Finance & Capital Management

Chicago — Jones Lang LaSalle’s Capital Markets team has announced the completion of a sale-leaseback transaction for a portion of Walgreens Corporate Campus in Deerfield, Ill.

Realty Income purchased the 38-acre property with six buildings spanning 574,605-sq.-ft. and secured a long-term lease from Walgreens. The terms have gone undisclosed.

Los Angeles — The U.S. commercial real estate market continued a slow, but steady, recovery in the third quarter of 2013, according to the latest analysis from CBRE Group.

In the quarter, the retail availability rate declined 10 basis points to 12.2% and had fallen 70 basis points from one year ago.

New York — Planet Fitness has net leased a freestanding building on Fulton Street, a major retail corridor in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. From basement to second floor, the three level building will encompass 22,500 sq. ft. with 7,500 sq. ft. on the ground floor. The second floor is currently under construction, and the entire building is being renovated to fit the gym concept.

Crown Retail represented Planet Fitness, while Winick Realty Group represented the landlord, Infinity Real Estate LLC.

New York -- Luxury department store retailer Neiman Marcus Group plans to invest in a $100 million project designed to drive sales across all its retail channels: physical stores, mobile and online, the Dallas Business Journal reported.

The report, which cited a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, described the project as a multi-year initiative to develop a merchandising platform across all brands and channels.

New York -- U.S. chain-store sales posted a gain of 4.0% for the fiscal month of September on a year-over-year basis according to a tally compiled by the International Council of Shopping Centers. Excluding gasoline sales, the September tally would actually be +5.1%.

New York -- Whole Foods Market has signed a lease for a 29,000-sq-ft. store in Newark, N.J., according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

The store is expected to be an anchor tenant in a 112-year-old landmark building that was once occupied by the Hahne & Co. department store. The building is being converted into a multi-use space that will feature apartments, retail and office space.
The project is a joint partnership between the Newark-based Hanini Group and L&M Development Partners of New York.

New York -- Retailers reported somewhat disappointing same-store sales for September.  While only a handful of chains still report their monthly revenues, the tepid results of those that do raised concerns about the upcoming holiday season.
    
Gap Inc. reported that its same-store sales in September 2013 net sales were down 3% versus a 6% increase for September 2012. Net sales were flat compared with last year, totaling $1.46 billion compared with net sales of $1.45 billion for the year-ago period.

New York - The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index moved down again in September, showing the second month of small declines. The Index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.

Seattle -- REI announced it will open a 22,000-sq.-ft. store at Keizer Station, Keizer, Ore., this coming spring.

“REI prides itself on expert employees and quality products that enhance anyone’s trip into the great outdoors,” said Kevin House, REI retail director for the Sierra-Cascade district. “The new store at Keizer Station will extend our services and product expertise to 13,300 eager and loyal members in Salem, who previously traveled more than 30 miles to shop at an REI store.”

Fremont, Calif. – The Men’s Wearhouse has appointed B. Michael Becker to its board of directors. Becker has served as a director at Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. since January 2008 and is chairman of its audit committee.

Becker spent his career as an audit partner for Ernst & Young LLP from 1979 until his retirement in 2006. He was a senior consultant on airline risks to Pay Pal, Inc. from August 2008 to November 2009.