Real Estate

Real estate’s role in portfolio optimization

Real estate plays a key role in optimizing retail store portfolios. Stores must have enough square footage but never too much. Portfolios must also match the number of stores across regions to customer demand. 

“Portfolio optimization means reducing or adding store square footage and matching merchandising and inventory to customer demand in a trade area,” said Kenneth Katz, principal with Houston-based Baker Katz. 

Trademark has invested in two distressed properties, with plans to transform both into top performers

The slow recovery is leading many developers to examine growth alternatives to new development. Consider, for example, Fort Worth, Texas-based Trademark Property Co.’s idea: invest in distressed properties with excellent real estate and redevelop into new and ambitious concepts. Examples include The Shops at Napa Center in Napa, Calif., and Victory Park in Dallas.

New York City has seen an influx of new retail this past year. Everyone has their favorites. Here are mine:

•  Alexander McQueen: The British fashion brand’s new Upper East Side flagship boasts a lavish design that is both strange and utterly romantic, with an attention to detail that mirrors McQueen’s signature stylings. Marble and ornate moldings, black marble floors, black lacquer and brass hanging racks are combined with a soft color palette. (747 Madison Ave.)

Simi Valley, Calif. — Milan Capital Management has acquired the Smart & Final Center in Simi Valley, Calif., for $16.9 million — $170 per square foot Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services represented Milan Capital and the seller, who had owned the property for 45 years.

Purchase, N.Y. — Old Navy has taken a 13,500-sq.-ft. space in Orange Plaza, an 815,000-sq.-ft. power center in Middletown, N.Y., according to National Realty & Development Corp.

A Wal-Mart Supercenter, Kohl’s Department Store, Burlington Coat Factory, Marshalls, Bed Bath & Beyond and The Home Depot anchor the center. Orange Plaza draws shoppers from a 25-mile circle including the Hudson Valley and areas in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

The Woodlands, Texas -- Conn’s has opened two new HomePlus stores in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Laredo, Texas. The new Conn’s HomePlus store format showcases furniture and mattresses in addition to consumer electronics and home appliances.

Conn’s currently operates more than 70 retail locations in Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Matteson, Ill. — Cole Credit Property Trust IV has acquired the 150,045-sq.-ft. Matteson Center in Matteson, Ill., for approximately $19 million. Marshalls, Sports Authority, Ross Dress for Less and PetSmart anchor the community shopping center located in the suburbs south of Chicago.

Mid-America Real Estate Corp. represented the seller, Kimco Realty Corp. in the transaction. Mid-America Real Estate Corporation is a member of Mid-America Real Estate Group www.midamericagrp.com, a ChainLinks affiliate headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.

New York – The Jones Group has reportedly set Dec. 1 as a final deadline for a buyout bid from Sycamore Partners. According to Women’s Wear Daily, with the assistance of Citi Jones Group has gone through an extensive auction process which at times included KKR & Co. and G-III Apparel Group Ltd.