May 12 , 2020
Shopping Center
& Owner News
The Shoppes on University in Tamarac Sold for $14.4M ($154) An affiliate of Moran Capital sold the 93,599 square-foot center to an LLC managed by Miami based investor Alberto Dayan, on March 6 th for $14.4 Million. The center is anchored by a Planet Fitness and a medical facility. CBRE was the broker on the deal. (Biz Journals 3/11) [Read]

Village Green Center in Wellington Sold for $35.5M ($504) Ward Real Estate Services sold the 70,381 square-foot center to Weingarten Realty Investors on March 11 th for $35.5 Million. In addition to Trader Joe's, tenants include Amerant Bank, Jimmy Brook's Pizza Parlor, PDQ, and Buffalo Wild Wings. (Biz Journals 3/19) [Read]

Palmetto Plaza in Miami Gardens Sold for $33.6M ($177) Rand Real Estate sold the 186,095 square-foot center to Miami-based CORE Investment Management on March 17 th for $33.6 Million. The center is anchored by Aldi and a Dollar Tree. (Biz Journals 3/17) [Read]

Publix to Anchor Development in Jacksonville's Northside Publix has signed a lease to anchor Northpoint Village, a proposed retail development in Jacksonville’s Northside. The first phase of development will total 64,987 square-feet of retail, including the 48,387-square-foot Publix store, and is expected to be completed by Summer 2022. A second phase, for which the start date is unknown, would include an additional 64,000 square feet of retail, medical and/or office space. (Biz Journals 4/23) [Read]

Federal Realty, Kimco, and Phillips Edison Launch Curbside Pickup Programs Three landlords are launching curbside, contactless-exchange programs in anticipation of a phased reopening for shopping center tenants in the coming weeks. Singular, reliable, centralized services allow landlords to help small-business tenants get back on their feet and keep pace with the evolving customer. (ICSC 5/04) [Read]


Market News

Governor Adds Palm Beach County to State's Phase One of Re-opening Restaurants and retailers in Palm Beach County will be permitted to reopen Monday, May 11 th , at limited capacity, joining the state's first phase of reopening plans. Businesses will be allowed to open at 25% of their indoor capacity. As for outside seating, restaurants must implement social distancing of 6-feet between tables. (Biz Journals 5/8) [Read]
 
Miami-Dade, Broward Targeting Possible Mid-May Partial Re-opening Miami-Dade and Broward Counties are hoping to reopen most businesses sometime during the month of May. Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez stated that his target date to reopen is May 18 th , although the date is not set in stone. Neither county gave specifics about what exactly would be permitted to reopen, though it will likely include restaurants and retail businesses. Beaches, nightclubs, movie, and other type of theaters would remain closed. (Local 10 5/9) [Read]

US Unemployment Rate Likely to Climb The U.S. unemployment rate may get worse before it begins to get better. The unemployment rate surged to 14.7% in April, climbing above the post-World War Two record of 10.8%, which occurred in November 1982. The White House is pushing for a payroll tax cut to combat the issue. (Reuters 5/10) [Read]

Instacart Is Adding 250,000 More Shoppers Instacart plans to add 250,000 more workers to its shopper army. In a matter of weeks, grocery delivery has gone from being a luxury tool to a boom industry. But the boom hasn't been without its hiccups. Pandemic-fueled consumer demand for grocery delivery is so high that Instacart and other services are too overwhelmed. Some providers have been unable to deliver for days at a time (Instacart) or have stopped taking on new customers altogether (Amazon Prime Now). (Progressive Grocer 4/23) [Read]
Retail News
Sprouts Opens Second Jacksonville Area Store Sprouts Farmers Market opened its second grocery store in the Jacksonville area on April 29 th . The new 30,000 square-foot store, located at 12675 Beach Blvd., will anchor the Tamaya Market – a 75,000-square-foot development by ICI Homes and part of the Tamaya master-planned community.
(Biz Journals 3/23) [Read]

Hoots, a Fast-Casual Affiliate of Hooters, Opens First Florida Store Hoots, a fast-casual restaurant chain affiliated with the Hooters brand, has opened its first Florida location. The store is in St. Petersburg, at 204 1st Avenue North. (Business Observer 5/4) [Read]

Pelton Opens First Jacksonville Area Store Peloton, the maker of home bikes and treadmills, is opening a storefront in the St. Johns Town Center in Jacksonville. Peloton has 78 showrooms in the U.S., including five in Florida. This is its first in Jacksonville. The Town Center, owned by Simons Property Group, has reopened with limited hours. (Biz Journals 5/5) [Read]

Publix Sales Skyrocket in Q1 Publix's sales soared in the first quarter as customers flooded grocery stores in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic. First-quarter revenue of $11.2 billion, a more than 16% increase from $9.7 billion in the first quarter of 2019. Same-store sales were up more than 14% compared to 2019. (Biz Journals 5/5) [Read]

Target Gleans 275% Growth in Digital Channels Target has seen record-setting digital growth -- more than 100% across Target's online channels in March. Month-to-date for April, digital comparable sales have increased by more than 275%. In store, quarter-to-date comparable-sales grew more than 7%. Food, beverage, and essentials were up 20%, hardlines increased more than 16%, home saw slight growth, and apparel and accessories decreased more than 20%. (Progressive Grocer 4/23) [Read]

Papa John’s Reports Strongest Month in Company History Papa John’s first quarter performance streak continues into the second quarter with 26.9% same-store sales growth for the North American market in April, the strongest month in the company’s history in terms of sales and average unit volume. (NRN 5/6) [Read]

Starbucks Re-opened 85% of Company Stores Starbucks reopened 85% of its company stores last week with modified operations and hours, and with more than 90% of stores to be fully in operation by June. Starbucks will also be adding new features to their app to make “the new normal” easier for social distancing consumers, including optimization for curbside pickup and entryway handoff. (NRN 5/5) [Read]

Gold’s Gym Files Chapter 11 Gold's Gym has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Its gyms will stay open as it looks to restructure during the coronavirus pandemic. In April, Gold's Gym permanently closed about 30 locations during the COVID-19 outbreak. The company said the filing will not have further impact on its current operations and plans to emerge from bankruptcy by August. (CBS 5/5) [Read]

J.Crew Files Chapter 11 J. Crew Group has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with $400 million in debtor-in-possession financing from its lenders to help it restructure. The retailer reached an agreement with lenders holding about 71% of its term loan and about 78% of its IPCo Notes, under which they will convert about $1.6 billion of the company's debt into equity. (Market Watch 5/4) [Read]

Neiman Marcus Files Chapter 11 Neiman Marcus Group filed under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy, and said it has entered into a restructuring support agreement with a significant majority of its creditors, who will become the majority owners of the company. The binding agreement is with holders of more than two-thirds of the company's outstanding debt. (Retail Dive 5/7) [Read]

Nordstrom to Close Two Florida Stores Permanently As Nordstrom begins to reopen its stores, it also is closing some permanently. Nordstrom detailed plans to reopen its stores in a “phased approach.” In the same announcement, it said planned to permanently close 16 of its 116 full-line stores, two of which are in Florida. The two Florida stores are located at The Waterside Shops in Naples, and at Dadeland Mall in Miami. (Chain Store Age 5/5) [Read]

Lord & Taylor to Liquidate its Stores as Soon as They Re-open Lord & Taylor plans to liquidate the inventory in its 38 stores as soon as they are reopened following their temporary shuttering due to COVID-19. The retailer is getting ready for a bankruptcy process from which it does not expect to emerge. (Chain Store Age 5/6) [Read]

Sweet Tomatoes is Closing for Good Sweet Tomatoes, known for its buffet of soups and salads, says its self-serve business model has no place in a post Covid-19 world and that it is closing for good. San Diego-based Garden Fresh, the owner of Sweet Tomatoes, plans to file for bankruptcy. Most federal regulations regarding reopening recommend against self-serve items for the foreseeable future. There were 23 Sweet Tomatoes locations in Florida. (Biz Journals 5/8) [Read]
Until Next Time!