Deals

University Towne Center in Gainesville, Florida, has been sold at auction to Pacific West Land for $2.8 million. Crossman & Company negotiated the deal on behalf of the seller, a south Florida special servicer.   The 18,496-sq.-ft. center is close to the University of Florida campus and to Butler’s sprawling retail complex, which is itself expanding with a town center called The Neighborhoods at Butler.   

McLean, Virginia-based S2 Capital Partners has purchased an 8-acre center on the outskirts of Richmond with plans to build it out to its full potential.   The company paid $12 million for the 52,000-sq.-ft. Stonebridge Marketplace, and principal Rob Seidel told Richmond Biz Sense that it plans to add 7,200-sq.-ft. and 8,400-sq.-ft. buildings to fill out the strip that fronts a 123,000-sq.-ft. Kroger Marketplace.   Current tenants include Firestone, Panda Express, Mattress Firm, Qdoba, and AT&T.

VEREIT has purchased a 10.5-acre Sam’s Club property in Timonium, Maryland—just north of Baltimore — for $18.3 million in cash.   “The seller was able to secure an early lease extension prior to the sale, which created a well-positioned, long-term passive investment for the new ownership,” said Jon Busse, Senior VP at Colliers International, which handled the deal on behalf of the seller, Diamond Timonium LLC.  

Floor & Décor has signed a lease for a 74,200-sq.ft. superstore at the planned Richmond Plaza in Woodbridge, New Jersey. The site is located within the super-regional trade area commanded by General Growth Properties’ Woodbridge Mall.  

Quincy Plaza in Ottumwa, Iowa, was purchased by Beaumont, Texas-based Albanese Cormier Holdings for $5.5 million. Mid-America Real Estate brokered the deal on behalf of a fund managed by Cincinnati-based Phillips Edison.   The 137,389-sq.-ft center is anchored by Kmart, Hobby Lobby, and Rent-A-Center in the southern Iowa retail hub on the Des Moines River. Quincy Plaza is located across the roadway from Target and the Quincy Place Mall.

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Neptune/6th, a redevelopment of the former site of Trump Village Shopping Center and the Royal Palace Baths in Brooklyn’s Coney Island section, has secured leases from CVS and Apple Bank as it looks toward a summer 2017 opening of its first phase. Cammeby’s is the developer.   That phase will include 161,000 sq. ft. of retail, office, and parking in a standalone space across from the old Trump Village site. Three further phases will add 165,000 sq. ft. of retail and parking and a 575-unit residential tower.  

Levin Management president Matthew Harding says 2016 has been an especially active year for new retail leases. Over the past nine months, he reports his company handled leasing activity for more than 500,000 sq. ft. — over 400,000 sq. ft. of that in retail.   

A familiar U.S. retailer will soon make its exit from the U.K. retail scene.    Staples, which operates some 105 stores in the United Kingdom, has agreed to sell its U.K. retail business and operations to Hilco Capital Limited. The use of the Staples brand in the U.K. will be phased out over the coming months.   In May, Staples announced plans to explore strategic alternatives for its European operations as part of its new strategy.