Editors’ Weekly News Roundup September 30 – October 4
Regional stories comprised the five most-read roster on Connect CRE for the week ending Oct. 3, with two originating in the DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) region. At the top of the roster, a New York City-based retail REIT operating in the Boston-Washington, DC corridor (with a lone property in Puerto Rico) added two tenants to the largest of its four properties in the DC/Baltimore region, Woodmore Towne Centre in Glenarden, MD.
Woodmore Towne Centre in DC Adds to Retail Line-Up reported Urban Edge Properties’ success in filling two “category voids” in its tenant mix. Pet Supplies Plus adds the pet category to the 712,000-square-foot property, while Turning Natural is a juice concept expanding outside the District of Columbia.
In the week’s second-most-read story, the ownership is based in the DMV—specifically, Baltimore—and the expansion occurred via acquisition rather than leasing. Continental Realty Corporation (CRC) has a portfolio of apartment and commercial properties on its home turf but has also expanded far beyond the Mid-Atlantic region.
As detailed in CRC Acquires MF Near Hilton Head for $44M, the owner-operator has made its second multifamily acquisition in the greater Bluffton-Hilton Head Island, SC area. Renamed Bristol at New Riverside, the 166-unit Bluffton property is located in the New Riverside master-planned development.
Our third most-read story moves to the West Coast and the industrial sector. Industry members quoted in Newsom Signs Bill Imposing Design and Build Standards on Warehouse Projectssaid the bill, AB 98, was rushed through the voting process in the final days of this year’s legislative session and will have “sweeping negative impacts on the supply chain, jobs and greenhouse gas emissions” in California.
Although NAIOP SoCal opposed the measure and expressed disappointment that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law, the association last week thanked Newsom for signing another commercial real estate-related bill. This one doubles the notice period on informing developers of local zoning changes and was sponsored by NAIOP SoCal.
On the subject of development, the week’s fourth most-read story saw a developer receiving good news from lawmakers. Crown Community Development (CCD) received approval from the Village of Sugar Grove, IL for The Grove, a 760-acre master-planned community. Readers of Developer Secures Approval for 760-Acre Master-Planned Communitylearned that this was the largest project of its kind to secure entitlements in the Chicago area in 20 years.
The development proposed by CCD will feature residential areas and a town center. It will also feature designated commercial zones for retail, community services, healthcare, e-commerce distribution and data centers.
Bringing the top five almost full circle was the fifth most-read story of the past week. As with the top story, the key player was a retail REIT headquartered in the New York metro area, this time on Long Island.
The REIT was Kimco Realty, which acquired the Waterford Lakes shopping center, a transaction we reported in Renowned Orlando Retail Center Sells for $322M. The seller was Washington Property Group, and the price of the 25-year-old power center was by far the highest amount paid for a retail center in Orlando this year.