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byline: Paula C. Squires

Merchants Square draws pizza restaurant, winery and interior design shop

 

Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers plans to open in mid-2018 in the shops on Henry Street Shops. With a 3,800-square-foot restaurant and 1,000 square feet of patio area, the Merchants Square restaurant will offer a menu of gourmet pizza, calzones, salads and craft beers.

Earlier this month, The Williamsburg Winery opened at 1,300-square-foot tasting room and wine bar at 427 W. Duke of Gloucester St. The new location follows a successful pop-up tasting room in Merchants Square during the last holiday season. Plans include outdoor seating and tasting flights, wine by the glass and small plates featuring local cheese and charcuterie.

Also coming this fall will be a permanent location for Modvintique Interiors in the Henry Street Shops at 110 S. Henry St. It will be operated interior decorator and designer Debbie McCarter. 

Drew Haynie and Dawn Griggs of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled lease negotiations on behalf of Colonial Williamsburg.

Corporate Office Properties Trust signs long-term lease for 149,0000 square feet in NoVa


Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT) has executed two leases totaling 170,000 square feet for two new developments, including one in Northern Virginia.


COPT said in a news release that it has signed a long-term lease with a subsidiary of an investment-grade Fortune 500 company to deliver a 149,000-square foot building on land the company owns in Northern Virginia. It expects to deliver the building, whose location was not disclosed, in the third quarter of 2018.


COPT, based in Columbia, Md., is an office REIT that owns, manages, develops and acquires office and data center properties in locations that support the U.S. government and its contractors most of whom are engaged in national security, defense and information technology related activities. 


The company also owns a portfolio of office properties in select urban/urban-like submarkets.

Sentara Martha Jefferson purchases land in Charlottesville for $6.2 million

Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville has purchased 21.4 acres of land situated along South Pantops Drive and State Farm Boulevard for $6.2 million, according to Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer.

In announcing the sale Monday, Thalhimer said Sentara bought the land from State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. as a strategic purchase for potential future expansion.

“This was a rare opportunity for Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital to buy such a prominent piece of land in the Charlottesville development area,” John Pritzlaff, vice president at Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, said in a statement. Pritzlaff handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

Wayfair leases 46,275 square feet of industrial space in Chester

Wayfair, an e-commerce retailer for home furnishings and décor, has leased 46,275 square feet of industrial space at River’s Bend in Chester.

According to CBRE| Richmond, the space at 805 Liberty Way will be used for distribution of furniture and home goods as well as the processing of internet-based orders and returns.

“This is Wayfair’s first entry into the Richmond marketplace, and we are pleased they have selected River’s Bend,” Trib Sutton, senior vice president with CBRE|Richmond, said in a statement.

Based in Boston, Wayfair has other locations in California, Utah, Texas, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey and Maine.

Marc Allocca, Matt Anderson and Sutton represented the landlord in the lease.

VCTA hires new vice president of government affairs

The Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association (VCTA) has hired Heidi Schlicher Cook as its vice president of government affairs.

Cook, most recently the director of political operations at the Virginia Realtors Association, will be responsible for managing VCTA’s state government affairs and supporting legislative and regulatory efforts.
 
During her five-year tenure with the statewide Realtors’ group, Cook developed political strategy and managed policy, advocacy and political action committee (PAC) teams to advance the association’s legislative efforts. She also managed annual congressional visits and events, as well as policy-driven social media campaigns and position papers.

Cook earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and a certificate from the International Business Program at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Retail center sells in Blacksburg

Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Capital Markets Group announced the sale Thursday of a newly constructed shopping center located at the main entrance of Virginia Tech. 

The buyer, an institutional investor, and the purchase price were not disclosed.

The 18,316-square-foot center was completed earlier this year. Tenants include a mix of national and regional operators, including Chipotle, Panda Express and Tropical Smoothie Café.

The center is part of a larger, mixed-use University Crossroads development, which includes additional small-shop retail space, a CVS pharmacy and two nationally branded hotels with a total of 250 guest rooms.

Graystone Cos., headed by Virginia Tech alumni Shivon Dosky and Kirk Johnson, are the developers behind University Crossroads.

“This was a rare opportunity for an institutional investor to acquire a well located, trophy asset in a thriving college community.  The interest we received in this property is a testament to the strength of the location and quality tenant mix at the center,” Catharine Spangler, a first vice president with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Capital Markets Group, said in a statement.

According to Thalhimer, the property was acquired on Oct. 25.  Eric Robison and Spangler of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer’s Capital Markets Group completed the transaction. 

Thalhimer’s Jessica J. Gauldin and John Nielsen completed the lease-up of the property. The Thalhimer Commercial Property Services team will manage the asset going forward under the new ownership. Chrissy Price will serve as the portfolio manager.

Three new retailers lease space in Colonial Williamsburg


Three new retailers have signed on with Colonial Williamsburg’s Merchants Square. 

Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers plans to open in mid-2018 in the shops on Henry Street. With a 3,800-square-foot restaurant and 1,000 square feet of patio area, the  restaurant will offer a menu of gourmet pizza, calzones, salads and craft beers.

Earlier this month, The Williamsburg Winery opened a 1,300-square-foot tasting room and wine bar at 427 W. Duke of Gloucester St. The new location follows a successful pop-up tasting room in Merchants Square during the last holiday season. Plans include outdoor seating and tasting flights, wine by the glass and small plates featuring local cheese and charcuterie.

Also coming this fall will be Modvintique Interiors in the Henry Street Shops at 110 S. Henry St. It will be operated by interior decorator and designer Debbie McCarter. 

Williamsburg Economic Development Director Michele Mixner DeWitt welcomed the three new businesses and noted that the city’s Economic Development Authority is assisting with renovation costs at the Henry Street Shops to create an outdoor dining venue for Mellow Mushroom.

Drew Haynie and Dawn Griggs of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled lease negotiations on behalf of Colonial Williamsburg.

Two national retailers are coming to Town Center of Virginia Beach

Two new national retailers, Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn, are coming to Town Center Virginia Beach next year.

Armada Hoffler Properties Inc. said Wednesday that the retailers would occupy 18,000 square feet of the company’s sixth phase of development at the center. West Elm, a sister brand, already has a presence in the center.

“We look forward to increasing our presence in Virginia Beach in the spring of 2018,” Bud Cope, executive vice-president of real estate and development of Williams-Sonoma, said in a statement. “Our West Elm store has been serving customers in Town Center since 2014, and we feel those who enjoy the quality of our products will be pleased to have the opportunity to visit both our Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn stores while shopping in one of the prime destinations in the region.”

The sixth phase is expected to include 39,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and 131 apartment homes. Zeiders American Dream Theater also will occupy a 17,000-square-foot, 300-seat performing arts theater. The city of Virginia Beach plans to provide public infrastructure that will  include an open-air public plaza and a pedestrian bridge that connects to an adjacent parking garage.

Construction began last fall, marking the start of a new chapter in the ongoing public-private partnership between the city of Virginia Beach and Armada Hoffler Properties. The residential tower topped out last week, and the entire project is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2018.

“We are very pleased with the progress of this new addition to Town Center and these exciting new tenants,” Louis S. Haddad, Armada Hoffler’s president & CEO, said in a statement. “Upon completion, the mixed-use development will offer additional shopping, dining, and entertainment options that will complement the current offering, while adding sought-after residential space in the city’s urban core.”

Pre-leasing efforts are underway for the project's residences.

The new apartments will offer studio and one-bedroom apartment homes and a outdoor rooftop terrace connected to the tenth-floor club room. Other amenities will include a fitness center, a conference room, a lounge and outdoor patio space.

Residents also will have access to covered parking in multiple adjacent parking garages, including one with a new, covered skybridge connection.

Divaris Real Estate handles retail leasing for Armada Hoffler Properties, while S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. is managing the residential component.

Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer promotes Cindy Scanlan to director of apartment operations

Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announces that Cindy Scanlan has been promoted to director of apartment operations. Scanlan joined the Richmond corporate office about four years ago as a portfolio manager. According to Thalhimer, she has played a key role in the successful growth of the firm’s Residential Property Services portfolio. In her new role, she will improve reporting processes and increase the level of training for Thalhimer’s residential management team.

Harmony Munger joins HHHunt Homes as a director of sales

 

Harmony M. Munger has joined HHHunt Homes as director of sales in its Hampton Roads and Williamsburg division. She brings 22 years of new home sales and marketing experience to the company after working with Pulte Homes and Standard Pacific Homes/CalAtlantic Homes in Jacksonville, Fla.

She also previously worked with Centex Homes in Hampton Roads and Richmond.

HHHunt Homes was founded in 1992 as the new home division of HHHunt Corp. and became one of the leading homebuilders in Central Virginia. It expanded to the Hampton Roads and Williamsburg markets in 2005. Today, HHHunt Homes of Hampton Roads and Williamsburg is one of the largest builders in the region with communities in the city of Chesapeake, James City County, the city of Newport News, the town of Smithfield, the city of Williamsburg, and York County.

The division recently announced two new communities – Patrick Henry Place and Huntington.