Retail Property News RSS

$135M Financing Secured for 1MSF Yonkers Shopping Center

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

It's almost like the good old days of 2007 when loans over $100 million for commercial real estate practically rained from the sky. Undeniably, those times have not returned, but news that Brooks Shopping Center L.L.C., owner of the 1 million square-foot Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers, N.Y., has gotten its hands on a $135 million first mortgage to finance the property's redevelopment certainly brings back good memories.

Economy Watch: No Rush to Build More Houses

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

U.S. housing starts posted a gain in September, but only a modest one,pointing to a still-modest rate of recovery for the overall economy.According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the rate of new homestarted inched upward by 0.5 percent during the month to a seasonally adjustedrate of about 590,000 units. Ever-optimistic economists, it seems, wereexpecting more.

Manhattan Retail Hit Hard in '09, But Turnaround on Tap

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

It's been a rough year for retail, even in tony Manhattan. The crumbling of Wall Street in the fourth-quarter of 2008 spurred the downward spiral of the market and the recession just added salt to the wound, according to a third quarter report by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services.

Retail Vacancies Hit New Highs

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

Even as the economy shows signs of having turned a corner, serious hurdles remain for the retail sector. And the latest figures from the third quarter reveal that vacancy rates at U.S. malls and shopping centers have risen to multi-year highs.

Chain Stores See Rare Uptick

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

U.S. chain store sales in September increased 0.1 percent on a same-store basis compared with the same period last year, representing the strongest reading since July 2008, when sales increased 3.3 percent, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Economy Watch: Blackstone Takes Amusement Parks

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

It seemed like an announcement from the good old days (2006, say): Blackstone Group L.P. is buying a sizable chunk of real estate. But it was in fact on Wednesday when the buyout giant told the world that it was going to spent some $2.7 billion to buy Anheuser-Busch InBev NV�s amusement parks.

Economy Watch: Retail Group Sees Less Holiday Spending

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

In contrast to the mildly positive forecast by the International Council of Shopping Centers about the upcoming retail holiday sales season (1 percent growth), as covered recently by CPE,, the National Retail Federation is predicting a mildly negative holiday sales season for the nation�s put-upon retailers�namely, a 1 percent decline during November and December, as compared with the same two months in 2008.

$49M Exxon Deal a Rarity in Quiet Seal-Leaseback Market

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

A convenient method for property owners to secure a quick cash infusion, sale-leaseback transactions were plentiful just a couple of years ago, but now it is usually only the more financially burdened of sellers that resort to accepting lowball sale-leaseback offers. Whether White Oak Petroleum L.L.C. falls into the aforementioned category is unclear, but the Springfield, Va.-based company just sold 36 Exxon gasoline station and convenience store properties for $49 million in a sale-leaseback transaction with Jericho, N.Y.-based Getty Realty Corp.

Economy Watch - ICSC Predicts Slightly Improved Holiday Season for Retailers

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

The International Council of Shopping Centers expects holiday sales among U.S. retailers to rise 1 percent this year compared with last year, when retail sales fell off a cliff (down 5.8 percent compared with the pre-recession holiday season of 2007). It's a slightly more optimistic forecast than some other organizations that track retail activity, such as the flat 2009 holiday sales predicted by Retail Forward, as previously reported by CPE.

Report: Rents on Half the World's Preeminent Shopping Streets Plummet to 24-Year Low

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

Fifth Avenue. Rodeo Drive. Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Event the most acclaimed retail strolls in the world have not escaped the ravages of the global economic crisis, according to Cushman & Wakefield's annual Main Streets Across the World report. Surveying 274 leading shopping streets in 60 countries, the real estate services firm found that 54 percent of the group experienced a decline in rents; a decline that marks the largest drop in retail rents ever recorded since the report' s inception 24 years ago.

Economy Watch - New Home Sale Eke Out August Uptick

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

New home sales were up in August according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, but only by 0.7 percent when compared with July. New-home sales were 429,000 in August, up from 426,000 in July; the August 2009 total was 3.4 percent less than in the same month in 2008. Reportedly economists, as polled by Thomson Reuters, were surprised that sales weren't more robust. But apparently a technical recovery from a recession isn't a terrific impetus to run out and buy a house.

Savills Adds Monahan to NYC Office

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

David Monahan has joined U.K-based international real estate advisor Savills as a senior vice president in the firm�s New York City office.

IHS: Construction Spending Will Keep Falling

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

Commercial, multi-family construction to be hit hard through 2010, followed by recovery

Top Performers: Retail & Hotel REITs?

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

Retail and hotel REITs are prevalent among this week's top performers, despite those sectors' current difficulties.

Blockbuster Mulls Closing 960 Stores

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

Money-losing Blockbuster, the nation's biggest movie retailer, could get about 20 percent smaller if it shuts down 960 of its 4,400 U.S. stores, as it said it might do in a regulatory filing Tuesday.

HFF Nets $23M in Acquisition Financing for NJ Retail Buy

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

The New Jersey office of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. has arranged $23.8 million in acquisition financing for Neptune Plaza Shopping Center, a grocery-anchored shopping center in Neptune, N.J.

European Shopping Center Development to Hit 8-Year Low in 2011

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

The global recession has made its rounds, putting a damper on shopping center construction around the world, and Europe has been no exception. According to a new report by real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield, the decline in construction has yet to reach its low point.

Economy Watch - Dollar Stores Still U.S. Retail Winners

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

Dollar stores, one of the few categories of retail winner during 2009 (besides Wal-Mart), keep piling on the positive numbers. Dollar General Co. reported numbers for its second fiscal quarter on Thursday, turning in 8.6 percent increase in same-store sales compared with 2Q08. Its quarterly net income increased 238 percent.

Macerich Continues Deleveraging, Sells $116M Stake in Denver-Area Mall

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

Like so many REITs these days, Macerich Partnership L.P. has instituted a plan to reduce debt by disposing of assets, and the firm's recent sale of a majority interest in the FlatIron Crossing Mall in Broomfield, Colo., to GI Partners constitutes its most recent move. The two companies have formed a joint venture that calls for GI Partners to give Macerich $116 million in cash in exchange for a 75 percent stake in the 1.4 million-square foot super regional mall.

Economy Watch - Retail Sales Drop, But Only a Little

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:05:02 UTC

Retailers are already looking ahead to the holiday season with some trepidation, but on the other hand, the back-to-school sales season wasn't a complete disaster for most of the big retailers. Same-store sales for 32 of the largest chains in August 2009 were down compared with last year, certainly; some 2 percent. But in retail these days, down a little counts as reasonably good news.