Real Estate

Virginia Beach, Va. — Anthropologie has signed a 9,431-sq.-ft. lease in The Town Center of Virginia Beach, Va., and expects to open in fourth quarter 2014. The McDevitt Co. represented Anthropologie in the transaction. Divaris Real Estate, which leases The Town Center, represented the landlord, Armada Hoffler Properties.

Oak Brook, Ill. — Retail Properties of America has announced an agreement to acquire six multi-tenant retail assets through the dissolution of its MS Inland joint venture. The joint venture owns the portfolio, with 20% owned by RPAI and 80% owned by RPAI’s partner. RPAI will acquire its partner’s 80% interest in the six properties.

New York — The New York office of Berkadia Commercial Mortgage recently arranged $17.5 million in financing for 631 Wilshire Boulevard, a mixed-use property in Santa Monica, California. The borrowers are Pacshore Partners and GreenOak Real Estate.

The two-year loan came through Berkadia’s proprietary bridge lending program. It features two extension options for one year, a 65% loan-to-value ratio and a 75% loan-to-cost ratio.

New York — RKF has announced that it will lease the entire seventh floor of 521 Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan.

With the expansion RKF will occupy 20,987 sq. ft., roughly 30% more space than the current lease. The expansion will enable the firm to increase its ranks by 25%.

Venice, Fla. — Carrabba’s Italian Grill has signed a long-term ground lease for a 1.31-acre outparcel in the parking lot of the Lowe’s Home Improvement store in Venice, Florida. Carrabba’s plans to begin the construction of a new restaurant immediately, with the grand opening slated for late this year.

Phoenix -- Leslie’s Poolmart announced plans to grand open three retail locations on May 9. The stores are located in: Los Banos, California; Utica, Michigan; and Jackson, Tennessee.

In total, Leslie's plans to open 45 new stores this year, between April and May. With these new stores, Leslie’s will bring its total store count to more than 850 stores nationwide.  

Boca Raton, Fla. -- Office Depot will close at least 400 U.S. stores during the next two years as part of its plan to consolidate operations after its acquisition of OfficeMax last November. The closings were not unexpected since there are many locations where the two brands have stores in close proximity to one another. The retailer also raised its full-year adjusted operating income forecast after reporting better-than-expected first quarter results amid cost cutting efforts.

One topic that’s been on my mind lately is the growing Hispanic market in the U.S., and what its clout and purchasing power will mean for retailers — and, subsequently, for retail real estate — in the years ahead. “Emerging” is probably too mild of a word to describe the Hispanic market — exploding might be more accurate.

Office Depot said it plans to close 400 of its 2,000 stores as it looks to realize efficiencies related to its merger with OfficeMax.

An estimated 150 of the stores will close this year, according to company, which reported first quarter results and continued weakness in same store sales. The company anticipates that the closures will generate annual run-rate synergies of at least $75 million by the end of 2016 and will begin to be accretive to earnings in 2015.

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- On Wednesday, nearly 54 years after its founding in Ypsilanti, Michigan, Domino's Pizza will open the doors to its 11,000th store, in Brantford, Ontario.

"Domino's international growth continues to expand, and I think it is special that we reached this milestone in Canada, the country where the international growth started,” said Mike Schlater, Domino's Pizza of Canada master franchisee. “I am proud to continue serving this community by bringing the 11,000th store to Brantford."