square traded for $55.3 million, while Tuttle Crossing sold for $21 million, according to CommercialEdge information.

Island Capital in partnership with Casto sold the two shopping centers to DLC Management and Principal Asset Management. IPA Senior Managing Directors Erin Patton, Scott Wiles and Craig Fuller brokered the deal on behalf of the sellers.

Two Walmart-anchored retail centers

Completed between 2000 and 2003, Taylor Square is a 395,074-square-foot retail center featuring nine one-story buildings. Just off Interstate 70 and near Route 256, Taylor Square is the largest shopping center in the area. The tenant roster at the Walmart Supercenter-anchored center includes JoAnn, Marshalls, Dollar Tree, Famous Footwear, Bath & Body Works and Smokey Bones. Taylor Square was 99 percent leased at the time of sale.

The 226,718-square-foot Tuttle Crossing in Dublin covers a 19-acre site. The shopping center is situated off Interstate 270 exit ramps at Tuttle Crossing Boulevard. Its tenant roster includes Best Buy, Foot Locker, JCPenney, Bath and Body Works and Macy’s. Tuttle Crossing is also anchored by a Walmart.

Downtown Columbus is equidistant to the two assets, some 14 miles west of Taylor Square and south of Tuttle Crossing.

The retail sector has seen a significant post-pandemic recovery, attracting both investors and luxury retailers. A JLL report attributes this improved performance to a pedestrian-friendly infrastructure that increases foot traffic in prime urban corridors, including Miami’s Design District, Boston’s Newbury Street and Seaport, as well as Chicago’s Fulton Market and Wicker Park.

The post IPA Arranges $76M Retail Center Portfolio Sale appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

After sputtering for the past few years, it’s now at 65, solidly into recovery territory. An RMI above 60 is typically indicative of positive or improving market conditions.

Some 68 percent of this survey of highly experienced real estate professionals from across the country and the industry have worked in the real estate industry for 20 years or more, with an average respondent tenure of approximately 25 years; and 82 percent of respondents are C-suite or senior executives in their organizations.

Even more, the RMI is forecast to increase to 82 over the next 12 months. More than half (54 percent) credit the incoming Trump Administration for their favorable view.

Niche sectors—such as self storage, industrial, grocery/necessity retail—are likely to show resilience, having overcome downturn conditions this cycle.

“A renewed sense of optimism is apparent across all aspects of commercial real estate, including multifamily, industrial, retail and office,” Michael Romer, co-founding partner, Romer Debbas, told Commercial Property Executive.

“You can actually see the smiles again at holiday parties. There’s optimism for 2025.”

America was built on big dreams and self-belief, and that has returned, according to Kyle Gulock, founder & managing partner at Century Partners.

“Once the new policy is in place, we expect a swift uptick in overall investment [at least] until the middle part of the year,” he said.

Trump policies are ‘a wild card’

President-elect Trump’s second term throws a potential wild card into the outlook, according to Kevin Thorpe, global chief economist, Cushman & Wakefield.

“The policy changes encompass a wide range of macroeconomic influences, including regulatory conditions, fiscal policies such as taxation and government spending, trade policies and immigration policies,” Thorpe said.

Many policies the Trump administration is pursuing in his second term—such as restrictive immigration, tariffs and tax cuts—mirror the same pursued during his first term and, despite the whipsaw in policy, the U.S. property sector performed well, Thorpe observed.

READ ALSO: Is This the Start of CRE’s New Growth Cycle?

He added that some of these policies will have a more immediate impact, for example, on the financial markets. Others have a more lagged impact on the economy and financial markets and are, therefore, more likely to influence leasing fundamentals and the capital markets down the road.

“Although many of the changes to policy could be significant, they also have the potential to exert offsetting forces to economic growth and inflation,” Thorpe said. “Our baseline assumes that the expected changes in policy will not significantly alter the trajectory of the economy or the property sectors’ performance in 2025.”

The Federal Reserve’s 50-basis-point rate cut in September 2024 spurred transaction activity in the real estate sector, Robert Martinek, director at EisnerAmper, told CPE.

“Many felt this confidence has continued with additional 25-basis-point cuts in November and December,” he said. “Many market participants feel that Trump has ‘business-first’ policies and he will cut red tape and expand business opportunities.

“For healthy sectors of the market (multifamily and industrial), most of the new construction that entered the market has been absorbed. With new and planned development expected to slow, vacancy rates will move lower while rental rates should increase.”

Outlook for 2025

Looking to next year, regarding retail, rising insurance costs, construction pricing, debt and equity, and the financing and refinancing landscapes affect the trading volume, according to Meghann Martindale, principal & director, market intelligence, retail at Avison Young.

“Renewed port negotiations or strikes could also impact the movement of goods, prices and retailer operations. And it is yet to be seen whether consumer spending can remain resilient—although tariffs may trigger renewed inflation pressure, U.S. consumers have not stopped spending through recent inflation and rising interest rates, so tariffs may not deter spending to the levels some are fearing.”

As for energy, Howard Huang, analyst, market intelligence, data centers at Avison Young, told CPE that the incoming administration has expressed support for nuclear energy development. “If realized, this policy could significantly enhance energy availability in the U.S., benefiting the growth of data centers and other industries reliant on stable power infrastructure.”

Across office, industrial and retail, Garett Bjorkman, co-chief executive officer at PEG Cos., said he anticipates positive trends and continued flight to quality for new office leasing, and older vintage product being converted to alternative uses such as residential and hospitality.

“Given the strength of consumer spending, we expect retail to continue improving, which will, in turn, lead to more industrial and logistics demand,” Bjorkman said.

The post RCLCO Market Index Points to Optimism for 2025 appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Shoppes of Wilton Manors, located at 2200-2292 Wilton Drive, was built in 1958 and expanded in 1985. This is the second time Stiles has owned Shoppes of Wilton Manors. The company purchased it back in 2004 and sold it in 2007 after making improvements.

This time around, Stiles is planning to renovate the property starting early next year, focusing on improvements to the façade, walkways, landscaping and parking areas. The company will use several of its integrated real estate services, including development, property management and tenant project management services, to execute the transformation.

READ ALSO: Unwrapping Holiday Retail Trends

The property was 84 percent occupied before the sale, according to CommercialEdge data. There are currently 12 tenants, none of whose leases expire over the next 12 months. The tenant mix includes restaurants, fashion and other retailers. Average annual household income for the surrounding Zip code (33305) is above $138,000.

The deal fits into Stiles’ acquisition strategy, which seeks mid- to large-sized retail centers in infill Florida locations as value-add and repositioning plays, according to a company statement.

JLL’s Jorge Portela, Maurice Habif and Danny Finkle represented the seller in the transaction. Financing for the acquisition and redevelopment plan came from Synovus Bank.

Besides hunting retail deals, Stiles has been an active developer recently as well. Earlier this year, a joint venture between Stiles and Shorenstein Properties completed 110 East, a 23-story, 370,000-square-foot office building in Charlotte, N.C.

Fort Lauderdale Retail Market Still Tight

Fort Lauderdale has experienced a slowdown in retail leasing activity over the past 12 months, according to Matthews Real Estate Investment Service, putting the local retail vacancy rate at a still-tight 3.7 percent. Natural population growth, along with the post-pandemic return of tourism to the area, have combined to boost retail expenditure.

The upshot of recent economic trends has translated into significant rent increases for retail space in the area, with annual growth of 2.5 percent in mid-2024, although this has decreased from a peak of a 10.9 percent rate at the end of 2022, Matthews noted.

During the period from 2020 to 2023, around 1 million square feet of retail was delivered to the Fort Lauderdale market, Matthews reported. Only a little over 190,000 square feet is now in the development pipeline.

The post Stiles Buys Metro Miami Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Greenberg Gibbons has purchased Northlake Square, a 82,578-square-foot retail center in Tucker, Ga., for $17.3 million. Barnhart Guess sold the asset, in a transaction brokered by JLL. Mutual of Omaha Insurance Co. provided a $10.8 million loan for the acquisition, according to CommercialEdge data.

Completed in 1988 at 4135 Lavista Road, Northlake Square encompasses two one-story buildings on some 6 acres. The grocery-anchored retail center has an average tenure of nearly 20 years.

Anchored by ALDI, Best Buy and Mellow Mushroom, the property has a diverse mix of retailers such as Great Clips, The Georgia Clinic, Wings 101, Fast Signs, My Beauty Unlimited and Lucky Key, among others. The retail center was 98 percent leased at the time of sale.

READ ALSO: What’s Ahead for Retail Investment?

Located some 13 miles from downtown Atlanta, Northlake Square is near Interstate 285, in an area where the daily traffic count reaches approximately 200,000 vehicles, according to JLL. The shopping center serves more than 300,000 individuals within a 5-mile radius.

JLL Senior Managing Director Jim Hamilton, Managing Director Brad Buchanan and Director Andrew Kahn led the Capital Markets Investment and Sales Advisory team which worked on behalf of the seller.

Strong investment across Atlanta’s retail market

Greater Atlanta’s retail market saw strong investment activity this year. More than 8 million square feet of retail space changed hands in the metro for approximately $1.55 billion, according to CommercialEdge data.

The largest deal closed in February, when 5Rivers CRE acquired Fayette Pavilion, Georgia’s largest open-air retail center, for $134 million. Nuveen Real Estate sold the 1.1 million-square-foot asset.

In June, Big V Property Group and Equity Street Capital purchased Johns Creek Town Center, a 303,297-square-foot community shopping center in Suwanee, Ga., from SITE Centers. The transaction marked Big V’s fifth and its largest acquisition in the state.

The post Greenberg Gibbons Buys Atlanta Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

RCG Ventures has acquired Pinnacle Nord du Lac, a 215,058-square-foot retail center in Covington, La., for $27 million. Cypress Equities sold the property after eight years of ownership, according to CommercialEdge data. JLL represented the former owner and procured the buyer.

The transaction came on the heels of another RCG purchase. A few days ago, the firm paid nearly $26 million for a 167,000-square-foot shopping center in Troy, Mich.

Completed in 2010 on a 47-acre site, Pinnacle Nord du Lac was 96 percent leased at the time of sale. The tenant roster includes Hobby Lobby, Academy Sports & Outdoors and Petco.

A year after purchasing the property, Cypress Equities began a 94,500-square-foot expansion project, adding three more buildings on its west side. The shopping center serves a community with average household incomes of $140,000.

Pinnacle Nord du Lac is at 6102 Pinnacle Parkway, just off Interstate 12, in an area transited by 55,000 cars daily. Across the street, a newly constructed Costco and a Kohl’s shadow-anchor the property. Downtown New Orleans is some 40 miles south.

Senior Managing Directors Jim Hamilton and Ryan West, together with Managing Director Bran Buchanan and Vice President Andrew Michols, led the JLL Capital Markets Investment and Sales Advisory team that arranged the deal.

The post RCG Ventures Continues Buying Spree appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The property at 700 Haddonfield-Berlin Road in New Jersey’s Voorhees Township was built in 1976 and features nearly 40 retailers and restaurants, including Acme Markets, Ross Dress for Less, Five Below, Chipotle and Ace Pickleball Club.

Eagle Plaza is surrounded by a population of about 240,000 residents within a five-mile radius, including some 95,000 households with an average income nearing $145,000.

Brad Nathanson and JP Colussi of Institutional Property Advisors represented the buyer and the seller in this transaction.

KPR’s expanding portfolio

With a portfolio of approximately 10 million square feet of retail space across 18 states, KPR has been on the acquisition trail this year.

In the fall, the company entered the Colorado area with the $56.5 million purchase of Denver’s University Hills, a 210,000-square-foot grocery-anchored center.

In March, KPR Centers purchased a 1.5 million-square-foot retail portfolio in Florida and the Midwest for $180 million. Kimco Realty Corp. was the eight assets’ previous owner, according to CommercialEdge data.

Located in Wisconsin, Florida, and Missouri, the retail centers feature national and regional retailers including Michael’s, Marshalls, Dick’s Sporting Goods, The Fresh Market and Ross Dress for Less.

Other firms are looking to invest in New Jersey properties as well. In October, a fund managed by DRA Advisors, in conjunction with Soundwater Properties, acquired a three-property, 376,462-square-foot shopping center portfolio in Ocean County, N.J. A ShopRite store anchors each center. Pasbjerg Development Co., the properties’ developer and manager, sold them in a transaction arranged by CBRE.

The portfolio comprises Lacey Mall at 344 US-9 in Lacey Township, Jackson Plaza at 260 N. County Line Road in Jackson Township and Bay Plaza at 860 Fischer Blvd. in Toms River.

The post KPR Centers Pays $42M for Philadelphia-Area Mall appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Terry Commercial Realty intends to develop The Gateway, a 40,000-square-foot restaurant and retail property in the exurban Atlanta town of Jasper, Ga. Plans are still in the early stages, with permitting still ahead.

The property will be part of a master-planned community with about 400 residential units within walking distance of its commercial buildings. All residences are slated for completion before the opening of The Gateway.

Initial renderings focus on a common area and green space that will be flanked by an anchor restaurant on one side and a food hall on the other. Designed to have a town-square vibe, the common area could house a wide variety of events, from morning yoga and cornhole tournaments to live music, Dave Terry, president & founder of TCR, said in prepared remarks.

READ ALSO: Retail’s Big Space Race

Evan Lockwood at Wilson Hutchison Realty, the project’s leasing agent, envisions such tenants as coffee shops, pizzerias, boutique retail and coworking spaces. The locally based TCR itself dates from late 2022, with a focus on development and redevelopment efforts in Pickens County.

The property will be off the main road through the area, Georgia State Route 515, which connects northern Georgia’s mountainous region with the outer suburbs of Atlanta. Jasper, seat of Pickens County, is in the northern reaches of the Atlanta MSA.

Atlanta retail in demand

The greater Atlanta retail market is tight, with a vacancy rate of 3.7 percent in the third quarter of this year, according to a Colliers report. The rate witnessed was up 30 basis points over the year, but still remained below the market’s five-year average by 50 basis points.

Though demand is there, supply continued to grow at a relatively slow pace. The market’s new deliveries totaled 230,000 square feet in Q3, barely above half of the square footage that came online same time last year.

Meanwhile, Atlanta’s retail development pipeline reached an all-time low at 800,000 square feet. During the third quarter of 2023, 1.9 million square feet were underway.

The post Terry Commercial Eyes Greater Atlanta Retail Development appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Indoor malls experienced the biggest year-over-year increase, up 6.4 percent in November. Open-air shopping center visits grew by 4.8 percent and outlet mall visits spiked by 3.8 percent.

During Black Friday weekend alone (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), indoor mall visits jumped 5 percent year-over-year, OASC visits were up 6 percent and outlet mall visits rose by 2.7 percent.

The indoor mall and OASC data exceeded their prepandemic 2019 volumes. Placer.ai reported that this came a month after weaker foot traffic performances in September and October.

“Black Friday weekend sent a strong message and reinforced our positive outlook for the holiday season,” Stephen Lebovitz, CEO of CBL Properties, told Commercial Property Executive.

“Traffic trends across our portfolio are consistent with Placer.ai’s report. Not only did we see traffic increases on Black Friday, but we also saw mid-single-digit increases during the entire week, including increases on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

“Our retailers indicated that sales were strong over Black Friday, with several retailers meeting or exceeding plans and the prior year by late afternoon on Friday,” Lebovitz added. “With a shortened shopping season, we also saw significant traffic on the Monday after Thanksgiving, typically when we see a lull.”

Lebovitz said several retailers reported that buying online and picking up in-store orders drove traffic throughout Black Friday weekend and Cyber Monday.

READ ALSO: Retail’s Post-Pandemic Recovery

Estimates of retail holiday sales over the Thanksgiving week period were modestly stronger than anticipated, reinforcing the 2024 theme that consumers have continued to spend resiliently in spite of high consumer prices, economic uncertainty and a cooling job market, according to James Bohnaker, senior economist, Cushman & Wakefield.

“There are a range of estimates from industry and private sources (final December retail sales numbers from the government will not come out for a couple of months) that show that holiday retail sales over the early shopping period rose 3 percent to 5 percent versus last year and that e-commerce shopping rose 10 percent to 15 percent,” Bohnaker said.

“These numbers are usually a good predictor for how the full season will end up, and the short calendar between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year means plenty of spending has yet to occur.”

Jewelry, electronics, and apparel have been particularly strong this year, with apparel and footwear benefiting from cooler temperatures after an unseasonably warm start to the fall season, he said.

Beyond the shopping experience

At Simon Malls, Black Friday has continued throughout the holiday season, according to Lee Sterling, the company’s chief marketing officer.

“Retail sales are thriving, and so many people are heading to the mall for that in-person experience,” Sterling said. “We had people lined up ready bright and early on Black Friday across the country, with many popular stores reporting double-digit sales increases compared to last year.”

It’s about more than purchasing gifts—whether visiting Santa year after year or discovering a new dining experience, there’s something special about visiting the mall this time of year, Sterling added. “With a blend of shopping, dining and entertainment, our centers have become key spots for creating memories that last well beyond the holidays.”

In Burbank, Calif., Black Friday 2024 was a success for its downtown area, with a reported 88,000 shoppers visiting its mixed-used district’s retailers and dining establishments. This foot traffic figure is 92 percent as compared to the same day before the pandemic in 2019, according to Placer.ai.

READ ALSO: How Dining Trends Are Reshaping Shopping Centers

Downtown Burbank has seen a 15 percent increase in foot traffic, with steady growth over the past three years since 2021, as post-pandemic recovery continues to report increasing numbers for brick-and-mortar holiday shopping.

Additionally, the average visitor dwell time in downtown Burbank this year exceeded 2 hours and 15 minutes.

“These impressive Black Friday visitor numbers are a great kick-off to the holiday shopping season in downtown Burbank,” Eric Maenner, general manager of the Burbank Town Center, told CPE.

“The foot traffic and visitation has continued in a growth trajectory over the past couple weeks as the downtown Burbank Property Based Business Improvement District, the Burbank Town Center and the City have programmed many events that are aimed at drawing even more people to its festive atmosphere, shopping and dining experiences.”

The post Black Friday Retail Traffic Tops the Charts appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The holiday shopping season is in full swing and managing the increased foot traffic in shopping malls around this time of the year can be challenging, but Nick LeMasters knows exactly how to maximize success. He’s the CEO of Cherry Creek North, a walkable open-air shopping and lifestyle district close to downtown Denver, and has decades of experience in the retail real estate industry.

Commercial Property Executive talked to LeMasters about shopping mall safety during the busiest time of the year, what it takes to manage the influx of shoppers, as well as trends he’s seeing in the retail real estate space.

Beyond special deals and offers, what matters most to shoppers and how are retail managers responding?

LeMasters: Let’s begin with the basics: the blocking and tackling of retail real estate. Owners and property managers have an obligation to ensure the safety and convenience of the retail shopper and their tenants. Without these two fundamental conditions in place, it will be very difficult to attract customers. Properties that carry negative perceptions regarding personal safety will be challenged. Convenience takes the form of abundant parking and pedestrian access.

READ ALSO: Shopping Changed Dramatically. Retail Design Is One Step Ahead.

How have retailers and landlords prepared for the increase in foot traffic across their physical stores? 

LeMasters: Preparations for increased foot traffic are centered on two primary activities: inventory and sales help. Both activities need to be carefully balanced. Inventory levels should reflect current purchasing trends that customers have exhibited. Are there specific fashions, brands, colors, or other factors that will help to increase gross margins and minimize seasonal markdowns? No one wants to see a customer walk away disappointed that they were unable to secure the item(s) that they had intended to purchase.

In this current economic environment, workforce issues are a significant concern for retailers. Locating and hiring qualified staff has long been a priority for the retail community but the challenge has become greater given a limited supply of qualified applicants.

Are there any lessons from previous holiday seasons that retailers can successfully apply this year? What common pitfalls should they avoid?

LeMasters: Experienced retailers are constantly learning from previous holiday seasons. Those that are successful have learned to refine their offering and stay in touch with their customers’ wants and needs. The most common pitfall that retailers must be aware of is to ensure the proper training of their sales staff. The holiday season becomes all-consuming for retail managers. Despite the demands of the season, managers must make time to train staff members and provide guidance and clear expectations. A well-trained staff will go a long way to ensuring a successful and profitable holiday season.

In-store versus online shopping this holiday season—what will be the balance?

LeMasters: Despite the perceived threat that online shopping has become, one thing has proven to be true: The death of brick-and-mortar retail has been highly exaggerated. In today’s retail environment, online and brick-and-mortar retail have seamlessly coexisted. Online shopping will continue to grow but not at the expense of the physical retail store.

Customers have proven to be resilient and loyal to their favorite retail store. The social engagement and touch and feel of the merchandise cannot be replicated online. The best and brightest of retailers have learned that they no longer must choose between these two formats. They have adopted both and have found ways to satisfy the customers’ needs regardless of the format that they have chosen.

How much will experiential retail drive business success this holiday season?

LeMasters: Experiential retail—while growing in its importance—should not be expected to drive retail success in 2024. Landlords will continue to identify and place attractive experiential concepts in their properties—and they should. Apparel, jewelry, electronics, toys and other traditional gift items should be expected to carry the day for most retailers.

What are your expectations for retail real estate performance when it comes to urban versus suburban assets?

LeMasters: Landlords evaluate performance on a property by property level in every market in which they have a presence. Many central business districts throughout the country continue to experience challenges related to slow return-to-office policies thus reducing daytime foot traffic. Additionally, many of these same CBDs continue to be challenged with vagrancy, homelessness and perceived safety concerns. Urban centers that have effectively addressed these societal issues should be fine. Those that have not or have been unsuccessful may see continued challenges. In those markets, customers may prefer the suburban experience even though it may require a longer drive.

How can retailers leverage data analytics to improve their holiday season strategies?

LeMasters: Data analytics can be a useful tool in evaluating holiday season strategies. Analytics—when properly applied—can inform retailers on several levels. For example, the use of technologies like Placer.ai can reveal demographic information that is useful in targeting customers in specific zip codes and neighborhoods that fit the profile of those the retailer believes can be attractive and potentially profitable.

To what extent could shopping trends this holiday season impact retail real estate in 2025?

LeMasters: Shopping trends that emerge from the 2024 holiday season will undoubtedly affect retail real estate decisions in the coming year. Owners, managers and brokers will maintain a keen eye on emerging and existing retail concepts that are performing well. These concepts will be targeted for expansion into new markets or additional store locations within an existing metro area.

What final advice would you give to retailers looking to maximize their success during this holiday season and beyond?

LeMasters: To maximize success during this holiday season, retailers should focus on a few key actions. Hiring and training qualified staff is essential. Consider bringing on regular customers who already trust the brand and can speak from experience. Effective communication with customers is also crucial, leveraging social media platforms with engaging content, especially videos.

Creating a welcoming store environment with friendly staff, refreshments, music and activities can help engage customers for longer periods. Beyond the season, retailers should continue to evaluate their location and determine if it best fits their needs and that of their customer.

The post Unwrapping Holiday Retail Trends: Insights From a Denver Mall CEO appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

After a slow year for capital markets and investment, executives attending ICSC’s annual New York City event found reason to expect broad-based momentum to benefit the retail sector in 2025.

“What is a little different is that a lot of institutional capital that’s been sitting on the sidelines is starting to get impatient,” Joseph Lowry, senior vice president for business acquisitions and development at Levin Management Corp, said last week. Returns in the sector are more attractive compared to other property types, he added.

The biggest recent example of the new institutional interest in the sector is Blackstone’s $4 billion acquisition of Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. The purchase of the grocery-anchored REIT specialist represents “the first time that Blackstone has been active in our space in a very long time,” noted Jeff Edison, chairman & CEO of Phillips Edison & Co. A big plus for retail real estate investment, Edison added: “The psychology is starting to move toward a more consistent view that we’re in a stable environment.”

READ ALSO: ICSC Special Report: Retail’s Big Space Race

Along with stepped-up interest from institutional investors, ICSC attendees predicted that debt capital will be more available. “We expect more lenders to enter into the market,” said Matthew Mousavi, senior managing principal & national co-head of net lease and west investment properties at SRS Real Estate Partners. Likely examples: smaller banks, credit unions and CMBS issuance, he added.

Boosting investor appeal

Multiple factors may be adding to retail assets’ appeal to investors. “The store has become much more active in the overall supply chain,” observed Brandon Isner, head of retail capital markets research at Newmark.

The retail supply chain has become dramatically more efficient over the past 10 to 15 years, as the inventory-to-supply ratio has improved drastically, he added. Stores fulfill a significant share of online purchases, and when customers return items to stores, they regularly buy something else.

A variety of capital markets challenges will linger into 2025. “Refinancing is top of mind for us,” because of the elevated cost of capital when loans come due. A property may have been financed at 3.5 percent, but that rate won’t be available again when the time comes, he noted. Nevertheless, he added, “We’re not seeing a flood of distress.”

Retail redevelopment rises

Site selection and financing remains a challenge in much of the country. That points to redevelopment as a strategy of choice. Densification of retail properties with multifamily, office or other asset categories can be a winning strategy all around. As Isner noted, “Office joined to retail will (often) outperform the market as a whole.”

“Landlords are looking to bring an older property up to current standards,” noted Levin Management CEO Matthew Harding. At Blue Star Shopping Center, a grocery-anchored property in Watchung, N.J., the firm recently led a makeover highlighted by upgrades to such areas as landscaping, parking and facades.

The $12 million project also features new public space and infrastructure for electric vehicle charging. A ground-up, 72,000-square-foot Shop Rite will replace the supermarket chain’s former store at the center, which will be reconfigured to accommodate multiple tenants.

Mixed-use redevelopment will also continue to be a key strategy. “Nobody’s building 1 million-square-foot retail anymore,” observed Kristin Mueller, president of JLL’s property management unit.

She cited Bluhawk, a mixed-use destination in Overland Park, Kan., as a showcase for the new wave of retail development. Developed by an affiliate of Price Brothers, the property offers retail, residential and office components. In what’s said to be the first anchor of its kind, the property is anchored by AdventHealth Sports Park at BluHawk. The $125 million, 420,000-square-foot indoor sports and entertainment complex offers an ice rink, basketball courts, a family entertainment component and a training center. “Retail is being redeveloped in close proximity to these non-traditional anchors,” Mueller noted.

The post ICSC Special Report: What’s Ahead for Retail Investment? appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

On the massive exhibit floors of New York City’s Javits Center, there was plenty of buzz this week about one of retail real estate’s most pressing issues: how to find elbow room for retailers in one of the tightest markets in recent memory.

As retail’s postpandemic rebound continues on multiple fronts, the challenge is to find space that’s not only available, but helps retailers expand strategically, said professionals during ICSC’s annual New York City dealmaking show.

In some respects, one of the biggest challenges is a good one to have. Continuing its rebound, demand is climbing across categories. Overall non-mall occupancy is at 97 percent, a 20-year high.

READ ALSO: Shopping Changed Dramatically. Retail Design Is One Step Ahead.

“The reason there’s not much absorption is because there’s not a lot of available space,” said James Breeze, vice president of global industrial and retail research at CBRE. “We’re coming up to a point where rent growth is going to start to accelerate next year.”

The roster of prospective retailers angling for expansion is varied. A diverse group of foreign companies in apparel, food and beverage and experiential retail is in the mix, reported Barrie Scardina, president of Americas retail services at Cushman & Wakefield.

“Some are well-financed and ready for gateway cities,” she noted. Others are less experienced, and better off starting out in attractive secondary markets, such as Nashville, Tenn., Charleston, S.C., and Naples, Fla.

READ ALSO: Adapting Retail Real Estate to New Consumer Demands

The widespread supply-demand imbalance is prompting retailers to bypass conventional formats. Companies must sometimes be willing to depart from their generic prototypes; if the standard space is 50,000 square feet, then 20,000 square feet available in a good location may be the best choice, said Anjee Solanki, national head of Colliers’ retail services and practice groups.

New options for retail locations

Untraditional retail centers can sometimes be the best places to grow. Some brands that normally set up shop in regional malls or open-air lifestyle centers will find space in neighborhood shopping centers. Show attendees pointed to that trend as a sign of increased willingness to meet customers where they are.

More answers to retail’s space squeeze may emerge from downsizing plans, such as Walgreens’ announced intention to close 1,200 stores over the next three years. Solanki suggested that the sizes of those stores might make some of them attractive to expansion-minded grocers. In March, one such firm, Aldi, announced a five-year plan to open 800 new stores.

Another sign of consumer interest and the strength of brick-and-mortar is the planned return of several recently defunct brands to physical stores, under new ownership and in new formats, noted Kristin Mueller, president of retail property management at JLL. Bed Bath & Beyond, for example, is on track to return to stores in 2025, in spaces showcased by The Container Store.

Competition for space, and the high stakes of expansion, call for an intentional mindset. Those priorities are placing consulting services at a premium. “We’re definitely seeing retailer look to us for how they can continue to grow,” Scardina reported. Decisions about when and where to expand must be highly strategic and draw on sophisticated analytics. As a result, she added, “That advisory work is more important than ever.”

The post ICSC Special Report: Retail’s Big Space Race appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Longpoint Partners has acquired The Hills Village Center, a 110,453-square-foot retail center in Bedminster, N.J. The shopping center will be managed under the firm’s Lena Centers brand.

Longpoint paid nearly $50 million for the asset, according to Commercial Real Estate Direct. JLL represented the seller and procured the buyer.

Completed in 1988 on a 13-acre site, The Hills Village Center was 89.3 percent leased at the time of sale. The property is anchored by Kings Food Market and its tenant roster includes CVS, Cold Stone Creamery, PNC Bank, Starbucks, Great Clips and Orange Theory.

The retail center is at 550 Hills Drive within The Hills, a townhouse community of 5,548 households. Major transportation routes in the area include interstates 287 and 78, as well as highways 202 and 206. The retail center has more than 380,000 annual visits.

JLL Senior Managing Directors Jose Cruz and Kevin O’Hearn, together with Director J.B. Bruno, led the Capital Market Investment and Sales Advisory team representing the seller.

As for the buyer, Longpoint purchased another retail asset, in Phoenix, earlier this month. The 101,269-square-foot shopping center also operates under the Lena Centers brand.

The post Longpoint Buys New Jersey Retail Center for $50M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Continental Realty Corp. has sold Oakland Plaza, a 167,000-square-foot shopping center in Troy, Mich., on behalf of its Continental Realty Opportunistic Retail Fund I LP. RCG Ventures bought the property for $25.6 million.

Prior to this transaction, CRC also sold two Oakland Plaza outparcels for a combined $3.4 million, bringing the total sale proceeds to $29 million. This was the first property disposition on behalf of CRORF.

CRC had acquired Oakland Plaza, along with the adjacent Oakland Square, in 2021. The deal marked the firm’s entrance in Michigan and also CRORF’s first purchase.

Mid-America Real Estate Corp. Managing Brokers Ben Wineman and Daniel Stern worked on behalf of the seller and procured the buyer in the current transaction.

An improved retail property

Located at 268 John R Road, Oakland Plaza was completed in 1979 and underwent renovations in 1994 and 2014. TJ Maxx, Michael’s and Planet Fitness anchor the two-building property. The tenant roster also comprises Sally Beauty Supply and Vitamin Shoppe.

Under CRC’s ownership, the shopping center’s occupancy increased from 71 to 97 percent. New tenants included Kids Empire, Rally House and several restaurants across a combined 53,000-square-foot space. The former owner modernized the property, repainting the entire center and repaving the parking lot.

Oakland Plaza is across from the 1.5 million-square-foot Oakland Mall, in an area where the daily car traffic reaches approximately 32,000 vehicles. The shopping center serves more than 300,000 individuals within a 5-mile radius, with average household incomes north of $84,000. Interstate 75 is less than 1 mile away and downtown Detroit is some 16 miles south.

CRC currently owns and oversees more than 8 million square feet of commercial space across 12 states. The firm recently entered Utah with the purchase of a 630,000-square-foot super-regional shopping center in Salt Lake City, also on behalf of CRORF.

The post CRC Sells Metro Detroit Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

99 Cents filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April and announced plans to close all 371 U.S. stores by the end of May. The company cited inflation and shifting consumer demand as key factors that made its business model unsustainable. The retailer originated in 1982 in Los Angeles and expanded into Arizona, Texas and Nevada.

Hilco’s sale comes at a time when retail real estate, especially open-air, multi-tenant retail, is very strong, according to Mark Sigal, CEO of Datex Property Solutions.

“With historically low vacancy rates and strengthening rental rates, landlords can be choosier about the ideal tenant mix and overall consumer experience,” he told Commercial Property Executive.

At the same time, the dollar store category faces significant challenges with pricing, product mix and margin pressures, including exposure to potential tariffs under the new presidential administration, Sigal observed.

“It’s a category where the very definition of what a dollar store is and whom it serves is being questioned. We see this in a litany of new stories about dollar stores’ understaffing, poor merchandising and a consumer experience that does not inspire in an age of peak retail.”

Ironically, Sigal said, Dollar Tree, which previously acquired 170 of 99 Cents Only Stores locations (separate from this transaction), has struggled mightily in this regard, having to face off against Dollar General, who focuses more broadly on essentials and under-served markets, where there is less competition, and rents are lower.

“Toward this end, Dollar Tree has already divested 700 locations from its ill-fated acquisition of Family Dollar, a failed effort to more directly compete with Dollar General and has seen both its CEO and CFO resign in recent months,” Sigal said.

READ ALSO: Retail’s Post-Pandemic Recovery

As most of the locations sold by Hilco are in the 9,000- to 15,000-square-foot range, these are neither anchor caliber spaces nor easily sub-divided shop space, he added. And since Dollar Tree has already presumably cherry-picked the best locations for its stores, the Hilco locations are likely to be dominants by other retail categories.

How the retail landscape evolves

The bankruptcy and closure of 99 Cents Only Stores highlight several trends in the retail industry, Doug Ressler, manager Business Intelligence at Yardi, told CPE.

“Many retailers are struggling with increased costs for goods and operations, which can squeeze profit margins, especially for discount stores,” Ressler said. “Consumers increasingly seek convenience and value, which can impact traditional brick-and-mortar stores.”

The closure of 99 Cents Only Stores has created opportunities for other retailers. “For example, Dollar Tree plans to reopen nearly 200 shuttered locations under its own brand,” Ressler added.

The rise of online shopping continues to challenge physical stores, pushing retailers to adapt by enhancing their digital presence and integrating online and offline experiences.

“These trends suggest that the retail landscape will continue to evolve, with a focus on adaptability and meeting changing consumer needs,” according to Ressler.

There has been a continued slowdown in retail sales, according to Robert Martinek, director at EisnerAmper. Two areas of recent concern have been in retail pharmacies and casual dining.

“We have seen a bankruptcy in Rite Aid and the announcement of 1,200 + closings of Walgreens locations,” Martinek said. “Also, it was announced that CVS is undergoing a restructuring. Online pharmacies may have hastened this downturn.”

READ ALSO: How Dining Trends Are Reshaping Shopping Centers

Additionally, casual dining chains such as Friday’s, Red Lobster and TGI Fridays have experienced significant issues, he added. Since interest rates have expanded, cap rates have increased among “all” of the NNN sector. Dollar Stores have shown some resilience compared to casual dining and pharmacies.

Discount stores remain attractive

Discount and dollar stores remain highly attractive to net-lease investors, according to Eli Randel, COO at Crexi.

“This is often due to their strategic locations in underserved markets and their relative immunity to e-commerce disruption,” Randel said. They consistently rank among the top-searched property types, he added.

“While oversaturation and changing market dynamics have led to challenges for certain units in recent years, most dollar stores continue to perform very well, delivering strong yields backed by credit-rated tenants.”

There has been an increase of dollar stores popping up coast to coast, according to Ami Ziff, managing director of National Retail at Time Equities.

“We welcome these additions to many of our value centers,” Ziff said. Hundreds, if not thousands, of former drugstore locations have been backfilled by dollar stores, which are experiencing a rapid growth spurt and, in many instances, offer groceries in areas lacking supermarkets, he continued.

“The rents paid by dollar stores are often lower than those previously paid by drugstores, as the drugstore rents were inflated based on new construction combined with the fact that dollar stores generate lower average sales volumes than drugstores. However, the demand for spaces of this size remains strong nationwide.”

Earlier this year, Time Equities added a shopping center in Kansas City.

Portfolio liquidation in bankruptcy

The real estate portfolio liquidation process is not unique to the 99 Cents case, according to Patrick Collins, partner at Farrell Fritz PC.

“Commercial leases are often marketed by retailers undergoing liquidation in bankruptcy,” Collins said. “Whether a commercial lease is subject to being sold for value in a bankruptcy case depends on several factors, including the amount of rent stated in the lease compared with rent at the market rate for that location and the remaining lease term.”

The retailer in bankruptcy has a strong incentive to carry out the sales process as quickly as possible because landlords are entitled to collect rent during the pendency of the bankruptcy case until the lease is assumed and sold or rejected, Collins explained.

The post 99 Cents’ Portfolio Liquidation Garners $168M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The fund will focus on distressed credit opportunities in New York’s office and retail real estate sectors, including existing loans, loan portfolios and controlling CMBS securities. It will also originate loans.

The $250 million commitment is just the beginning, since SL Green plans to raise roughly another $250 million by the end of this year. New York offers a robust pipeline of investment opportunities, according to a company statement.

“After nearly a four-year hiatus, we are now… lending on and investing in mortgage and mezz loans and debt securities,” SL Green Chairman & CEO Marc Holliday said during the company’s most recent earnings call in October. 

“This quarter, we invested nearly $110 million in various debt and debt-like investments, and that’s on top of the other DPE investment activity we did earlier this year,” Holliday said. “This marks the return to an extremely profitable business.”

The debt investments closed thus far combined with the pipeline that the company has been building throughout 2024 will serve to seed the debt fund, Holliday said.

“The fund will provide additional capital resources enabling us to reestablish ourselves as the dominant provider of subordinate capital for New York City commercial assets,” he predicted.

READ ALSO: Why Aren’t Mortgage Rates Dropping After the Fed Rate Cut?

A major commercial landlord in New York, SL Green holds an interest in 55 buildings totaling 31.8 million square feet. That includes interests in 28.1 million square feet of Manhattan buildings and 2.8 million square feet securing debt and preferred equity investments.

CDPQ, based in Montreal, has about $452 billion in assets under management, including $45.6 billion in real estate in more than 1,500 properties.

Manhattan office market still struggles

The Manhattan office market continues to suffer from weak demand. The number of office-using jobs in the market dropped 0.53 percent year-over-year in September, according to CommercialEdge, losing positions in all major categories: financial services, information and professional and business services.

Asking rents in Manhattan decreased by 3.2 percent year-over-year in November, averaging $68.48 per square foot, CommercialEdge reports. For the first time in years, Manhattan wasn’t the most expensive office market in the country. San Francisco now has that distinction, besting Manhattan by 66 cents per square foot.

Investors are still interested, however. Manhattan continues to lead the nation in office asset sales volume, reaching almost $3.3 billion year-to-date through October, CommercialEdge noted.

This is nearly double Manhattan’s $1.7 billion recorded during the same period last year, though average sale prices in the market have dropped in recent months, to $344 per square foot, putting Manhattan fourth for sale prices among U.S. office markets.

The post SL Green Bags $250M for Opportunistic Debt Fund appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

JLL also secured the acquisition financing for AEW from Manulife Real Estate Finance, in the form of what the firm described as low-leverage, fixed-rate financing. The transaction’s dollar value was not disclosed.

The seller was a partnership led by Barshop & Oles Co., a privately owned, Austin-based development and management firm that specializes in grocery-anchored neighborhood and community shopping centers.

Bar W Marketplace is at 19348 Ronald Reagan Blvd., at the southeast corner of Ronald Reagan Boulevard and SH-29 in Williamson County. The location reportedly benefits from easy access to major thoroughfares and proximity to multiple residential communities and ongoing developments.

READ ALSO: How Dining Trends Are Reshaping Shopping Centers

The retail center was built between 2022 and 2024 and is fully leased. It features five ground-leased pads and a mix of tenants that includes Chase Bank, Wells Fargo, Whataburger, Chili’s, Torchy’s Tacos and 7Brew Coffee.

The JLL Capital Markets Investment and Sales Advisory team representing the seller was led by Senior Managing Directors Barry Brown and Chris Gerard and Director Erin Lazarus. The JLL Debt Advisory team was led by Senior Managing Director Doug Opalka and Director Jackson Finch.

Shortage of retail space supply

The Austin retail space market is seeing “a significant slowdown in net absorption due to limited new space and a tight vacancy rate of 3.4 percent, despite healthy leasing demand,” according to a third-quarter report from local firm Partners Real Estate.

Of the 1.1 million square feet of net absorption so far this year, Burlington and The Picklr have been prominent tenants. The latter is a nationwide franchiser of pickleball clubs that currently has about 10 locations in Texas.

Partners Real Estate reports that both new deliveries and the development pipeline are slowing down, causing predictions of modest rent increases from tightening supply.

Just a few weeks ago, Partners Capital sold San Marcos Place, a 73,105-square-foot retail center in San Marcos, Texas, midway between Austin and San Antonio, to an undisclosed local buyer. SRS Real Estate Partners Senior VP Cathy Nabours and VP Kyle Shaffer represented the seller.

The post AEW Capital Buys Austin-Area Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The funding reportedly will enable the ongoing leasing of the property, whose tenants already include Puttery, Velvet Taco, Sea Saw/Shinso, Chama De Fogo, Midtown Boba and Collectors Club.

Wynwood Walk is at 230 N.W. 29th St. in Miami, was completed in 1978 and is about 77 percent occupied, according to information provided by CommercialEdge.

Thor Equities has secured more than $100 million in financing with ACRES in the past 30 days. Earlier in November, Thor closed a $68.5 million construction loan for 377 Carlls Path in Deer Park, N.Y. This financing will be used to develop a 310,500-square-foot Class A industrial facility.

READ ALSO: Retail’s Post-Pandemic Recovery

Thor has also recently acquired a 270-acre industrial property in metro Atlanta, improved with a 506,220-square-foot facility with a dedicated 100 MVA substation and 50 MW power output. Thor describes the site as having the infrastructure needed for the development of data center or advanced manufacturing space.

Staying strong

Another recent deal, too, evidences the breadth of Thor Equities’ activities. In June the company acquired a 250,000-square-foot industrial facility in Laredo, Texas. The building was completed in 2023 and is occupied by a customs broker under a five-year lease.

Miami-Dade County’s retail market continues to absorb new construction faster than the admittedly limited quantity of deliveries, according to a third-quarter report from Colliers. Leasing in the latest quarter total 314,000 square feet, versus new supply of just 28,000 square feet.

It’s thus unsurprising that rents are up by 6.3 percent year-over-year, to $46.00 per square foot, triple net. Colliers predicts that current conditions will lead to metro Miami retail property values outperforming the national average.

The Wynwood submarket has a total vacancy of 6.5 percent on an inventory of 2.9 million square feet.

The post Thor Equities Secures Loan for Miami Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Lena Centers, a Longpoint Realty Partners division, has acquired El Monte Shopping Plaza, a 101,269-square-foot retail center in Phoenix. Primestor Development sold the asset for $17 million, according to CommercialEdge information. The property was 99 percent leased at the time of closing. 

El Monte Shopping Plaza came online in 1962 and has since been continuously serving more than 160,000 people living within a 3-mile radius. Covering an 8.8-acre site, the property is anchored by El Rancho Market IGA, a Mexican and Hispanic specialty grocery store. Its tenant roster comprises 15 tenants, including Baskin-Robbins, Shoe Palace, ArchWell Health and USA Cash Services. 

El Monte Shopping Plaza is at 8917 N. 19th Ave., just south of the Valley light rail and 12 miles from downtown Phoenix. Interstate 17 is also nearby.

Colliers Executive Vice President Mindy Korth and Vice President JK Jackson together with Vice Chair El Warner and Vice President Caitlin Zirpolo arranged the transaction. 

Earlier this month, Longpoint purchased a slightly smaller retail center in Katy, Texas. JLL Capital Markets brokered the sale of the 96,486-square-foot asset that was completed in 1978.

The post Longpoint Acquires Phoenix Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Sterling Organization has sold regional shopping center Windsor Square for $70.1 million to Hackney Real Estate Partners. The 658,000-square-foot asset in suburban Charlotte, N.C., previously traded for $38.4 million.

The seven-building property occupies nearly 64 acres at 1814 Windsor Square Drive, off U.S. Route 74 in Matthews, N.C. Downtown Charlotte is about 9 miles away, and closer at hand, the shopping center is about 1.5 miles north of Interstate 485.

READ ALSO: Retail’s Post-Pandemic Recovery

At the time of the sale, Windsor Square was 97 percent leased. Tenants include Sam’s Club, Kohl’s, Ross Dress for Less, PetSmart, Office Depot, Beall’s and At Home. More than 58,000 people live within a 3-mile radius of the property, with an average household income of about $114,000.

Sterling now owns about 13 million square feet among 73 properties. In September, the company acquired a 994,000-square-foot portfolio of open-air shopping centers in the Atlanta, San Antonio and Washington, D.C., metros for $180.5 million.

In June, the firm closed its Sterling Value Add Partners IV LP. The fund obtained total capital commitments of $600 million, exceeding the $500 million target, and pursues the acquisition of value-add grocery-anchored shopping centers, neighborhood centers and power centers.

Charlotte retail tight

The Charlotte retail market is a tight one, coming in at 3.1 percent vacancy at the beginning of the fourth quarter, according to a Marcus & Millichap report. Some 820,000 square feet is currently under construction.

Companies leased nearly 2 million square feet of Charlotte retail space in 2023, the report shows, with less than a 1 million square feet completed that year. Leasing is down so far in 2024, to less than 1 million square feet. However, asking rents edged up by more than 4 percent this year to about $20 per square foot.

The post Sterling Organization Sells Shopping Center for $70M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

PREIT has obtained $80 million to refinance Woodland Mall, a 1.2 million-square-foot shopping mall in Grand Rapids, Mich. Starwood Capital originated the loan, according to CommercialEdge information.

The note has a fixed 7.35 percent interest rate over five years. The JLL-arranged transaction will save the company roughly $5 million in interest expenses.

The property’s previous debt was a $130 million loan originated by U.S. Bank in 2016, the same source shows. Five years later, the lender agreed to amend and restate the note.

Then, in 2023, the mortgage was modified twice. The final amendment moved its maturity date to November 2024 with an additional option to extend through May 2025.

A closer look at the super-regional mall

Woodland Mall came online in 1969 on some 61 acres. In the late 1990s the property underwent several renovations including new flooring and curves to the ceiling throughout the mall, and new lighting and decor. PREIT acquired the asset in 2006 for $177.4 million and started redeveloping it prior to the pandemic.

READ ALSO: Retail’s Post-Pandemic Recovery

In 2017, Sears closed the 313,000-square-foot store that anchored the property. The structure was demolished and replaced with an expansion wing that includes a nearly 90,000-square-foot Von Maur store, the retailer’s first West Michigan location.

Apart from Von Maur, the shopping mall now features more than 100 regional and national retailers such as JCPenney, Macy’s, Phoenix Theaters, Barnes & Noble, MAC, Apple, Lego, Claire’s, Forever 21, Game Stop, Lush, Starbucks, Pandora, Sephora, Urban Outfitters, The Cheesecake Factory and Spencer’s, among others.

Located at 3195 28th St. SE, Woodland Mall is in an area where the daily traffic count reaches approximately 85,000 vehicles, according to PREIT. The super-regional mall attracts shoppers from a 60-mile area and serves households with the average income of more than $100,000 within a 15-mile radius.

The post PREIT Gets $80M for Michigan Shopping Mall appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

CFM Properties has obtained a combined $38.5 million for The Gateway Center, a 272,300-square-foot regional shopping center in West Bloomfield, Mich. Citibank and Red Oak Capital Holdings provided the financing.

The larger note, originated by Citibank, is a five-year, $24 million CMBS loan, according to CommercialEdge information. The interest-only note carries a rate of 7.7 percent.

The $14.5 million bridge loan issued by Red Oak is also interest-only, with a two-year initial term. Red Oak’s Stratos Athanassiades, Thomas Gorski and Jesus Martinez handled the financing proceedings. SF Capital Group’s Matt Shane was also instrumental in the deal.

The property’s previous debt included a $42.5 million financing package originated by Seven Hills Realty Trust in 2021. Of the total, approximately $5.1 million were earmarked for tenant improvements and capital expenditures.

Rethinking Gateway Center

Completed in 1999 on a 3-acre site, The Gateway Center was 95 percent leased at the time of closing. Retailers such as Whole Foods, Kohl’s, Walgreens and Dunham’s Sports anchor the property.

The bridge loan proceeds will refinance only part of the shopping center, the 115,491-square-foot portion that includes Kohl’s, Harbor Seafood, J. Alexanders Restaurant, four other in-line stores and a currently empty lot. The remainder will be refinanced through the CMBS note.

CFM Properties plans to retain the Kohl’s pad and sell all outparcels to pay back the Red Oak loan. The ownership also intends to either redevelop Kohl’s into a luxury residential community or renew Kohl’s lease and refinance the pad long-term. 

The Gateway Center is at 7130-7440 Orchard Lake Road, near U.S. Road 10. Downtown Detroit is some 23 miles southeast. 

The post CFM Properties Lands $39M for Detroit-Area Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Originally scheduled for delivery in August 2024, the BLVD project still has unfinished retail spaces. The grand opening event is now slated for 2025, as reported by Las Vegas Review Journal.

Considered to be the largest standalone retail destination on The Strip, BLVD is developed by Gindi Capital. The company purchased the 9.5-acre site for $172 million back in 2019, with the help of a $97 million loan provided by JPMorgan Chase.

BWA Architects, 5+design and 3 Egg Studio provided architectural services for the three-story building, while Schimenti Construction, Colkitt Architecture and the internal PUMA team spearheaded the tenant fit-out.

READ ALSO: Retail’s Post-Pandemic Recovery

PUMA’s three-story retail space with Las Vegas-inspired apparel features a professional F1 simulator and an interactive arcade. Other retailers at the development include In-N-Out, H&M and Adidas. JLL Vice Chairman Michael Hirschfeld leads the leasing efforts at the property.

BLVD is in the middle of The Strip at 3743-3759 Las Vegas Blvd., east of Interstate 15. The location is surrounded by hotels and within walking distance of major sporting venues.

The retail scene in Las Vegas

The Las Vegas metropolitan area has recorded some positive retail metrics in the third quarter of this year, according to a recent Colliers report. Around 11,695 square feet of retail space came online, bringing year-to-date completions as of September to 109,109 square feet.

Meanwhile, the vacancy rate clocked in at 4.0 percent, 0.3 points lower than in the same period last year. The average asking rental rate for retail space increased to $1.71 per square foot, while the average sale price was $708.39 per square foot.

The post PUMA Opens Flagship Store in Las Vegas appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Lightstone intends to invest $10 million in capital improvements and tenant upgrades, as reported by Shopping Center Business. FFO Real Estate Advisors will oversee outlet leasing, while Spinoso Real Estate Group will handle leasing for big-box stores and mall tenants.

WPG had acquired the property back in 1995, according to CommercialEdge data. Formerly known as SuperMall of the Great Northwest, the shopping center came online in 1995 and was rebranded as The Outlet Collection Seattle in 2012.

Anchored by Burlington, Nordstrom Rack, Dave & Busters and FieldhouseUSA, the mall features a diverse mix of regional and national retailers such as Adidas Outlet Store, Ashley HomeStore, American Eagle, Best Buy Outlet, Claire’s, Coach, Columbia’s, H&M, GAP, Famous Footwear, Nike and Vans, among others. At the time of sale, the property was 98 percent leased.

READ ALSO: Retail’s Post-Pandemic Recovery

The Outlet Collection Seattle occupies some 90 acres at 1101 Outlet Collection Way, near the intersection of highways 18 and 167. The mall has roughly 4.9 million visits per year.

CBRE Senior Vice President Dino Christophilis and Senior Associate Daniel Tibeau, together with Executive Vice Presidents Richard Frolik and George Good, led the team that brokered the transaction on behalf of the seller.

Last month, WPG sold Waterford Lakes Town Center, a 976,000-square-foot grocery-anchored lifestyle center in Orlando, Fla., for $322 million. Kimco Realty purchased the signature asset.

Seattle’s stable retail market

Seattle’s retail market has seen a significant investment uptick in 2024, with nearly $1 billion in transactions across 215 sales year-to-date through September, according to a Kidder Mathews report. This marks a 40 percent increase compared to the first three quarters of last year. Additionally, more neighborhood centers changed hands this year.

The market’s vacancy rates remained low and stable, with a direct vacancy rate of 3.0 percent at the end of September. The value was the lowest on the West Coast and among the lowest in the nation, the report showed.

The post Lightstone Pays $82M for Seattle-Area Mall appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

ExchangeRight Real Estate has acquired a 13-asset retail portfolio encompassing north of 425,000 square feet from Tractor Supply in a sale-leaseback deal. JRW Realty and Berkeley Capital Advisors represented the buyer and the seller, respectively.

The portfolio spans nine states, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, as well as South Carolina and Texas.

ExchangeRight’s business involvement with Tractor Supply has started more than a decade ago, according to prepared remarks by Melinda Martson, president of JRW Realty. Since then, the firm’s portfolio of Tractor Supply net-leased assets has grown to more than 100 facilities as of October 31, 2024.

At the end of June, Tractor Supply operated 2,254 stores in 49 states.

READ ALSO: Retail’s Post-Pandemic Recovery

ExchangeRight provides 1031-exchangeable portfolios including net-leased and value-add properties, as well as preferred equity and REIT investments. At the end of September, its Essential Income REIT owned 353 retail assets throughout 34 states, totaling 4.8 million square feet. The properties were 98.4 percent leased on average to 37 tenants overall.

Higher cap rates for net-leased retail

Cap rates have been rising for net-leased assets since June 2022—translating into more competitive prices—according to a report by The Boulder Group. For retail, the rate inched up 3 basis points quarter-over-quarter as of September.

Transaction activity for net-leased assets is expected to pick up the pace but remain within the lower confines of the historical framework, according to Boulder Group President Randy Blankstein. 

“Furthermore, it is expected that the 1031 market will need two or three quarters of increased activity… to absorb supply in the net lease market,” the report stated. 

The post ExchangeRight Closes Retail Sale-Leaseback Deal appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Nuveen Real Estate has purchased The Shoppes at English Village, a 103,325-square-foot retail center in North Wales, Pa. MetLife Investment Management sold the asset in a transaction brokered by CBRE.

MetLife had acquired the retail center back in 2017 from Stanbery Development for $57 million, according to CommercialEdge data. CBRE brokered that transaction as well.

The Shoppes at English Village came online in 2003 on some 13 acres. Anchored by Trader Joe’s, The Shoppes at English Village features a diverse mix of regional and national retailers such as LensCrafters, Sephora, Athleta, Sport Clips, CycleBar, Hallmark, The Good Feet Store and Talbots, among others.

The property also features 5,000 square feet of built-out restaurant space with a Montgomery County Liquor License. The lifestyle center was 95 percent leased at the time of sale.

READ ALSO: Retail’s Post-Pandemic Recovery

Located at 1460 Bethlehem Pike, the lifestyle center is in Montgomery County, a well-performing area in the suburban Philadelphia region. More than 50,400 people live within a 3-mile radius; the area has an average household income of some $190,000, according to CBRE brochure.

CBRE Executive Vice Presidents Chris Munley and Ryan Sciullo, Senior Vice President Colin Behr and Vice President Casey Benson Smith, together with Associates RJ Mirabile and Michael Pascavis, brokered the transaction on behalf of the seller. In addition, Director Adam Spengler and Vice Chair Tom Traynor secured the financing for Nuveen.

Another CBRE team recently arranged a $69.4 million construction loan for Nuveen and SJC Ventures. The partners are developing an 83,329-square-foot shopping center in Doral, Fla.

Philly sees positive net absorption first time this year

Greater Philadelphia’s retail market recorded a positive net absorption for the first time this year, according to a recent third-quarter CBRE report. Grocery-anchored and experiential retail continue to drive demand in the area, with the metro recording approximately 357,000 square feet of retail space under construction.

The market is facing limited options for quality retail space, but also experiences renewed activity due to the bankruptcies and store closures that plagued Big Lots and LL Flooring. The vacancy rate in the metro clocked in at 7.4 percent at the end of September.

The post Nuveen Buys Philly-Area Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Weber & Co. plans to develop a Target-anchored, 225,000-square-foot retail center in Little Elm, Texas. The company acquired the development site earlier this month.

The Target store is set to encompass some 148,000 square feet, according to The Dallas Morning News. Its completion is expected in the spring of 2026.

Weber & Co. will name the future retail center Bates Towne Crossing, in honor of the the family which had owned the site for the past 157 years. 

DB2RE founders David Davidson Jr. and Edward Bogel represented the seller. Furthermore, DB2RE Director of Suburban Land Ryan Turner and Retail Specialist Jonathan Cooper will oversee leasing at the shopping center.

The property is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 380 and Ryan Spiritas Parkway. Several supermarkets, such as a Walmart Supercenter, Aldi, 7-Eleven, Walgreens and Chick-fil-A, are within a 2-mile radius. GBT Realty Corp. has also made plans for a Sprouts-anchored retail center at the same intersection as Weber’s site, on the northeast corner. H-E-B also owns property west of the future Target-anchored retail center. 

Weber & Co. owns another 10 retail centers in the Dallas-Fort Worth market—in McKinney, Grand Prairie and Fort Worth—totaling roughly 815,000 square feet, according to CommercialEdge information.

The post Weber & Co. Eyes Metroplex Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Let’s put some numbers on that. JLL reports that of the total multi-tenant, single-asset transaction volume, urban retail’s share hit a five-year peak in the year-to-date figures for the third quarter of this year: 14 percent of the total and a 180 percent year-over-year increase.

The report also cites Kastle Systems’ 10-city Back-to-Work Barometer, which indicates that weekly average office occupancy has nudged 61 percent, signaling a gradual return to the urban core.

As foot traffic in city centers increases, JLL forecasts, urban retail is poised for a strong recovery. Luxury brands such as Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton are spearheading this revival by expanding their brick-and-mortar presence in top cities.

This in turn is helping to power leasing activity in prime urban corridors, such as Miami’s Design District and New York’s Meatpacking District, in sync with return-to-office numbers.

READ ALSO: How Dining Trends Are Reshaping Shopping Centers

As of October, most prime urban corridors saw year-over-year increases in foot traffic, making them increasingly attractive to investors. Examples include Miami’s Design District, Boston’s Newbury Street and Seaport, as well as Chicago’s Fulton Market and Wicker Park.

High Streets are still riding high

In the new report, JLL zeroes in on specific cities and retail streets where the resurgence of urban retail is most clearly visible.

For example, the Beverly Hills Triangle, with its highly coveted streets, especially Rodeo, Beverly and Brighton Way. Also, vacancy on Melrose and Robertson in West Hollywood is nearly nonexistent.

No new space is underway in these areas, as development is constrained by both zoning restrictions and limited availability of financing.

Areas such as Brickell and the Miami Design District are leading the strong demand in Miami’s urban core. According to JLL, the city never experienced a substantial drop in its downtown activity, because of the mix of hotels and residential with office space.

New York is also seeing a low enough vacancy in its prime retail submarkets, where rents have stabilized and are even growing in some locations.

Chicago is seeing a visible increase in demand for urban retail, especially in areas where foot traffic is up because of return-to-office trends, JLL reports.

The post Retail’s Post-Pandemic Recovery appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

AEW Capital Management has purchased Vista Commons, a 98,716-square-foot retail center in Las Vegas. MIG Real Estate sold the asset for $56.1 million, according to CommercialEdge information. JLL represented the seller.

MIG had acquired the retail center in January 2011 for $24.3 million from GGP, according to CommercialEdge information. In 2018, the property became subject to a 10-year, $26.2 million loan originated by Truist Bank.

Completed in 2007 on a 10.3-acre site, Vista Commons was 100 percent leased at the time of sale. A 56,000-square-foot Albertsons store anchors the property. The tenant roster also includes Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Dunkin’ Donuts.

The retail center is at 11700-11770 W. Charleston Blvd. in the Summerlin area of Las Vegas, in an area where the daily car traffic reaches more than 40,000 vehicles. The average household income within a 3-mile area exceeds $155,000. Downtown Vegas is some 15 miles east.

JLL Managing Director Gleb Lvovich and Senior Director Dan Tyner led the Capital Market’s Investment and Sales Advisory team that secured the deal.

AEW Capital Management occupies the third position in Commercial Property Executive‘s 2024 top commercial real estate owners, after CBRE Investment Management and Clarion Partners. The firm’s $63.4 billion portfolio, totaling 212 million square feet, comprises office, industrial, retail, health-care and hospitality assets.

The post AEW Buys Vegas Retail Center for $56M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The project is taking shape within Gateway, a 2,000-acre master-planned development including for-sale and rental units alongside light industrial, retail, entertainment, office, hotel and medical spaces.

Village at Gateway Phase 1 will comprise around 500,000 square feet of retail space, with completion expected in the summer of 2026. The second phase is set to include another 200,000 square feet of retail.

GFF serves as main architect and Ridgemont Commercial Construction is the general contractor. Edge Realty Partners Principals David Copeland and Ryan Griffin will oversee retail leasing and sales at the property.

READ ALSO: How Dining Trends Are Reshaping Shopping Centers

A 144,000-square-foot Target, 130,000-square-foot H-E-B and 135,000-sqaure-foot Home Depot will anchor Phase 1. This stage of development will also feature an additional 120,000 square feet of retail, service and restaurant space, nine outparcels and multi-family residential.

Located at North Gateway Boulevard and U.S. Highway 80, the site is north of Interstate 20 and some 25 miles from downtown Dallas. Texas Health Resources’ 50-acre medical campus will take shape immediately west of Village at Gateway.

Fortney has been recently named the nation’s 10th fastest growing suburban city, according to StreetLevel Investments’ Managing Principal Brian Murphy.

DFW retail market remains resilient

Even though the construction activity somewhat slowed, Dallas-Fort Worth’s retail market remains resilient. The metro recorded 4.2 million square feet of retail space under development in the third quarter, according to a recent Partners report. Meanwhile, approximately 823,146 square feet came online, concentrated in the high-growth northern suburbs.

The Metroplex’s vacancy rate clocked in at 4.7 percent, decreasing 10 basis points from the previous quarter. The metro’s leasing activity continued to show positive numbers, with 2.3 million square feet of commitments signed in the third quarter of this year. H-E-B’s lease at Valley at Gateway was on one the largest deals of the interval.

The post StreetLevel Breaks Ground on DFW Mixed-Use Development appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The Connell Co. has broken ground on a 60,000-square-foot retail center in Berkeley Heights, N.J. The property is part of the developer’s master-planned neighborhood, The Park.  

The new development will be within The District, the 60-acre retail domain at The Park, formerly known as Connell Corporate Center. This project is part of The Park’s $500 million redevelopment.  

The tenant roster in the entertainment building will include Emberside Brewery, Rosa Azul and BASH. The project is slated for completion in 2026. 

Bringing the city to the suburbs

The vision for The Park as a 185-acre mixed-use campus includes up to 1.5 million square feet of office, 300,000 square feet of retail and entertainment and 44,000 square feet of coworking space, as well as parks and trails. The office spaces host companies such as L’Oreal, Fiserv and HP. The site also includes a 176-room Embassy Suites hotel. The developers plan to add 328 luxury units to the neighborhood.  

The Park encloses The District, which comprises the retail and entertainment centers, and The Grove, which is the sum of all parks and green spaces in the neighborhood. 

The Park is on Connell Drive, just off Interstate 78 and near U.S. Highway 22. There are several supermarkets and shopping centers within 5 miles, along the highway. The community is within 5 miles of Passaic River County Park, Nomahegan Park and Ponderosa Farm Park, which surround the property. Manhattan is some 30 miles east.  

The project started in the 1980s, with office. In an interview with Commercial Property Executive, the owner’s Executive Vice President Shane Connell talks about the Round Table Studios, the 44,000-square-foot coworking component of The Park.

The post Connell Co. Kicks Off Retail Component at $500M Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Watch the webinar.

The whirlwind of 2024 is coming to a close. Commercial real estate went through rate increases, cuts, an election, economic uncertainty and volatility in the capital markets. And that’s just scratching this year’s surface. Yet, overall market fundamentals are looking up.

As 2025 approaches, Commercial Property Executive brought together some of the nation’s top CRE experts. In CPE’s 2025 Outlook: Navigating the New Year webinar, moderated by Editorial Director Suzann Silverman, executives shared expectations about valuations and transactions, as well as deals that highlighted the current market.

To set the stage, Ryan Severino, chief economist at BGO, addressed the “800-pound gorilla in the room:” interest rates. After the long series of hikes that have been recently followed by two cuts, Severino observed that inflation has slowed considerably and that the worst is likely in the rearview mirror.

READ ALSO: Why Aren’t Mortgage Rates Dropping After Fed Rate Cuts?

All things considered, “The economy has been nothing short of spectacular,” Severino stated. There is also a general confidence that, over the next 12 to 24 months, the Federal Reserve will pull the figure closer to a “neutral rate.” The hoped effect would be pulling investors off of the sidelines and boosting deal volume.

Finding investors

Transaction activity should start to tick up industry-wide in 2025, it was widely agreed. But it’s essential to get lenders and capital investors back in the game so deals pencil. Shlomi Ronen, managing principal & founder at Dekel Capital, said that more opportunistic and value-add capital is likely to pop up.

“If you’ve got the opportunistic capital right now, and can be somewhat of a contrarian, investing in ground-up multifamily development—which is a space we’re leaning into right now—is a great place to be,” Ronen added. Taking a longer-term view and buying office assets could offer similar opportunities.

READ ALSO: Life Cos. Drive More Lending, Banks Take Back Seat

Pension funds have had a tough couple of real estate years, yet opportunity is on the way, predicted Stephen Quazzo, co-founder & CEO of Pearlmark Real Estate.

“There are some rays of sunshine as we look out into 2025,” he said. “You have this denominator effect: The stock market continues to boom; the real estate allocation is a lower percentage. So I think they certainly have room in their allocations.”

For assets looking to recapitalize, equity from long-term investors such as pension funds will continue to be a good source. Foreign lenders may be another. Alexandra Levy, Americas head of debt capital markets at LaSalle Investment Management, said that while it’s difficult to generalize sentiment due to differing regulations, there are signs from overseas.

“We are continuing to see international lender interest at the fund-level financing,” Levy said. “There’s been a shift from property level to fund level. It’s a way to continue to support real estate, either through subscription lines or repo facilities for back leverage, while not having the direct exposure.”

International banks are also still lending into national markets on a property-level basis, Levy noted.

Impacts of the election on CRE

The other 800-pound gorilla in the room: the presidential election. But does it really impact CRE? Barbi Reuter, CEO & Principal of Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR, doesn’t think so. Election cycles and property performance don’t have much of a correlation, according to her company’s data mapping. While the impact on fundamentals is likely minor, she noted that solid GDP growth could positively impact leasing.

“In our area, we’ll be looking if potential changes in immigration policy could affect labor shortages,” Reuter said. “Certainly, border states and others are impacted.”

READ ALSO: Will CRE Market Conditions Improve?

Local economic policy changes could also impact markets. For example, municipalities and states have to respond and deliver—individually—on things such as clean energy, zoning initiatives and power infrastructure, which could impact CRE on local levels, Reuter noted.

Quazzo agreed that, from an investment standpoint, some markets are more or less attractive due to their local policies. Specifically, property tax rates and transfer taxes are factors to consider.

A positive 2025 CRE outlook

Considering the strong economy going into 2025, Severino said that CRE is starting to see a shift. He noted that, despite sentiment being a more-or-less “soft indicator” in the market, there is a positive anticipation of where rates are headed. This slide away from a more negative outlook is, in itself, removing a major headwind.

“You’re starting to see people thinking a little more aggressively down the road and about deploying more capital once we’re in a different interest rate environment–six, 12, 18 months from where we are now,” Severino said.

LISTEN TO: CRE Sentiment at Best Level in 2 Years

Over that same timeline, Ronen anticipates a lot of pressure on debt funds and distressed assets. The highly discussed wave of approaching maturities is going to continue to apply this pressure and ultimately lead to more transactions.

“Once we see that transaction volume pick up, we’re going to get a market clearing price and cap rates for multifamily, and all the other asset classes, that will then help spur other investment,” Ronen reasoned. That’s the big question right now: Where are cap rates on these assets?

A recent Cushman & Wakefield report showed that about 50 percent of the distress pipeline is in office, Reuter noted. While this is potentially unsurprising, there is a silver lining.

“The rate of growth was slowest for distress that it’s been in two years,” Reuter mentioned. “That’s a positive indicator.”

When it comes to distress, Levy said, it is important to consider the one caused by higher rates and the refinancing gap.  

“Whether we believe the forward curve or not, as rates begin to pull in, that refinance gap lessens,” Levy continued. As more deals come to market, it will be interesting to see which are distressed and which are related to smoother market dynamics.

The post 2025 CRE Outlook: The Year Ahead appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Back in 2014, the property became subject to two CMBS loans totaling $145 million from Wells Fargo Bank, with Wilmington Trust as a trustee, according to CommercialEdge data.

Crossings at Corona came online in 2005 on some 103 acres. Shadow-anchored by Target, the property is home to a diverse mix of regional and national retailers such as Marshall’s, Kohl’s, Barnes & Noble, Ross, HomeGoods, Best Buy, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Famous Footwear, Burlington, Bath & Body Works, Michaels, Edward’s Theatre, Game Stop, Petco, Sephora, Ulta Beauty and Victoria’s Secret, among others.

READ ALSO: How Dining Trends Are Reshaping Shopping Centers

Located at 3615 Grand Oaks, the shopping center is at the northeast corner of Interstate 15 and Cajalco Road, in an area where the daily traffic count reaches more than 200,000 vehicles, according to JLL. The average household income within a 3-mile radius is approximately $157,625.

JLL Managing Director John Marshall, Director Spencer Seibring and Analyst Nick Englhard led the Debt Advisory team in arranging the financing for the borrower.

Inland Empire’s retail scene

Inland Empire’s retail market saw a slight contraction in the third quarter of this year, according to a recent CBRE report. The vacancy rate clocked in at 6.6 percent, up 20 basis points from the previous quarter. Approximately 41,000 square feet of retail space came online in the region.

Meanwhile, retail investment sales totaled $145.8 million in the third quarter of this year. The second-largest transaction of the interval involved a 273,424-square-foot retail center in Fontana, Calif. A joint venture between MCB Real Estate and a fund managed by DRA Advisors purchased the asset for $64.7 million.

The post Castle & Cooke Lands $140M for Inland Empire Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Capstone Advisors has purchased Beachwalk Shopping Center, a 55,580-square-foot retail center in Solana Beach, Calif., for $32.1 million. The buyer also took out a $25.8 million loan from LoanCore Capital for this property, according to CommercialEdge information.

JLL represented the seller, identified by the same source as GEM Realty Capital. The firm had acquired the asset in 2017 for $33.3 million.

Completed in 1993 on a 3-acre site, Beachwalk consists of eight buildings housing a mix of retail, restaurants, medical and creative office spaces. Its tenants include food, beverage and wellness vendors.

The new owner intends to revitalize the center through physical improvements and tenant roster additions. Pure Infrared Sauna and Lana Restaurant, currently under construction, will be the first of many new businesses to open soon at the property.

The shopping center is at 437 S. Highway 101, across from the Coaster commuter rail which connects Solana Beach to Encinitas, Calif., and San Diego. Del Mar, Calif., is less than 2 miles south, while Interstate 5 is 2 miles east. 

JLL Managing Directors Geoff Tranchina and Gleb Lvovich, together with Senior Director Daniel Tyner, led the Investment Sales and Advisory team that completed the transaction. Tranchina and Lvovich were also instrumental in another recent retail center sale in California, a free-standing Whole Foods store that traded for $44.4 million.  

The post Capstone Advisors Buys San Diego Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

When RFR bought 102 Greene, they expected a 6.5 percent return on their investment based on the property’s income, but the property was later sold at a higher price, resulting in a lower 4.25 percent return for the new buyer.

The company purchased 102 Greene two years ago for $43.5 million, in a period when Soho vacancies were at historic highs. Investment firm TA Realty and SL Green Realty sold the asset.

Cartier occupies the four-story flagship retail property at 102 Greene. The Paris-based architectural firm Studioparisien renovated the building, blending Cartier’s design with SoHo’s industrial and artistic heritage. The property includes luxury goods sales and product care services, a green marble bar with lounge seating, a loft with living and dining areas, and a rooftop garden.

READ ALSO: Shopping Changed Dramatically. Retail Design Is One Step Ahead.

102 Greene Street, designed by architect Henry Fernbach alongside its sister building at 96 Greene Street, was completed in 1881 as a five-story building. It has housed notable tenants, including S. Epstein & Sons and sculptor William Tarr, who created the iconic cast iron door and panel at the entrance.

Demand for the luxury retail industry in the city’s top neighborhoods is expected to rebound strongly, according to RFR’s Principal Gaby Rosen. Adirondack’s Managing Partner Michael Hunter Coghill highlighted that this transaction emphasizes SoHo’s lasting appeal as a prime destination for retail investment.

Manhattan’s increased retail activity

Manhattan’s retail market-driven by strong consumer confidence, increased office occupancy, a tourism boom and New York Fashion Week- experienced continued growth in the third quarter of this year.

Limited availability and strong demand in prime Manhattan retail areas pushed asking rents higher for the eighth consecutive quarter, up 3.1 percent, according to a recent Cushman & Wakefield report. Pricing recovery varied by neighborhood, with SoHo seeing a 19.0 percent year-over-year increase in average asking rent to $388 per square foot.

The post RFR Sells SoHo Retail ‘Jewel’ for $46M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Built in 1963, Biltmore Fashion Park was Arizona’s first luxury outdoor shopping and dining center. The iconic property is known for its architecture, high-end retailers and restaurants and community events.

RED, a Phoenix-based commercial real estate company with a mixed-use and retail portfolio, acquired the remaining 50 percent ownership of the property from Macerich for $110 million in July, according to the Arizona Republic newspaper.

Earlier in the year, Macerich had filed plans with the city of Phoenix to build a mixed-use high-rise at the corner of 24th Street and Camelback ranging from 140 to 165 feet tall. The proposal is still under review but is expected to include residential offerings, upscale hotel accommodations and office space. Further details about RED’s plans for the mixed-use destination were not released at this time.

READ ALSO: How Dining Trends Are Reshaping Shopping Centers

However, RED is planning a strategic revitalization of Biltmore Fashion Park, including making improvements to landscaping and upgrading lighting. The company, which recently relocated its headquarters to the center, has also signed several new retail tenants. They will join anchors Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and Life Time Fitness, and more than 65 specialty retailers including Anthropologie, J. Crew, Gorjana, Ralph Lauren, Lululemon, Pottery Barn and Sephora. The center’s dining options include Capital Grille, Blanco Cocina + Cantina, Zinburger, Ambrogio15 and True Food Kitchen.

Rye 51, a high-end menswear retailer offering custom suits, slacks, shirts and styling services, has relocated to a new 2,400-square-foot space between Tumi and Soma. Warby Parker eyewear company is slated to open in March 2025 in a more than 2,000-square-foot store next to Soma and Cornelia Park. Apex Tailoring, a luxury tailoring and custom suit boutique with a focus on menswear, will open in December in an 894-square-foot pop-up spot next to Macy’s. Another pop-up, PILLAR, an activewear and leisurewear retailer, is opening its first brick-and-mortar location in a 1,068-square-foot space next to Life Time Fitness this week.

More RED projects

RED Development, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, is known for its mixed-use and retail properties across the Southwest and Midwest. Among its high-profile developments in the Phoenix area include PV, the $2 billion redevelopment of the former Paradise Valley Mall, and The Grove, a $500 million development on the Camelback Corridor. Last year, RED formed a joint venture with Globe Corp. to build a 150-acre mixed-use development in Goodyear, Ariz., that will create an upscale entertainment hub called GSQ with dining, retail, multifamily, office and hotel offerings.

In Dallas, RED and joint venture partner KB Asset Management Co. Ltd. refinanced the office and retail component of The Union, an 800,000-square-foot mixed-use property in the Uptown submarket, last month with a $227 million loan from Goldman Sachs.

The post RED Development Adds Tenants at Phoenix Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Partners Capital has sold San Marcos Place, a 73,105-square-foot retail center in San Marcos, Texas, halfway between Austin, Texas, and San Antonio. The undisclosed buyer is based in Austin. SRS Real Estate Partners Senior Vice President Cathy Nabours and Vice President Kyle Shaffer represented the seller.

Back in June 2018, Partners Capital acquired the property through Partners Opportunity Fund II, a direct lending fund managed jointly by Benefit Street Partners and Providence Equity Partners. The sale of San Marcos Place marks the closing of the vehicle.   

San Marcos Place is a two-building property that came online in 1985 and was renovated in 2017. At the time of this most recent sale, the retail center was 82 percent leased. The tenant roster includes the Social Security Administration, USPS, Lendmark Financial Services, Republic Finance and Austin Weight Loss, among others.

The property is at 900 Bugg Lane, at the intersection between Highway 80 and Interstate 35. Downtown San Marcos is less than 2 miles west and San Marcos Regional Airport some 3 miles away. A Walmart Supercenter and the multitenant Sanmar Plaza are just across the street.

Last year, the company also launched Partners Opportunity Fund V, which targets retail, alongside industrial and office. As of August 2024, the company had already bought three assets through this value-add vehicle, debuting with a shopping center in Fort Worth.

The post Partners Capital Sells Texas Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Branch Properties and Corebridge Real Estate Investors have obtained a $171.4 million loan for the refinancing of the Southeast Grocery-Anchored Portfolio, a collection of eight retail properties totaling nearly 1.2 million square feet.

PGIM Real Estate provided the loan through The Prudential Insurance Co., public records show. CBRE arranged the transaction, working on behalf of the borrowers.

Located in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Florida, the shopping centers have more than 190 tenants in total, including major grocery anchors such as Publix, Kroger and Whole Foods. The assets were 96.6 percent leased at the time of closing.

READ ALSO: Underserved Areas Are Grabbing Retail Investors’ Attention. Here’s Why.

The Southeast Grocery-Anchored Portfolio includes:

• Papermill Plaza, at 6730 Papermill Drive in Knoxville, Tenn.
• The Bartlett Towne Centre, at 6005 Stage Road in Bartlett, Tenn.
• Island Walk Shopping Center, at 216 Palm Coast Parkway in Palm Coast, Fla.
• Beachway Plaza, at 7208 Manatee Ave. W. in Bradenton, Fla.
• Cornerstone Plaza, at 5645 N. Atlantic Ave., in Cocoa Beach, Fla.
• Tates Creek Centre, at 4101-4191 Tates Creek Road in Lexington, Ky.
• Village Shoppes at Gainesville, at 821-891 Dawsonville Highway in Gainesville, Ga.
• Shallowford Falls, at 3162 Johnson Ferry Road in Marietta, Ga.

Senior Vice President Richard Henry, Vice Chairs Mike Ryan and Brian Linnihan, together with Director Taylor Crowder, led the CBRE team which brokered the deal.

Retail portfolios on investors’ radar

This year, numerous significant transactions involving portfolios have closed nationwide, reflecting broader retail trends.

PGIM and Southeast Centers have recently sold a seven-property retail portfolio totaling 608,314 square feet across several Florida markets. Publix purchased the grocery-anchored assets for $223.9 million, in a transaction brokered by JLL.

Back in March, KPR Centers purchased a 1.5 million-square-foot retail portfolio for $180 million. Kimco Realty Corp. sold the eight assets located in Missouri, Florida and Wisconsin.

In the beginning of the year, Epic Real Estate Partners obtained approximately $100 million to refinance a retail portfolio consisting of five grocery-anchored shopping centers spread across as many states. The loans were provided by Prime Finance Partners and John Hancock Life Insurance.

The post Branch Properties JV Secures $171M for Retail Portfolio appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Americans’ appetite for eating out is not going anywhere, with many of them spending more time and money dining out.

The average household allocated more than 53 percent of its food budget in 2023 to meals away from home, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Economic Research Service. This record-high rate marked a 10 percent increase since 2003, and generated a 5.4 percent growth in sales for restaurants, as reported by the National Restaurant Association. This surge in dining out is not only boosting restaurant revenue, but also transforming commercial real estate.

DJM Capital, a California-based firm with more than 3 million square feet of retail assets in its portfolio, is one of the companies capitalizing on this trend. Chief Creative Officer Chad Cress told Commercial Property Executive that DJM’s lifestyle centers such as Bella Terra in Huntington Beach, Calif., and Lido Marina Village in Newport Beach, Calif., have seen significant increases in visitor numbers due to the opening of popular restaurants. But beyond dining, consumers are also increasingly seeking memorable social experiences, a shift reshaping spending patterns and, simultaneously, the future of retail.

In the interview below, Cress talks about the growing emphasis on restaurants in the retail mix and how Americans’ eating habits are impacting the sector.

READ ALSO: Underserved Areas Are Grabbing Retail Investors’ Attention. Here’s Why.

In your opinion, what key factors are driving the increase in spending at restaurants?

Cress: The pandemic changed how people live and want to spend their money. Now consumers are looking for dining experiences more than ever. Additionally, with more people working from home, it cuts commuting time which has been reallocated to experiences such as dining.

And how do you see this shift in consumer behavior affecting the retail real estate industry overall?

Cress: I think we’ve seen the percentage of food and beverage in relation to the entire merchandising mix at retail projects continue to increase, as well as the rise of entertainment-based retail. Consumers are pickier about where they spend their money, but when a retail project puts placemaking first, customers will visit. This has put more emphasis on design and how we think about placemaking.

Has your vision for lifestyle centers changed as a result of these shifts?

Cress: Having an experiential and placemaking mindset has always been part of the DNA of what we do and we’ve been doing this since before this type of thinking became the norm. Part of the reason for that is being located in California, where outdoor walkable centers are everywhere, so creating something special for the customers and tenants has become important to differentiate.

We’ve also increased our attention on marketing and events over the years. In the past, landlords merely collected rent and operated a center. Today, landlords like us find it important to come alongside the tenants and actively work to drive foot traffic to the center. We’ve been successful at this through increased food and beverage, and a focus on events and activations.

Have there been any challenges in accommodating the growing demand for food and beverage tenants?

Cress: We are seeing the desire for smaller restaurant spaces so in some cases—like at Village Del Amo in Torrance, Calif.—we have created several smaller restaurants from bigger restaurant vacancies and have created a more robust dining district.

Additionally, while restaurant sales and foot traffic trend upward at our centers, restaurants across California are having a harder time due to rising costs and labor. We have seen an increased need for second-generation space and more landlord contribution. 

And are there any specific types of dining establishments you’re looking to bring into your shopping centers?

Cress: It really depends on what categories we still need at the center or the DNA of the center itself. In Hollywood, Calif., for example, we have focused on bringing more local flavor and chef-driven concepts in order to help message to the market that the project is evolving and not only attract tourists, but locals as well.

To what extent has adding more restaurants led to an increase in visitor numbers at Bella Terra, for example?

Cress: Property visits are now up nearly 10 percent year-over-year and nearly 30 percent from three years ago—a result driven by the improvement of tenants through new leasing, a redesigned public space that has led to increased marketing activations and two additional hot restaurants coming to the property.

Since having acquired it in 2005, DJM has transformed the shopping center into a vibrant community hub by curating a diverse array of dining, retail and entertainment options. In 2023, before the two new restaurants came to the property, Bella Terra only saw a 1 percent increase in visitors year-over-year, showcasing the importance of these tenants to the community.

READ ALSO: Mixed-Use Malls and the 15-Minute Neighborhood

How do you see the rise in food and beverage-driven traffic influencing the broader retail landscape in the long run?

Cress: I think that restaurants reflect the desire for experience and retail has been evolving across the industry to incorporate more emphasis on experiential. This has been going on for a while, but as customers spend more time and money on experiences, brands in other sectors need to also raise the bar on customer experience and the ability for customers to interact with them across all channels—physical and digital.

And how are you positioning your properties to stay in fashion?

Cress: I think restaurants have become the new anchor in projects and the attention on getting the right names to our centers helps unlock and attract other quality tenants.

The post How Dining Trends Are Reshaping Shopping Centers appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The shopping center came online in 2007 on some 23 acres. Shadow-anchored by The Home Depot, Helena Skyway also features a diverse mix of regional and national tenants such as TJ Maxx, Ulta Beauty, Costco, Chilli’s, Bath & Beyond, Staples and Hobby Lobby.

Wood Investments has recently secured new leases at the property with Sierra and Chick-fil-A. Sierra will commence operations on November 9, while Chick-fil-A’s construction is in progress, aiming for a late 2025 opening. These additions have resulted in the center achieving full occupancy.

Located at 2005 Cromwell Dixon Lane, Helena Skyway is at the intersection of Interstate 15 and East Custer Avenue. The property serves more than 72,974 individuals within a 10-mile radius, with the average household income of approximately $105,936, according to Colliers.

Pursuing retail opportunities

Adapting to retail market trends, Wood Investments continues to pursue development opportunities in the Western U.S. and to convert properties into community hubs, according to President & CEO Patrick Wood.

In January, the company obtained a $54 million construction loan from 3650 REIT for a 200,000-square-foot retail project in Ontario, Calif. At the time, most of the space was already preleased, according to Traded.

Wood also secured a $16.5 million in refinancing last year for a 135,732-square-foot shopping center in the Boise, Idaho, and a $22.6 million note for a 197,288-square-foot retail property in the same area.

The post Wood Investments Refinances Montana Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Gantry secured a $55.9 million loan for the acquisition. The five-year, fixed-rate financing was secured through The Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. and underwritten as a full-term interest-only loan.

The acquisition encompasses 251,000 square feet of leasable space. The shopping center was developed in several phases, between 1981 and 2011. Huntington Oaks comprises 11 buildings spread on some 22 acres.

In 2014, the property became subject to a $60.5 million CMBS loan from U.S. Bank, with Bank of America as a lender, according to CommercialEdge data. That same year, the property also received a $10.5 million loan from BlackRock.

READ ALSO: Underserved Areas Are Grabbing Retail Investors’ Attention. Here’s Why.

Anchored by Trader Joe’s, Marshall’s, Kohl’s, Party City, Burlington and Petco, Huntington Oaks features a diverse mix of regional and national tenants such as Chili’s, Chipotle, Burlington, Chase Bank and Crunch Fitness, among others.

Principals George Mitsanas and Braden Turnbull, and Associate Austin Ridge from Gantry’s Los Angeles office brokered the deal, working on behalf of the borrower.

Huntington Oaks is located at 500-600 W. Huntington Drive, within Los Angeles’ San Gabriel Valley submarket. The retail center is near Interstate 210, which provides direct access to downtown Los Angeles.

Retail dynamics in Los Angeles

Considered a prime destination for tourism and a hub for high-street retail, Los Angeles has an active retail real estate market. Assets traded at an average of $430 per square feet in the third quarter of 2024, according to a recent Kidder Mathews report. The metro also had approximately 1.4 million square feet of retail space under construction, while the vacancy rate clocked in at 5.2 percent, with an average asking rate of $2.96 per square foot.

The post Los Angeles-Area Shopping Center Commands $79M appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Fidelis Realty Partners LLC has purchased Adam’s Dairy Landing, a 280,000-square-foot retail center in Blue Springs, Mo., in the Kansas City metro area. JLL Capital Markets represented seller Albanese Cormier Holdings LLC, also sourcing acquisition financing through MetLife Investment Management. The property traded for $39.8 million and the acquisition loan totaled $27.9 million, CommercialEdge shows. The property last traded in 2021, for $32 million.  

Adam’s Dairy Landing is a regional open-air retail center developed between 2009 and 2012, covering 36 acres. The eight-building property has a diverse tenant roster, including Bath&Body Works, Michaels, Barnes&Noble, Old Navy, HomeGoods, Ross Dress for Less, TJ Maxx and Five Guys. The property is currently 98 percent leased. Shadow anchors include Target, a Walmart Supercenter and a Home Depot.  

A Kansas City retail center just off Interstate 70

The shopping center is at 880 NE Coronado Drive, just off Interstate 70 and Adam’s Dairy Parkway. Other major thoroughfares in the area include Highway 40 W and NW Highway 7. Downtown Kansas City is some 20 miles west.  

The JLL Capital Markets investment and sales advisory team brokering the deal included Senior Director Michael Nieder, as well as Managing Directors Chris Gerard and Keely Polczynski. Additionally, the company’s debt advisory team was led by Senior Managing Director Colby Mueck, as well as Managing Director Chris Knight and Director Michael King. 

Just last week, a JLL Capital Markets team brokered a similar transaction, but in the Houston area. Longpoint Realty Partners bought Mason Village Shopping Center, a 96,486-square-foot asset in Katy, Texas.

The post Fidelis Realty Pays $40M for Kansas City Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

In releasing a statement about the matter, Ameriprise said that it had come to the decision about shutting down Lionstone after a strategic evaluation, but offered no details. The company added, however, that the winding down of its U.S. real estate business would have no material financial impact on Ameriprise.

Lionstone has been part of Ameriprise since 2017, when Ameriprise subsidiary Columbia Threadneedle Investments, based in Boston, acquired it with a plan to expand its U.S. commercial real estate footprint. 

Reportedly the decision to shut down Lionstone came amid disagreements between that company and parent Columbia Threadneedle, but specific points of disagreement have not been confirmed or denied by the participants. Neither Lionstone nor Columbia Threadneedle/Ameriprise have responded to queries from Commercial Property Executive on the matter.

Lionstone’s portfolio mostly includes office, multifamily, retail and mixed-use properties, among other asset types. The company has a heavy concentration in Texas, including seven properties in Austin; as well as in California, with nine assets in Greater Los Angeles; and North Carolina, with six assets. Other properties are in Atlanta, Denver, Nashville, Tenn., Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.

READ ALSO: Politics Aside, the US Economy Is Holding Strong

As recently as this year, Lionstone was an active buyer and seller of commercial real estate. Ameriprise’s other business lines include alternative assets, U.K. and European real estate, as well as hedge funds, CLOs and private equity.

In April, Lionstone sold the 112,162-square-foot Muse Shops at Midtown, a value-add retail center in Dallas. In June, Lionstone acquired The James, 344-unit multifamily property in Houston’s River Oaks submarket.

CRE cycle may see upturn

The move to wind down Lionstone comes on the cusp of what PwC and the Urban Land Institute call an upturn in the U.S. commercial real estate cycle, in the 2025 edition of Emerging Trends in Real Estate. Such an upturn would help spur investor interest in various property types.

The key moment for the sluggish commercial real estate market was the recent reduction in interest rates by the Federal Reserve, though that act by itself did little to bring down borrowing costs. Still, owners and investors took it as a signal that financial conditions will improve. After two years of anemic transaction and lending activity, along with falling property prices, conditions seem to have stabilized, PwC reported.

The upturn will probably be slow and gradual, the report posited. Still, some markets will see greater commercial real estate activity, including investment, than others. Most of the top markets to watch are still in the Sun Belt, with Dallas-Fort Worth emerging as the number-one spot for 2025, PwC reported.

The post Lionstone Investments to Offload $5.5B in Assets appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Blackstone Real Estate Partners X has entered an agreement with Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. to acquire all of its outstanding common shares and debt for $4 billion. The deal is set to be an all-cash transaction and represents a 34 percent premium to ROIC’s closing share price in July of this year.

ROIC’s portfolio is made up of 93 grocery-anchored retail properties. They are located in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Portland and total 10.5 million square feet.

In prepared remarks, Jacob Werner, co-head of Americas acquisitions at Blackstone Real Estate, said that the deal reflects the company’s bullish outlook on necessity-based, grocery-anchored retail. Specifically, the company is optimistic on demand for these types of assets in densely populated areas where there are very low levels of new supply.

READ ALSO: Will CRE Market Conditions Improve?

Pending customary closing conditions, including the approval of Blackstone common stockholders, the deal is set to close in the first quarter of next year. ROIC’s Board of Directors has already approved the transaction.

ROIC’s financial advisor was J.P. Morgan and its legal counsel was Clifford Chance US LLP. BofA Securities, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Newmark and Eastdil Secured were Blackstone’s financial advisors while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP was the company’s legal counsel.

The deal is the latest in a series of major Blackstone real estate acquisitions this year. In April, the firm signed a $10 billion deal to acquire Apartment Income REIT. The portfolio comprised 76 multifamily communities primarily in coastal markets.

Also, Blackstone-owned QTS expanded its presence recently with plans for a 3 million-square-foot data center campus in Phoenix. It is set to include 16 buildings of 180,000 square feet each.  

The post Blackstone to Acquire Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. for $4B appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

DNA acquired the shopping center in 2014, for $15 million, according to CommercialEdge data. Citibank originated a $10.5 million CMBS loan, which had a 2024 maturity date.

La Michoacana is the anchor tenant at Mason Village Shopping Center. The roster also includes a mix of local and national retailers, such as Harbor Freight, Freebirds, Jiffy Lube, Weight Watchers, Rice Bowl and Jason’s Deli.

Completed in 1978, Mason Village Shopping Center encompasses four buildings spread across some 10 acres.

READ ALSO: Inside the Retail Stores of the Future

Senior Managing Director Ryan West, Senior Director John Indelli and Analyst Clay Anderson led JLL’s Investment Sales and Advisory team that worked on behalf of the seller.

Mason Village Shopping Center is at 21923 Katy Freeway, at the intersection of Mason Road and Interstate 10, within the West Houston submarket. The area’s daily traffic count reaches approximately 45,000 vehicles, according to JLL.

Houston’s retail market steady through third quarter

Houston’s retail market has been bolstered by recent job growth in the region. In the third quarter this year, 979,263 square feet of retail space came online, marking a 35.6 percent increase compared to the previous quarter, according to a recent Cushman & Wakefield report.

The metro’s vacancy rate was unchanged for ten consecutive quarters, at 5.3 percent, below historical averages, making the search for suitable spaces challenging for tenants, the same source shows. Year-to-date through September, over 2.7 million square feet of retail space has been delivered, primarily in three submarkets: Far Northwest (340,778 square feet), West/Northwest (324,093 square feet), and the Katy area (107,262 square feet).

The post Longpoint Buys Houston Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Macerich has refinanced Queens Center, a 968,000-square-foot shopping mall in Elmhurst, N.Y. The owner obtained a new $525 million loan that features a fixed interest rate of 5.37 percent and interest-only payments.

This marks the lowest refinancing rate the company has achieved since 2019, Macerich President & CEO Jack Hsieh said in prepared remarks. In addition, the deal is more favorable than what Macerich anticipated in its spring 2024 five-year forecast.

The property’s previous debt included a $600 million CMBS loan originated by Wells Fargo Bank in 2013, having U.S. Bank as trustee, according to CommercialEdge data. The note was due to mature next January.

A top-performing shopping mall

Queens Center consistently has been one of the top-performing assets in Macerich’s portfolio, according to Hsieh, being one of the most productive malls in the nation during its 50-year history.

The mall came online in 1972 on a 10-acre site formerly occupied by an amusement park, a supermarket and a parking place. Between 2002 and 2004, the property underwent a major redevelopment project, completed in two phases, which also expanded its original 605,000-square-foot size.

READ ALSO: Inside the Retail Stores of the Future

The tenant roster includes a diverse mix of retailers such as JCPenney, Macy’s, Abercrombie Kids, Timberland, Chick-fil-A, The Cheesecake Factory, Apple, Adidas, Applebee’s, Burlington, Chipotle, Claire’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Game Stop, Foot Locker, KFC, MAC Cosmetics, Sephora, Shake Shack and Starbucks, among many others.

Primark, H&M, Warby Parker, Gap and Kiko Milano will soon open their doors in the Macerich-owned section of Queens Center, filling all available retail space. Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp.—which owns the JCPenney building at the mall—also recently announced that a Burlington store will open on its first floor just in time for the holiday season.

Located at 90-15 Queens Blvd., the shopping mall is at the junction of Queens Boulevard, the Long Island Expressway and Woodhaven Boulevard, featuring high visibility and accessibility. As the only super-regional mall in Queens, the property serves approximately 415.000 individuals within a 2-mile radius, according to Macerich. Its total trade area amounts to more than 2.4 million people.

The post Macerich Lands $525M for Queens Mall appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

PMAT Real Estate Investments has sold Waterside Marketplace, a 276,244-square-foot shopping center in Chesterfield, Mich. Octave Holdings and Investments acquired the asset through its Octave Realty Fund IX.

Mid-America Real Estate Corp. arranged the deal. The brokerage company had also represented PMAT in acquiring the asset in 2018, as reported by Rejournals.

Earlier this year, the New Orleans-based firm has also sold a 124,005-square-foot retail property in Downers Grove, Ill., with Mid-America brokering the $25 million transaction.

READ ALSO: Underserved Areas Are Grabbing Retail Investors’ Attention. Here’s Why.

Completed in 2007 on some 13 acres, Waterside Marketplace was 94 percent leased at the time of sale. Waterside Marketplace is anchored by TJ Maxx, Sierra, Burlington, Best Buy, Ulta, DSW and Old Navy, while Aldi, Lowe’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods and JCPenney shadow-anchor the property. The tenant roster also includes Carter’s, Rally House, Kid’s Empire, Five Below and Bath & Body Works, among others.

The shopping center is at 50753 Waterside Drive at the high-traffic intersection of Interstate 94 and 23 Mile Road in Detroit’s Warren – Sterling Heights submarket. The shopping center serves around 109,000 individuals within a 5-mile radius, with the average household income of approximately $112,000, according to Mid-America.

The firm’s Principal Ben Wineman and Vice President Emily Gadomski brokered the transaction, with Principal Daniel Stern representing the seller. Wineman also arranged the $15.4 million sale of Metro Centre, a 166,290-square-foot retail property in Peoria, Ill.

Detroit’s retail market sees strong activity

Despite the disruption which affected the industry in recent years, Detroit’s retail market has seen strong activity across all metrics in the second quarter of 2024, according to a recent Colliers report.

The metro’s investment activity totaled more than $92 million in transactions, while approximately 443,625 square feet of retail space—across 33 projects—were under construction in several submarkets at the end of June. The vacancy rate clocked in at 4.9 percent, marking a 20-basis point decrease from the previous quarter.

The post PMAT Sells 276 KSF Detroit-Area Retail Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The 2323 Cedar Springs Road complex is located at the corner of Maple Avenue and Cedar Springs and includes two restaurant buildings totaling approximately 16,000 square feet and a half-acre park. The 626,215-square-foot office tower and restaurants are 60 percent leased. New tenants include the Wish You Were Here Group’s restaurants Élephante and Little Ruby’s Café, as well as Savills, which is leasing 10,000 square feet of space on the 14th floor in the office tower. The restaurants are slated to open in the fall of 2025. Élephante will occupy a two-story building facing Maple Avenue, while Little Ruby’s Café will located in a one-story building facing the 23Springs park.

In March, Granite Properties announced it had signed global law firm Sidley Austin LLP to a 118,484-square-foot lease for four and a half floors in the high-rise. Other office tenants include Deloitte, which signed a long-term lease in January for four floors of space and Bank OZK, which is taking four floors in the tower. Bank OZK also provided $265 million in construction financing for the development.

READ ALSO: What’s Your Wellness Action Plan?

“23Springs’ leasing velocity remains strong and reflects the continued demand for premier office space that is exceptionally located and walkable to shops and restaurants. We’re also seeing deal velocity and activity picking up across Uptown Dallas,” Paul Bennett, senior managing director, Granite Properties, told Commercial Property Executive.

DPR Construction is the general contractor and GFF is the development’s designer. DPR Construction broke ground at the 2.5-acre site in June 2022.

Building features, amenities

Bennett said tenants are attracted to “23Springs’ unique blend of amenities and community-focused design in the heart of Uptown Dallas.”

He said the project’s wide range of amenities and features “underscore its commitment to work-life balance, providing a change of scenery and space to unwind at the office.”

“The half-acre park, restaurants and patios will connect our customers to the neighborhood and create a new destination that is appealing to our customers and people throughout the city,” Bennett told CPE.

The glass office tower has been designed for LEED Silver and Fitwell certifications. In a post-pandemic office environment, it will provide tenants and visitors a touchless path from the garage to the office. Other design features include 14-foot floor-to-ceiling windows, column-free corner offices for views of the Uptown and Downtown Dallas skylines, clean air technology, destination dispatch elevators and ample green space to meet or work outdoors. Sustainability features include a rainwater harvesting system and low flow water fixtures, reducing indoor water consumption by 50 percent and energy consumption by 14 percent.

Building amenities include a two-story hospitality-driven lobby with a coffee and wine bar; indoor lounge with golf simulator; large conference center and boardroom; fitness center; outdoor lounge with full AV-enabled conference facilities; private motor court; EV charging stations; bike storage and valet parking. The building also has a total of 1,520 parking spaces in a six-story underground garage.

The property is walkable to popular Uptown restaurants, shops and the Katy Trail with easy access to the Dallas North Tollway and North Central Expressway.

More Granite projects

Granite Properties, a Plano, Texas, privately held commercial real estate investment, development and management company, owns 11 million square feet of high-quality office space in Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Denver, Boston, Southern California and Nashville, Tenn. Current development projects in Dallas and Boston total more than 1.6 million square feet of space.

Earlier this month, Granite Properties and joint venture partners CBRE Investment Management and Leggat McCall Properties completed the conversion of a former courthouse and jail in Cambridge, Mass., to create 40 Thorndike, a 475,000-square-foot mixed-use building with 422,000 square feet of office space, apartments and ground-level retail.

Last October, Granite Properties and Highwoods Properties opened Granite Park 6, a 19-story, 422,109-square-foot Class AA office tower at 5525 Granite Parkway in Plano. Currently the tallest building in Granite Park, it was the seventh office property to open in the 2.3 million-square-foot development.

The post Granite Properties Tops Out Dallas Mixed-Use Project appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

The two-year loan from Goldman Sachs has three one-year extension options. JLL Capital Markets arranged the financing.

The refinanced property comprises office and retail spaces, which total 505,994 square feet and are 98 percent leased.

The 21-story Class A office tower was completed in 2018 and features nine levels of garage parking. Tenants have access to an amenity deck with entertainment space, a tenant lounge, a fully equipped conference center and a fitness facility with locker rooms.

Salesforce, Invesco and the Dallas offices of law firm Akin Gump and accounting/advisory firm Weaver are among the property’s tenants. The project’s retail space is anchored by a Tom Thumb grocery store and the only Dallas locations for Fox Restaurant Concepts’ The Henry and North Italia.

READ ALSO: Coworking Spaces Surge Amid Changing Demand

The location on North Field Street in Uptown offers easy access to Victory Park, the Harwood District and downtown Dallas. It also boasts connectivity via Woodall Rogers Freeway, the McKinney Avenue Trolley and the DART Rail station.

The JLL Debt Advisory team was led by Senior Managing Director Jim Curtin, Managing Director Greg Napper and Vice President Rex Cruz.

Settling down

The Dallas–Fort Worth office market continues to slowly stabilize, although leasing still lags its historic pace, “suggesting that it will take considerable time for tighter market fundamentals to return,” according to a third-quarter report from Avison Young.

One of the challenges for landlords is that most recent leases have been for smaller tenants or for those that are upgrading—but also downsizing—their spaces to adjust for hybrid work arrangements, Avison Young reports. 

The Uptown submarket has seen a modest delivery total of 364,000 square feet year-to-date, though about 2.1 million square feet are currently underway. The submarket has a total availability of 26.7 percent, which is up slightly, year-over-year.

A couple of sizable recent office deals seem to span the range of ups and downs in the Dallas market.

Just last month, a joint venture of Enverra Real Estate Partners and Gulf Coast Western acquired Parkway Office Center North and South, a two-building, 230,000-square-foot distressed office campus in Dallas. The seller was Principal Financial, the asset’s former lender, which had foreclosed on the previous borrower, ORBIS Real Estate Fund I, an investment vehicle managed by APEX Pacific Partners Advisors.

Oil and gas company Gulf Coast Western is the largest tenant at the campus and has been there for more than a decade.

In contrast, back in April, a joint venture between Pacific Elm Properties and KDC secured a $290 million construction loan for Parkside Uptown, a 30-story, 500,000-square-foot office project in Dallas. Goldman Sachs Alternatives provided the four-year, floating-rate note.

The post RED Development JV Secures $227M Refi for Dallas Tower appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Overall, the index rose to 56 out of 100, up since the spring survey. A reading over 50 indicates favorable conditions. It’s the second consecutive index to score above 50, with the April survey reflecting an index of 52 after two years of ratings below 50.

“Improving expectations related to debt and equity markets are likely driven by a consensus that interest rates will decline,” according to the NAIOP report.

A total of 496 respondents from 374 distinct companies participated. The survey respondents are NAIOP members in the U.S. who are developers, building owners, building managers, brokers, analysts, consultants, lenders and investors in commercial real estate. Out of the total number of participants, eight took the survey after the Federal Reserve announced a 50-basis-point rate cut on Sept. 18.

Among the additional key findings:

• Respondents are optimistic about all index components except for construction labor costs.
• Respondents anticipate increased demand and rising valuations in commercial real estate.
• Much of the improvement is likely driven by expectations of declining interest rates.
• Increased optimism about market conditions is prompting developers and building owners to anticipate growth in their deal volume over the coming year.
• Most respondents expect to be most active in industrial or multifamily real estate during the next 12 months.

More reasons for optimism

Industry observers, including those who did not participate in NAIOP’s survey, found those and other reasons for optimism.

Lisa Nickerson, founder & CEO of Nickerson Cos., told Commercial Property Executive that she sees “bullish investors buying at significant discounts to pre-COVID sales prices.” This puts the industry in ‘pre-season training’ for a true return-to-office ‘game time.’ “But, because you bought it cheap, will they come?”

Nickerson said tenant needs have changed, and most successful companies have adapted to employee desires and behavior changes.

“Even well-located, Class A assets can’t just dust off their pre-Covid playbook,” she said. “Tenants are driven by employee sentiment, and employees care about who you are and what you stand for more than ever.”

READ ALSO: Why Worry About Rates? We’ve Been Here Before

According to Nickerson, employees consider sustainability, technology, health and wellness, and convenience important parts of the overall work experience. “Only owners and investors with a critical eye for asset positioning, amenity offerings and thoughtful leasing strategies will win the day,” she added.

PEBB confident about the next few months

Bret Fischer, director of asset management at PEBB Enterprises, told CPE that the commercial real estate industry has experienced considerable volatility and uncertainty since the Federal Reserve started increasing interest rates in March 2022.

“As inflation has lowered, rates have steadied, employment remains strong and the U.S. economy continues to expand, PEBB is confident in the commercial real estate development conditions over the next few months,” Fischer said.

He added that while the days of 0.1 percent SOFR are gone, rates seem to have settled into a more realistic and predictable range.

“Capital Markets will still be a challenge based on product type, but the past few years have proven that tenants want to occupy Class A projects. Well-located real estate projects with diligent capital sources will continue to be successful,” Fischer anticipates.

Many loans soon to mature

Pierre Debbas, Esq., co-founder of Romer Debbas LLP, said billions of dollars of capital are on the sidelines, waiting to be deployed once rates come down and the economics make sense to acquire properties.

“We have experienced a historic decline in transaction activity, and the rebound in 2025 should be significant, assuming the Fed is actually committed to substantial rate cuts,” Debbas said.

“There is a record level of loan maturities coming up next year, and this will force many owners to sell their assets if they struggle to refinance their properties. This will add supply to the market and provide opportunities for investors waiting patiently.”

Retail sales growth needed for a ‘soft landing’

Recent growth in retail sales provides a rational basis for an overall soft landing, according to Noel Liston, managing broker, Core Industrial Realty – Chicago. He told CPE that unemployment has ticked up lately but remains within a healthy and supportive range.

“Combining these factors with the FOMC’s recent half-point September rate cut, commercial real estate, particularly industrial real estate, seems positioned to perform well in the new post-pandemic normal,” Liston said.

According to Liston, an employed and healthy consumer is key to sustaining strong occupancy levels in commercial real estate, given the overweight domestic nature of the U.S. economy. “Productivity gains relative to other competing international economies and the impact of technology are also critical factors shaping occupancy levels for commercial real estate,” he said.

Liston added that further rate cuts by the FOMC could translate into lower capital costs for consumers.

While the residential real estate market has been stuck in neutral for the past few years, a lowering of interest rates could unleash pent-up demand in the sector, and that would provide ancillary benefits to the commercial markets through increased purchasing of durable goods, increased construction activity (both new starts and remodeling) and increased employment in the sector, Liston predicts.

“While there remains uncertainty about the course of future capital costs as well as geopolitical issues and a U.S. election around the corner, many in commercial real estate can see a growth path based on the resiliency demonstrated by the U.S. consumer,” Liston commented.

Fed delivered a ‘jolt’ of positivity

“As we all expected, the commercial real estate market would respond positively to any interest rate cut by the Fed,” said Michael Romer, Esq., co-managing partner at Romer Debbas. “Although smaller than most feel is needed, the recent reduction provided a jolt of positivity in the market.”

READ ALSO: What the 2024 Presidential Election Means for CRE

According to Romer, the commercial real estate market needs rate stability, lower inflation and commercial banks to lend again. Seeds of positivity have been planted, and the commercial real estate world is hopeful of real growth in 2025, he predicts.

“However, the election remains the elephant in the room. The two candidates have significantly different economic policies. The path forward will become much clearer in just a few weeks,” Romer said.

Transaction volume is starting to increase

According to Kip Sowden, CEO of RREAF Holdings, investor confidence remains relatively cautious despite the Fed’s recent action, as much of the rate drop was already priced in several months prior.

“Transaction volume is starting to increase, though this momentum remains moderate as broader economic uncertainties persist,” Sowden said. The slight increase in investor activity can be attributed to more favorable borrowing conditions and the expectation of stabilized economic growth.

“A rate reduction typically leads to lower capital costs, which enhances the attractiveness of CRE investments. Lower interest rates contribute to cap rate compression and higher asset valuations, spurring investment activity in high-demand sectors such as multifamily and industrial,” he observed.

Capital markets have proven resilient

“Life companies continue to meet or exceed their origination goals while growing allocations with little to no delinquencies in their portfolios,” said J.D. Blashaw, vice president at MetroGroup Realty Finance.

According to Blashaw, CMBS is facing challenges due to exposure to the office market. “Still, originations through the third quarter totaled $74 billion, more than $40 billion issued in 2023, as spreads have tightened for most asset classes, signaling strong demand from bond buyers,” he observed.

Blashaw added that banks and thrifts are historically the largest originators and holders of commercial real estate loans.

“They should benefit from the recent and anticipated interest rate cuts, reducing their cost of funds and allowing for more competitive pricing,” he said. “Development should be spurred on with short-term rates declining with most construction loans tied to SOFR, which moves mostly in lockstep with the Fed funds rate.

As capital markets have proven resilient in 2024 to the headwinds and uncertainties in the economy, Blashaw anticipates continued positive momentum heading into 2025.

Skilled labor remains a concern

Brian Gallagher, vice president, Corporate Development, Graycor, told CPE that higher interest rates remain a significant headwind.

“Developers will likely continue to face scrutiny from investors, which could slow some projects,” he said. “While we’ve seen some stabilization in construction costs, the availability of skilled labor remains a concern, particularly in specialized trades. Overall, commercial real estate fundamentals remain strong in some sectors where demand continues to outpace supply.”

Optimism increasing in ‘Wall Street South’

Jake Geleerd, co-founder & CEO of Tortoise Properties told CPE that sentiment for 2025 is more optimistic than earlier this year.

“We’re still seeing positive trends in job growth, construction costs and new development starts,” Geleerd said. “In South Florida, especially Palm Beach County, we anticipate continued double-digit job growth, driven by ongoing migration from the Northeast, solidifying us as ‘Wall Street South.’”

“Additionally, the substantial wealth transfer to South Florida, particularly Palm Beach County, is fueling the rise of ‘Silicon Valley South,’ attracting tech companies and a high-tech workforce.” He added that a key focus for 2025 will be the return to the office.

“Major employers like Amazon, JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs require employees to return,” Geleerd mentioned. “Senior partners in law firms and private equity firms are urging junior colleagues back to stay involved in deals or risk losing opportunities, signaling a shift toward re-establishing in-office collaboration.”

Geleerd observed that favorable municipal financing and tax incentives, especially for affordable housing, support much of the new development activity.

“I expect this trend to continue into 2025,” he said. “However, construction costs may flatten or decrease slightly as development slows from the post-pandemic boom. While growth continues, it’s slower than in 2022-2023, leading to more competitive bidding and lower costs.”

Uptick in return-to-office trend

Brian Haines, chief strategy officer for FM:Systems, said that many organizations are successfully implementing return-to-office policies, and interest rates are starting to ease, so it’s no surprise that optimism is growing.

“We’re hearing the same from our client partners, both those who have returned to full-time office models and those with hybrid arrangements,” Haines said. “After years of pandemic-driven uncertainty, we’re finally approaching a new sense of normalcy. However, with commercial real estate being the second-largest expense for most employers, real estate decisions aren’t made on anecdotes or gut feelings alone.”

READ ALSO: Here’s a Surprising Shift in Remote Work’s Appeal

According to Haines, organizations using workplace management solutions to gather data over the past few years are better equipped to align their real estate strategies with how their people use—and plan to use—their spaces, as this positions them well for making more informed real estate choices, whether optimizing existing spaces or expanding their real estate footprint.

The post Will CRE Market Conditions Improve? appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

To capitalize on this trend, NewMark Merrill Cos. recently launched NewMark Merrill Hadler Community Partners, a venture that focuses on the acquisition, development, management and operation of retail centers in underinvested and undersupplied communities.

Commercial Property Executive invited Managing Director Jermaine McMihelk to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities presented by retail centers in these areas, particularly as balancing affordability, tenant demand and profitability have become central to the future of retail. Integra Realty Resources CEO Anthony Graziano also joined the conversation.

READ ALSO: Shopping Changed Dramatically. Retail Design Is One Step Ahead

Has NewMark Merrill Hadler Community Partners made its first investments yet? What specific U.S. areas are you targeting?

McMihelk: Quite simply, our mission is to be the best operator and investor in retail shopping centers in underinvested and undersupplied communities. That includes: having the best tenant mix that is tailor-made to every community that we serve and truly meeting their needs; authentic and genuine community connections and relationships that go beyond our shopping centers and allows us to contribute our time and resources to help solve broader issues; and having a team that reflects and is passionate about the communities that we serve.

We have a few centers in the pipeline that we hope to announce soon which are within Los Angeles County, but our vision is to scale the platform nationally given the number of communities throughout the country that are underinvested and undersupplied.

How exactly do financial models differ when investing in this type of markets compared to more established retail areas?

McMihelk: A lot of our deals are value add with some opportunistic sprinkled in there, but I wouldn’t say that our models differ significantly from other markets. Like with a lot of repositionings, it’s important to be disciplined in modeling achievable and sustainable rent growth for both us and our merchants, and allowing worst-case scenario to be your base in regard to expenses. If you can make a deal pencil leading with those assumptions, it’s likely worth the risks.

Are there specific tax incentives, grants or government programs that make these investments more attractive?

McMihelk: Some areas that we operate in may qualify as Opportunity Zones and be eligible for specific tax incentives and grants, but we see that as sprinkles on the cake, and our initial focus is usually more so on quality real estate in great locations as opposed to designated zones or programs. We are typically long-term holders so we want assets that we believe will stand the test of time even without the presence of additional incentives, though we do leverage them when it is aligned with our business plan.

We see the market as a domestic emerging market with continued growth, density, solvable problems and the potential for outsized returns. This is truly what makes it most attractive to us.

The commercial real estate industry has been quite enthusiastic about the recent Fed interest rate cut. To what extent will this move impact deal flow in retail? Is it too early to tell?

McMihelk: I think broadly that this recent rate cut will not have a significant impact on property values and deal flow in the short term, but it has injected a good dose of optimism into our space, which is also important. I believe that if fundamentals remain sound with low vacancies, rising rents and manageable costs, we will likely begin to see an increase in property values and investment activity in mid to late 2025, assuming additional cuts this year and next.

Graziano: We think the rate cuts will assist deal flow, but the main driver will be occupier and rent driven. The NNN leased market may see a pop on the rate cut, but general retail won’t be affected that much. The bigger positive impact on the rate cut is the psychological boost to consumers, which may help drive retail sales.

Speaking of consumers, what are your strategies for balancing affordability for local consumers with the need for sustainable profitability?

McMihelk: This is a sensitive issue and one we feel uniquely qualified and positioned to address. For us, we must strike the right balance of meeting the consumer where they currently are, where the market is headed, all the while creating an environment that encourages sustainable investment and inclusive growth. Some of the ways we achieve this is through a great mix of small businesses and national tenants, being genuinely and authentically connected to the communities that we serve, and continuously figuring out ways to lend our time and contribute resources to playing a role in solving community issues outside the scope of our retail spaces.

READ ALSO: CRE Prices Are Stabilizing

Tell us more about how you select the right mix of tenants for neighborhood centers in underserved areas.

McMihelk: Understanding the market at a few levels is important. Conducting a good void analysis will tell you what is missing, but what it doesn’t always accurately convey is what is truly needed. So, we layer on processes to make sure that we aren’t missing the highest return on investment, which is usually fulfilling a need. 

A soft goods tenant could be a great fit for the center and be projected to do well, but a quality community-focused physician within walking distance in a community with low car ownership fills a true need and likely gets you a tenant in the space for decades with sustainable growth. Identifying these needs consistently comes from a true community connection and a nuisance understanding of the communities that you serve. That has everything to do with the makeup and capability of our team, along with having quality relationships within the community that allows us to consistently optimally serve them.

How do you mitigate high vacancy rates and tenant turnover in markets that are part of underserved areas?

McMihelk: I think it’s very important for owners to look at partnering with companies that are full-service, meaning management, leasing, marketing, construction, etc., all under one roof. It truly takes a village to consistently succeed in markets where others have found success and consistent returns, to be elusive.

When you have a team that is completely aligned, and you have authentic and genuine relationships with the community, local leadership, tenants, law enforcement, etc., you are then poised to navigate and solve the issues that underserved markets present. Without this kind of alignment, problem solving is extremely difficult to do and almost impossible across multiple projects.

What are some common challenges that arise when developing or revitalizing shopping centers in low-income or underserved neighborhoods?

McMihelk: One of the issues is that many of the centers tend to be older and sometimes not well maintained throughout the years, so it becomes extremely important to understand all physical aspects of the asset and accurately account for capital investments that will be needed on the journey to stabilization. You must also truly be connected to the community and area to understand what is needed and at the same time be able to simultaneously have conversations with merchants to better understand their current outlook…

Additionally, with the right business plan and turnaround story, you can partner with brands who are aligned with your vision and sometimes persuade those who may have been on the fence about a center.

In all, if you don’t approach the market diligently, with allies and with potential partners in hand, developing and revitalizing shopping centers in low-income neighborhoods can be difficult. A lot of the heavy lifting must be done on the front end.

How do you see the rise of e-commerce affecting neighborhood shopping centers in underinvested communities?

McMihelk: E-commerce has certainly impacted the retail business, but I would say that we have seen it to be more positive on shopping centers overall. As an example, a mom-and-pop restaurant in one of our centers can now reach even more customers. We see this being the case in a number of instances. Retail in general throws off more data than any other product type in commercial real estate: sales, foot traffic, yelp reviews, etc. We tend to focus on how we can arm our customers with the best and richest market data, so that they can capitalize on this extended reach and continue to drive growth in their business alongside technology.

As we slowly move into 2025, how do you expect neighborhood shopping centers in undersupplied communities to perform?

Graziano: Retail has been broadly healthy in many sectors. Neighborhood shopping centers in undersupplied communities, due to land constraints or limited development options, will remain strong. Site selection and new development of neighborhood centers is supply- and demand-driven, and neighborhood retail remains strong in most markets.

Identifying markets where there has been retail redevelopment—think shopping center sites that converted to multifamily, or older shopping centers with terminal vacancy converted to medical office—leads to retail gaps since existing retail is removed from the market. The continued evolution of malls and eatery districts where people gather and socialize will continue to perform well. 

Many jurisdictions are rezoning older shopping center and commercial corridors to allow more mixed-use, so the form of retail is changing, especially in urban markets. We will continue to focus on discretionary spending patterns of consumers coupled with reporting and guidance from public retailers on directionality of same store sales. 

What are your expectations for retail tenant demand in underinvested and undersupplied communities across the country?  

McMihelk: I wouldn’t expect much supply to come online, and most growth will come in the form of repositionings. Assuming retail sales hold steady, I think you will see sustained tenant demand in these areas as there are less and less places for brands to grow.

Graziano: Neighborhood retail is fairly easy to create from entitlement to development. Retail feasibility is generally an easier hurdle as the retail development market is accustomed to build-to-suit that is less sensitive to cost increases. Development will continue to get more expensive in 2025.

The post Underserved Areas Are Grabbing Retail Investors’ Attention. Here’s Why. appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

Bethel Shopping Center—along with 32 other grocery-anchored retail properties—was acquired by DRA and KPR from Cedar Realty Trust in 2022, in a portfolio transaction totaling approximately $879 million, including assumed debt. CBRE acted as the real estate advisor for the seller back then as well.

Cedar had purchased the asset in 2013 from Ceruzzi Properties for $34.5 million, according to CommercialEdge data.

Bethel Shopping Center came online in 2007. Anchored by Big Y Supermarket, Starbucks and Dollar Tree, the retail center has a diverse mix of national and regional tenants such as Great Clips, Athlete’s Source, Quest Diagnostics, Casa Tequila and Weight Watchers. At the time of the deal, the property was 91 percent leased.

READ ALSO: Shopping Changed Dramatically. Retail Design Is One Step Ahead.

Situated on some 11 acres at 83 Stony Hill Road, Bethel Shopping Center serves around 32,000 individuals within a 3-mile radius, with the average household income of approximately $140,000, according to CBRE. The property is near U.S. Route 6, which provides direct access to several residential neighborhoods and Interstate 84.

Executive Vice President Nat Heald, Vice Chair Jeffrey Dunne and Senior Vice President David Gavin of CBRE’s National Retail Partners worked on behalf of the seller. CBRE also procured the buyer.

Interest in retail portfolios

Recent retail trends indicate that investors have been actively purchasing portfolios. Earlier this year, KPR acquired a 1.5 million-square-foot retail collection in Florida and the Midwest for $180 million. Kimco Realty Corp. sold the eight assets.

In another deal brokered by CBRE, a joint venture between a fund managed by DRA Advisors and Soundwater Properties recently purchased a three-property, 376,462-square-foot shopping center portfolio in Ocean County, N.J. Each center is anchored by a ShopRite store.

The post DRA Advisors JV Sells Connecticut Shopping Center appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

As part of the transaction, the joint venture secured a five-year, $320 million loan facility. Lenders include Goldman Sachs and Blackstone, according to a report by The Real Deal.

The owners are touting the mixed-use building’s location, high ceilings, 100,000-square-foot-plus floorplates and vintage architectural elements as attractive to varied retail and office tenants.

The seven-floor building came online in 1896, according to CommercialEdge information. RXR acquired a 45 percent interest in the property for $225 million from The Chetrit Group in January 2012 and the remaining 55 percent in November 2012 for $255.6 million.

READ ALSO: Why the Office-to-Lab Conversion Trend Will Last

However, it was a $425.1 million refinance by Goldman Sachs in October 2019—just months before the World Health Organization officially declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic—that put the building on a tricky course. Two prominent tenants, WeWork and Bed Bath & Beyond, went bankrupt, pushing the building to more than 50 percent in total vacancy.

Over the past two years, however, RXR nailed down more than 300,000 square feet of new and renewal leases to office tenants and induced long-time tenant 32BJ, an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union and the nation’s largest union of property service workers, to expand its lease by 21,000 square feet.

As a result, the building’s office component is fully occupied, and RXR reported that it’s in negotiations with multiple potential tenants for the remaining vacant retail space.

Leases vs. sales

Clearly, not all of 620 Ave. of the Americas’ neighbors are doing as well, because Manhattan’s Chelsea submarket currently has a total availability of 27.5 percent, according to a third-quarter report from Avison Young. That’s somewhat higher than the average for all of Midtown South, which is 21.2 percent, and higher still than the overall Manhattan average of 18.7 percent.

Transactions nonetheless seem to be ticking along. Three times so far this year, Chelsea properties have landed on Commercial Property Executive’s monthly tally of the top five NYC office building sales:

•  In January, it was Argentic Investment Management’s $21.5 million sale of 115 Seventh Ave., a 42,380-square-foot, 1924-vintage building, to Raymond Chan Architect PC.

•  In April, we reported the $31 million sale of 129 W. 29th St. by Samson Management to The Epoch Times, part of The Epoch Media Group. The 85,869-square-foot building was completed in 1911.

•  And in May, a private investor acquired the 7,410-square-foot 156 W. 29th St. for $6.3 million from a private seller, in a deal brokered by Cushman & Wakefield.

The post RXR Partners JV Secures $320M Recap for NYC Building appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

At the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors’ Fall 2024 event, panelists weighed in on the various opportunities to be found in a challenging market environment, as well as on ways to empower brokers.

Successfully navigating uncertain economic cycles and periods of elevated capital costs often hinges on a collaborative effort to ensure deals are financially viable.

Panelists and attendees at the Los Angeles conference were alike in expressing optimism. And one business opportunity that took center stage was adaptive reuse and conversion projects.

During a panel titled “ReUse & REImagine: Finding Opportunities for Surplus Office Space”, development, operation and design experts came together to talk about how reuse projects are penciling. With a massive national oversupply of office space, CRE is finding creative ways to get capital moving, create new projects and reach an office supply and demand equilibrium.

“The concept isn’t terribly new,” Kelly Farrell, a global leader of Gensler’s residential practice, said of reuse and conversion projects. Office-to-school and office-to-hotel developments have been happening for years. It’s more a matter of location and viability.

When first evaluating the potential for a reuse project, Patrick Chraghchian, founder, principal & CEO of Adept, said that location is the first place to start. Then, other variables include amenities and market potential.

“And then you get into the technical things like: What does the skin of the building look like? Is the mechanical and electrical going to be maintained?” Chraghchian said. Things like entitlements and technicalities can be more complicated for reuse projects than for ground-up developments.

David Wilson, president of real estate development, Ryan Cos. U.S. Inc, noted that for the most part, office-to-hospitality and office-to-residential conversions make the most sense in urban locations. Reconversions in suburban locations are more fit for office-to-office or office-to-mixed-use.

For brokers, owners and investors that are seeking reuse opportunities outside of office-to-residential or office-to-office, Farrell recommended looking at office-to-education. Lots of buildings have the potential to be converted into schools, medical offices or even laboratory space, depending on the bones.

Maximizing pricing

Another important thing to know at the beginning of any conversion project is pricing.

“For any conversion, costs are always going to be underestimated,” Wilson said. When comparing to ground-up developments, reuse projects need lenders that understand the project vision. And city, state and federal incentives can be the key. “To get the deal penciled, incentives just have to be there.”

Chraghchian similarly stated that for a conversion project to pencil, you have to put together the right team, including the right investors and lenders.

“I don’t want to sound too negative, there are a lot of advantages,” Chraghchian said of reuse projects. “But in a lot of areas, office-to-multifamily is cost prohibitive. Going in having a financial team that understands this is very important.”

The potential upsides to finding the right conversion or reuse project are massive. First, investors, owners and operators have the ability to maximize their returns on previously underperforming assets. Architects and designers land new and enticing projects. And the surrounding neighborhoods and communities benefit too.

“We are really excited when projects change communities for the better,” Farrell said. “It sounds altruistic, but when they change for the better, you get to keep designing in them. It’s work that helps move communities forward and then gives the opportunity to do more work.”

The post SIOR Special Report: Opportunities in Reuse appeared first on Commercial Property Executive.

A fund managed by DRA Advisors, in conjunction with Soundwater Properties, has acquired a three-property, 376,462-square-foot shopping center portfolio in Ocean County, N.J. Each center is anchored by a ShopRite store. Pasbjerg Development Co., which had developed and managed the properties, sold them in a transaction arranged by CBRE.

The portfolio comprises Bay Plaza at 860 Fischer Blvd. in Toms River, Jackson Plaza at 260 N. County Line Road in Jackson Township, and Lacey Mall at 344 US-9 in Lacey Township. The properties were 94 percent leased at the time of sale.

READ ALSO: Shopping Changed Dramatically. Retail Design Is One Step Ahead.

At 173,988 square feet, Lacey Mall is the largest center of the three assets. In addition to ShopRite, it has national tenants such as T.J. Maxx, Mattress Firm, Firestone, Hand & Stone, UPS, Dollar Tree, Dunkin’, Popeyes and Verizon Wireless.

The 114,753-square-foot Jackson Plaza was completed in 2002 and features national retail tenants AT&T, Advance Auto Parts and McDonald’s. Bay Plaza was built in 1994 and totals 87,721 square feet.

Eastman Cos. will lead property management, accounting and construction functions for the portfolio. The three locations see more than 5 million annual visits combined and the median family incomes in their respective trade areas are more than $130,000.

The CBRE National Retail Partners Mid-Atlantic team of Chris Munley, Colin Behr, Ryan Sciullo, Casey Smith, RJ Mirabile and Michael Pascavis marketed the properties and represented the seller. Behr said, in prepared remarks, that the tenant tenure averages 25-plus years and 80 percent of the portfolio’s income derives from national and credit tenants.

Undeniable progress

At the ICSC Las Vegas conference this past May, multiple attendees told Commercial Property Executive that the retail sector is in better shape than it has been in years.

“This is the first time people are saying ‘optimistic’ without putting ‘cautious’ in front of it,” Kristin Mueller, president of JLL’s Retail Property Business, told CPE.

Daniel Taub, national director of Marcus & Millichap’s Retail Division and Net Lease Division, said, “You have now been experiencing 10-plus years of very little to no net new development; therefore, existing retail real estate has become more valuable, because there’s less new product.”

That upbeat tone was reinforced in August, with the release of JLL’s second-quarter U.S. retail outlook. The report tallied a surge in retail net absorption of 75.4 percent quarter-over-quarter to 7.7 million square feet, most notably in community centers, lifestyle centers and Class C malls.

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Smoky Hollow is situated within Raleigh’s Glenwood South neighborhood and comprises The Line, a 283-unit Class A apartment community, and 421 N. Harrington, a highly amenitized 229,000-square-foot office building. The latter features approximately 40,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, including a mix of experiential restaurants and shops.

The financing from Barings has a five-year term. JLL’s Travis Anderson, Colby Mueck and Warren Johnson advised the sponsorship on the financing.

The asset includes 778 parking spaces and four elevators. According to CommercialEdge, the market has a population density of 3,450 people per square mile and a compound population growth rate of 1.2 percent.

Raleigh’s office market is transforming

“Today’s office tenants are gravitating toward energized and activated mixed-use destinations that prioritize connectivity, entertainment and hospitality, as well as offer the long-term appeal of having a curated mix of retail and restaurants right outside the office,” Kimarie Ankenbrand, managing director at JLL, told Commercial Property Executive.

“Raleigh’s office market is entering a transformative period, driven by the elongated pause of new development breaking ground and robust tenant demand for the newer and activated product,” Ankenbrand said. “Last quarter, we saw some of the strongest levels of leasing activity in highly amenitized, Class A office buildings. Looking ahead, we expect competition for existing Class A and trophy office space to increase as the market awaits the delivery of new product.”

According to Arnold Siegmund, landlord representative principal at Avison Young, mixed-use properties with Class A office space like Smoky Hollow continue to perform extremely well overall as tenants are looking to be in the center of the action with everything at their fingertips.

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“The Raleigh office market has also benefited from North Carolina’s population boom, one of the five fastest-growing states in the country, with the Raleigh-Cary population increasing by 0.7 percent over the past year,” Siegmund said.

Siegmund added that the Class A office in the Raleigh-Durham market is taking center stage as trophy assets seek 65.1 percent more in rent than Class A assets for marginally better amenities and greater product quality.

“Smoky Hollow benefits from a high-quality local landlord, direct access to various retail and entertainment options to attract workers into the office, and a desirable location near Raleigh’s urban core and extensive workforce,” Siegmund said.

The transactions highlight the strength of the economy in the Raleigh market, according to Marc DeLuca, regional president & CEO, Eastern U.S., for KBS.

“Growing companies are gravitating toward high-quality office space with active retail, restaurant and entertainment to support their efforts to attract and retain the best employees,” DeLuca told CPE.

“Well-located, top-tier commercial office properties provide growing companies with a strategic advantage when meeting the workplace needs of both new and current employees.”

A busy year for office leasing

The deal continued a busy year of office leasing in Raleigh.

In late September, KBS Realty Advisors and Kane Realty Corp. inked two leasing agreements totaling 31,659 square feet at Bank of America Tower, a Class A office building.

Intelligent asset management solutions provider Brightly Software by Siemens signed a 28,658-square-foot agreement. The company will establish its new global headquarters on an entire building floor, also home to Siemens Industry Inc.

In late July, a joint venture between Edgewater Ventures and Northridge Capital purchased Landmark at North Hills, a two-building Class A office campus totaling 166,653 square feet.

JLL Capital Markets negotiated on behalf of the seller, BGO, which worked on behalf of an institutional investor. According to CommercialEdge, the office buildings changed hands for $21.3 million. The same source shows that Sun Life Financial originated a $14.8 million acquisition loan for the buyer.

Landmark at North Hills includes two five-story office properties at 4601 Six Forks Road, connected via a sky bridge. The office properties have four passenger elevators and 830 vehicle parking spots. Initially completed in 1984, the office property underwent significant renovations in 2014 and now features recently upgraded amenities and a technology-enabled central courtyard.

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