Deals

What Trademark did north of Houston with Market Street Woodlands (above) it intends to do in West Houston with an 82-acre mixed-use town center at the junction of I-10 and Mason Road.   “We believe this site is the next great opportunity in the country to develop a premier regional, mixed-use town center,” said Terry Montesi, CEO, Trademark Property Co. “There is a tremendous retail void in West Houston.”  

Walgreens is ready to shutter up to 1,000 stores, but no one is biting.   In accordance with the closing of its deal to purchase Rite Aid, the Walgreens Boots Alliance must sell or close between 500 and 1,000 of its stores. However, there is a lack of interest among private equity firms, according to an Investopedia article.   Walgreens still expects to move forward with the Rite Aid acquisition, which is slated to close in the second half of this year, the article said.  

Forest City Realty Trust has announced the completion of an agreement with Arlington County, Virginia, to transform Ballston Common Mall in a mixed-use project to be renamed Ballston Quarter.   The public-private partnership will open up the existing enclosed mall, create a public plaza in the space, and add a 406-residence residential tower adjacent to the retail center. The plan also calls for infrastructure improvements including a renovated pedestrian bridge and new landscaping  

Phillips Edison has acquired the Harbour Village Shopping Center in Jacksonville for an estimated $24.9 million, according to the Jacksonville Business Journal.   The center was sold by a joint venture of MMG Equity Partners and Global Fund Investments, which purchased it in a foreclosure sale for $12.6 million in 2011. At that time, Harbour Village was 86% occupied.  

Office Depot Inc. has agreed to sell its European business to an investment group.   The office-supplies retailer is selling its European operation to German investment firm Aurelius Group.   Office Depot Europe operates more than 100 stores in Europe, under such banners as Viking.  

Springfield, Illinois-based Jared Commercial has acquired the Chippewa Center in St. Louis from an investment partnership controlled by Pace Properties. The purchase price was $10.6 million.   The 147,920-sq.-ft. center is located in the densely populated Shrewsbury neighborhood of St. Louis. Chief tenants are Shop ‘n Save, Value City Furniture, and Dollar Tree.   The deal was brokered for Jared Commercial by Mid-America Real Estate.

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Photo: George Fox   Divaris Real Estate has named George Fox VP of sales and leasing at its Virginia Beach office. He will represent both landlords and tenants in North Carolina and Virginia, with a primary focus on the Hampton Roads market.  

Mid-America Real Estate Corp. announced it had brokered the sale of the Macomb Mall Shops in Roseville, Michigan, for $3.6 million.   Lormax Stern Development Company of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, was the seller. The purchaser was an unnamed private developer.   The 8,074-sq.-ft. center, located at the northwest corner of Gratiot Avenue and Masonic Boulevard in Roseville, houses AT&T, Chipotle, and Potbelly’s.

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The nearly 3 million-sq.-ft. American Dream retail and entertainment center in the New Jersey Meadowlands has moved one step closer to completion.   On Thursday, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which owns the site, voted for a second time to issue $1.15 billion in bonds to finance the completion of the long-delayed project after a non-profit group had threatened to file a law suit to block the sale, NorthJersey.com reported.   

A first-of-its kind arrangement has saved Aeropostale.    A consortium made up of Authentic Brands Group (ABG) and two of the nation’s largest real estate companies — General Growth Properties and Simon Property Group — announced it has finalized the acquisition of the teen apparel retailer. It is the first time that mall operators have participated in a deal to acquire a retail chain.