Cushman & Wakefield acquired the remaining 35 percent interest in its debt and equity finance subsidiary Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman. As part of the transaction, the firm has restructured and expanded its New York capital markets group under the leadership of Steven Kohn, president of Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman.
The expanded capital markets group will offer a full complement of services for all property types, including traditional sales and financing, recapitalization, joint ventures and note sales. In addition to Kohn, the group will include the investment sales team of Helen Hwang, Nathaniel Rockett and Karen Wiedenmann. Rockett was previously managing director with Jones Lang LaSalle.
Outside of New York, Cushman & Wakefield Sonnenblick Goldman will continue to be led by regional heads, including Robert Stiles on the West Coast, Richard Swartz in New England and Douglas Hercher in the Southeast. All of them will report to Kohn.
“This is a time of significant and rapid change for the global real estate capital markets and with Steve’s direction and our existing and new talent, we’re aiming to leverage a broad service platform, deep market knowledge and a highly coordinated approach to differentiate our service offering,” said Glenn Rufrano, Cushman & Wakefield president and CEO, in a statement. “It’s more important than ever to offer investors a full range of capital services in equity and debt, and we believe our model going forward will best deliver on that promise.”
Cushman & Wakefield acquired a 65 percent stake in Sonnenblick Goldman, an independent real estate investment banking firm, three years ago.
JBG Rosenfeld Retail and Lowe Enterprises will develop Fort Totten Square, a 130,000-square-foot grocery-anchored shopping center topped by residential units in Chevy Chase, Md. Construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2011, with anticipated delivery in 2013. JBGR will handle the retail leasing efforts for the property.
Energy Kitchen, a fast-casual health food restaurant, plans to expand into Westchester, N.Y. The firm has appointed RHYS Commercial, a regional real estate company, to handle its rollout in the region. Energy Kitchen will look for locations from 2,000 square feet to 3,000 square feet in size. It currently operates eight units in New York City and one in Hoboken, N.J.
Burlington Coat Factory will open a 70,320-square-foot store at Tonnelle Plaza Shopping Center in North Bergen, N.J. Hartz Mountain Industries owns the property.
Graycor Construction will handle the construction of the AMC Randhurst 12 theater at Randhurst Village in Mt. Prospect, Ill. The project is expected to become the first AMC theater in the U.S. to achieve LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The sustainable design practices will include the use of locally sourced materials and efficient mechanical systems. Randhurst Village is owned by Casto.
AMC Randhurst 12 is scheduled to open in the spring of 2011 as part of redevelopment of Randhurst Mall.
LA Fitness will open a 50,000-square-foot facility at The Crossroads shopping center in Irvine, Calif. The fitness club will be housed in a new building to be constructed on the former site of a Mervyn’s department store and will open in the spring of 2011.
Edens & Avant completed the redevelopment of Toco Hill Promenade in Atlanta. The project included new storefront lighting, a repaved parking lot, pedestrian friendly walkways and gathering places and green screening and landscaping.
In addition, Publix will open a 45,600-square-foot store at Pooler Marketplace in Pooler, Ga. on November 13, followed by the opening of Georgia Theatre Co.’s Pooler Stadium Cinemas 12 in early December. Edens & Avant is the developer behind the Pooler Marketplace project.
KeyPoint Partners LLC has been appointed as the exclusive leasing agent for Hartwell Square, a 41,550-square-foot retail conversion project planned in Lexington, Mass. Don Mace, vice president of leasing with KeyPoint Partners, will handle this assignment.
Mc Gowan Builders Inc. completed construction of the 26,000-square-foot Best Buy store at the Gateway Center at Bronx Terminal Market in the Bronx. Studio 5 Partnership designed the fit-out. The project carries a price tag of $1.9 million.
Klaff Realty LP hired Tad Wefel as director of acquisitions. In his new role, Wefel will be responsible for sourcing, structuring and underwriting the firm’s national acquisition program. He will also be assisting in sourcing property level debt. Klaff Realty is currently targeting retail deals nationwide for its $250 million Bryanston Real Estate Opportunity Fund II.
Previously, Wefel worked as head of acquisitions at an institutionally supported Chicago-based investment firm.
ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. has signed a lease for a 10,400-square-foot store at Scharrington Square in Schaumburg, Ill. The company plans to open the store in the first quarter 2011. Kitsy Ritter, senior leasing representative with Mid-America Asset Management Inc., represented the landlord in the transaction. Andy Bulson and Peter Scannell, of Mid-America Real Estate Corp., represented the tenant.
Dollar General has signed a lease with Regency Centers Corp. for a 9,400-square-foot store at Bowie Plaza in Bowie, Md. The store is scheduled to open in November 2011. Laurie Mazzotta, of Retail Strategies, represented the tenant in the transaction.
In addition, Golden Pavilion Restaurant has moved out of its existing location at Bowie Plaza to build out a larger, 3,300-square-foot store on the site.
Giant Food will open a 59,515-square-foot store at the Village at Lee Airpark in Annapolis, M.D. The opening is scheduled for November 12. Regency owns the center.
Stark Enterprises renovated a 30,0000-square-foot space at West Market Plaza in Akron, Ohio. The space was formerly occupied by an AMC Theatre, which closed in 2008. It has since been re-leased to Ulta, Five Below and a yet-unnamed tenant.
NAI Capital hired John Manion as senior vice president in its Newport Beach, Calif. office. In his new role, Manion will lead NAI Capital’s recently formed new owner/user group, aimed at assisting new businesses with their commercial real estate needs. Prior to joining NAI Capital, Manion served as vice president of sales operations at Bacchus Development.
Jones Lang LaSalle promoted Curtis Ellmore to vice president and Robbie Frazier to senior project manager in its Orange County, Calif. office. Ellmore specializes in portfolio and transaction strategy. Frazier focuses on full life-cycle project management and construction.
CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. promoted Ken Loeber to global executive managing director for global corporate services business development and Jim Wilson to global executive managing director for client account management and operations. Loeber currently serves as global leader of CBRE’s project management business. Wilson is executive managing director of client development and operations.
KLNB Retail hired a team of three investment sales professionals for its downtown Washington, D.C. office. The new hires include Andy Stape, Mat Adler and Tanya Slesinger, all of whom previously worked with a national commercial real estate brokerage firm in the Washington, D.C. region.