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byline: Paula C. Squires

Gabe’s signs a lease for a store in Roanoke


Gabe’s, a private fashion retailer headquartered in Morgantown, W. Va., has signed a lease for a 33,712-square-foot store at the New Valley View Shops in Roanoke.

According to H&R Retail, a retail-only brokerage firm in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore metropolitan area, the store will occupy the former HH Gregg store and is scheduled to open later this year. It’s located at 1920 Valley View Blvd., NW. 

Ray Schupp, a principal of H&R Retail, represented Gabe’s in the lease transaction with the owner Southeast Holdings LLC.  

Founded in 1961, Gabes operates 74 stores nationally.

Kotarides Holdings acquires Chesapeake Square Mall for $12.9 million

Chesapeake Square Mall just got a new lease on life. Virginia Beach-based Kotarides Holdings purchased the 29-year-old mall for $12.9 million earlier this month and wants to revive its reputation as a destination regional mall.

The 613,809-square-foot enclosed mall is anchored by J.C. Penney, Burlington Coat Factory and Target stores and Cinemark Chesapeake Square. Target and Cinemark own their spaces.  With a current occupancy rate of 58 percent, the mall has about 100 stores and kiosks.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for Kotarides,” says Charles Einwick, director of finance for Kotarides Holdings.  With its strong set of anchor tenants, “We believe there’s a lot of potential,” he added, during an interview with Virginia Business.

Kotarides is considering ramping up events at the mall as a way to drive more traffic.  “The retail landscape is evolving, and you’ve got to be thoughtful. If you have a good location, things will work out. You just have to adapt to what’s going on today,” Einwick says.

The mall, built in 1989, went on the market last summer.  It was turned over to a special servicing company in 2015 and sold back to the lender following a foreclosure sale in April 2016.

Kotarides Developers, a real estate development firm that specializes in multi-family, single family, and mixed-use acquisition and development, is familiar with the Western Branch area — where the mall is located — because the company has two other projects there.

It developed the Clairmont at Jolliff Landing, a 304-unit luxury apartment community now in the leasing stage. The other project is the Townhomes at Jolliff Landing, a community of 180 townhomes that will be priced in the mid $200,000 range. The first phase of construction is complete, and site work has started on a second phase. Both projects are located off Portsmouth Boulevard west of I-664, on the other side of the interstate from the mall.

Proximity to I-664 makes the mall accessible to many areas of Hampton Road.  “We feel there’s a good future for this location,” says Einwick. Plus, he says Kotarides was happy with the mall’s price tag.  According to Einwick, the mall’s assessed value was about $49 million. 

Asked if Kotarides plans renovations, Einwick says the company is evaluating its options. “We want to make it a destination for Chesapeake and Hampton Roads residents and have it be a fun destination for families. Over the next six months we plan to really engage with the community and tenants and get a sense for what everyone thinks would be best for this property.”

Inn at Little Washington retains top rating for 30th consecutive year

The Inn at Little Washington, the only AAA five-diamond restaurant in Virginia, earned the top rating again this year for the 30th consecutive time. It’s the longest tenured five-diamond restaurant in AAA’s history.

The distinction, announced by AAA on Wednesday, comes as a sweet reward during the Inn’s 40th-year celebration. It means that the Inn, located in the town of Washington in Rappahannock County, is once again in the top 0.2 percent of the more than 31,000 restaurants rated by AAA.

“Not only is the tenure of the Inn at Little Washington’s award impressive, but the fact that it is one of only 68 restaurants in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean which earned a AAA Five Diamond Rating for 2018 demonstrates that it is absolutely one of the best of the best in its class and a true culinary experience,” Martha Mitchell Meade, manager public and government relations for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said in a statement.

Patrick O'Connell, chef and proprietor for the inn, praised his staff upon receiving the honor. “Congratulations to our dedicated and hardworking team …  We look forward to living up to and surpassing the expectations that this award brings and thank AAA for creating such a powerful incentive for excellence in the hospitality field.”

The Inn also was recognized on Tuesday by The Forbes Travel Guide for receiving two Five Star Awards, one for the restaurant and one for the hotel, for the 29th consecutive year.  The Inn is one of only 199 hotels worldwide to receive this honor.

Meanwhile, AAA added eight restaurants to its 2018 Five Diamond list in America.

To qualify for its highest rating, AAA said a restaurant must  “consistently provide leading-edge cuisine of the finest ingredients, uniquely prepared by an acclaimed chef and served by expert service staff in extraordinary surroundings.”

The automotive and travel organization noted that five-diamond restaurants have evolved to meet the changing expectations of diners. “Guests want to learn about cooking techniques, ingredient sourcing and the latest trends. They are looking for a wide-ranging dining experience that includes being educated and entertained.  No longer does world-class necessarily mean formal attire and opulent surroundings,” Michael Petrone, director, AAA Inspections & Diamond Ratings, said in a statement.

While some five diamond restaurants still have lavish surroundings, others offer counter seating or chef’s tables overlooking or surrounding the cooking area. The eight new restaurants added to the 2018 Five Diamond list this year are:

•  Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare  – New York City
•  Manresa – Los Gatos, Calif.
•  McCrady’s – Charleston, S.C.
•  Pineapple and Pearls – Washington, D.C.
•  TEMPO Contemporary Cuisine by Martin Berasategui  – Cancun, Mexico.
•  The Catbird Seat – Nashville, Tenn.
•  Topper’s – Nantucket, Mass.
•  Vetri – Philadelphia

Only 2.1 percent of AAA inspected restaurants, or 665, made the AAA Four Diamond list for 2018.  In Virginia, the Williamsburg Inn’s Rockefeller Room restaurant was among 14 Virginia restaurants that earned the rating, with the award coming in the same year that the Inn achieved AAA’s five diamond status.

Virginia’s other AAA four-diamond restaurants include Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Fossett’s in Middleburg , LeMaire and Shagbark in Richmond and The Old Mill Room in Charlottesville, which is currently closed for renovations.

 

Roanoke Valley office occupancy rate is 84 percent for 2017, according to report

New leases in Roanoke’s Central Business District have helped stabilize the Roanoke Valley’s office occupancy rate, according to an annual office market survey by Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group.

The 31st survey reported an occupancy rate of 84 percent in 2017. 

“Occupancy rates in the Roanoke Valley have strengthened in the Central Business District from 85 percent to 88 percent year over year. The strongest increase in several years is due largely to recent announcements of three new leases in Franklin Plaza and One Ten Franklin office buildings,” Dennis Cronk, president and CEO of Roanoke-based Poe & Cronk said in a statement.

The leases are Associated Asphalt, 19,632 square feet; Atlantic Credit and Finance, 54,000 square feet; and Power School, 40,000 square feet. The 113,632 square feet of newly leased space is expected to bring about 580 new employees to downtown Roanoke at the intersection of Franklin and Williamson roads.

In the suburban South Business District, occupancy decreased by 2 percent to 80 percent, compared to 2016. The primary impact came from the announcement that Metis Holdings acquired the former Allstate Insurance building on Electric Road and would be occupying 75,000 square feet of the 165,000 square feet.

This district was impacted by the closing of ITT Technical Institute and Liberty Medical at Lee-Hi Business Center, which added 67,000 square feet to the available inventory.

Occupancy in another suburban area, the North Business District, increased by 95,396 square feet, equal to 2 percent year over year. The largest impact came from a number of new leases at The Park at Valley Pointe and Valley Court.

“The increase in consumer confidence and demand for quality office space will continue to produce positive results in the office market in 2018,” said Cronk.  “However, we must keep in mind the increase in the number of new employees moving into downtown reduces the number of accessible monthly parking spaces. This lack of monthly parking could have a negative impact moving into 2018 and beyond.” 

Poe & Cronk developed Roanoke’s original office market survey in 1987 and has conducted it annually using consistent criteria and methods of reporting. The survey incorporates data covering more than 100 non-governmental office buildings measuring 10,000 square feet or more.

Combined Properties secures $115.4 million in financing for NoVa project

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF) announced $115.4 million in construction financing and preferred equity Wednesday for a 551,000-square-foot, mixed-use residential and retail development in Fairfax.

The project by developer Combined Properties Inc. would be known as Scout on the Circle. It would include three buildings: a 54,000-square-foot, single-story grocery store with frontage on Fairfax Boulevard/Route 50 and Blake Lane/Route 655 along with two five-story luxury apartment buildings. The 400 units would be built above ground-floor retail of about 29,000 square feet.

The property will be located a mile from the Vienna Metro station, 3.6 miles from George Mason University campus and about 20 miles from Washington, D.C.

In addition to the retail component and transit-oriented location, apartment amenities would include a lobby lounge with coffee bar, business center, clubroom with fireplace, fitness center and outdoor dog park. The community also will offer two outdoor courtyards with a swimming pool, grilling areas, fire pits, outdoor dining areas and an outdoor ping-pong table. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2021.

The HFF team representing Combined Properties included Susan Carras, Walter Coker, Brian Crivella, John Owendoff and Jordan Lex.

Combined Properties, which has offices in Washington, D.C., and Beverly Hills, Calif., has a $1 billion portfolio of 39 retail and mixed-use properties totaling 4.8 million square feet and a $1.4 billion development pipeline in the Washington and Southern California metro areas.

Global logistics company renews 150,000-square-foot lease in Suffolk

PGS USA LLC has renewed a 150,000-square-foot lease for industrial space at 103 Industrial Blvd. in Suffolk.  The global company provides logistics and warehousing services for a broad range of commodities. Charles Dickinson of Harvey Lindsay Commercial Real Estate in Norfolk represented the tenant in this transaction.

 

In other transactions for Harvey Lindsay in Hampton Roads:

 

Ferguson Enterprises Inc. leased 51,360 square feet of industrial space at 2555 Ellsmere Ave. in Norfolk. Charles Dickinson handled lease negotiations.

 

 

 

Former Perdue Farms property in Emporia is on the market

S. L. Nusbaum Realty Co. has been named the exclusive listing agent for the former Perdue Farms USDA refrigerated food processing facility in Emporia.

The property, at 180 W. Pleasant Shade Drive, is comprised of four industrial buildings totaling 239,373 square feet. It’s situated on 45.4 acres in Greensville County.

The property is zoned M-1 (industrial) and is located within a foreign trade zone and hub zone. Nusbaum’s Michael Zarpas will provide representation services.

 

Summit View Business Park in Rocky Mount welcomes first tenant

 

ValleyStar Credit Union will be the first business tenant at Rocky Mount’s new Summit View Business Park.

Franklin County announced Tuesday that ValleyStar is investing $5.2 million to build a new administrative campus on seven acres. The project is expected to create 10 additional jobs, with a total of 32 jobs at the new location.

According to Franklin County, the new jobs will pay an average annual salary and benefits of nearly $70,000, which is significantly higher than current prevailing wages and benefits in the county. ValleyStar plans to build a 15,000-square-foot building on the site with plans to expand.

The first phase of the business park’s construction, estimated at $9.7 million, is expected to be completed by June. It includes creating two building pad sites, extending utilities and constructing an access road connecting U.S. 220. Eventually the 550-acre project will include pavilions, athletic fields, a BMX bicycle course, tourist visitor center and multiuse trails, in addition to business and industrial sites.
Franklin County is supporting the project by transferring the property at no cost to the credit union, which also is receiving a $40,000 grant from the Tobacco Region Opportunity Fund.

ValleyStar, based in Martinsville, serves Southwest and Central Virginia and north central North Carolina. The credit union has $380 million in assets with more than 40,000 members. It operates nine branch offices in Collinsville, Danville, Martinsville, Roanoke, Rocky Mount, South Boston and Waynesboro.

Bristol Development opens first phase of new multifamily community in Goochland County


 
Bristol Development Group, a Nashville,Tenn.-based multifamily developer, has opened the first phase of its newest community in Goochland County.

Sixteen townhomes are open at 2000 West Creek.  A second townhomes building will open in a couple of weeks, with the first large building scheduled to open in mid- to late-April. When totally built out, the more than $50 million project will have a total of 373 apartments with 176 one-bedroom units and 197 two-bedroom units.

Located off Broad Branch Drive, the community is within walking distance of Hardywood’s new West Creek brewery, which will celebrate its grand opening in April. It's also close to the Richmond Striker’s West Creek Field Complex, Kindred Spirit Brewing, Capital One’s West Creek campus and CarMax’s headquarters. This part of Goochland County also is close to Interstate 64 and Route 288.

Amenities include wood-grain plank flooring, kitchens with stainless steel appliances, in-unit washer and dryers and balconies in select units.There's also a clubhouse with a kitchen, a fitness /yoga center, rooftop deck, climate-controlled storage units, dog park and pet spa with grooming stations, wi-fi throughout the community, bike storage areas and a game room with pool tables. Rents range from $1,000-$2,600 a month.

Bristol Development has done several other projects in Norfolk and Richmond, including The Row at Ghent in Norfolk and Bristol Village at Charter Colony in Midlothian. It’s also the developer behind the proposed Canopy at Ginter Park, a controversial project now under construction on Richmond’s North Side.

The $50 million, 301-unit complex is being built on 34 acres of undeveloped land along Brook Road that is owned Union Presbyterian Seminary. Neighboring residents have tried to stop the project, filing a lawsuit that was dismissed last summer.

A 79,880-square-foot office building in Tysons sells for $6.4 million


A 79,880-square-foot office building at Tysons that’s close to a Metro station has a new owner who plans to convert it into a self-storage facility.
The Washington, D.C., office of Avison Young announced the sale of the building to the Young Group, based in Falls Church.  The purchase price was $6.4 million.
Overseeing the sale was Rob Walters, Chip Ryan, John Kevill and Jim Kornick, principals at Avison Young.


The vacant, six-story building is located at 1764 Old Meadow Lane, less than a half mile from the McLean Metro station. It offers access from I-495 and Route 123, with visibility from I-495.
The property sits on about 1.9 acres of land that had been rezoned to permit up to 225,000 square feet of office space or up to 260,000 square feet of high-rise residential space.


“This building attracted multiple offers from investors and developers seeking office, multifamily or storage space in a convenient, highly visible location,” Ryan said in a statement.


The new owner is opting for a self-storage project, because there already are many office and multifamily projects going up around Tysons but very little self-storage space. 
Average rents for self-storage in the Tysons market are in the $27 to $28 per-square-foot range, higher than rents for Class B and C office space. 
While it could make sense to redevelop the site in the future, for now the Young Group said it is going ahead with plans for self-storage.