SALES & ACQUISITIONS Chicago-based ORIX Real Estate Equities Inc. has acquired a 50% interest in Marq*E Houston, a 365,000 sq. ft. entertainment center under construction in Houston. The other partners are PLC Commercial and theater chain Edwards Circuit Affiliated Group, both based in Newport Beach, Calif. They sold ORIX portions of their respective interests in the property. Scheduled to open for Christmas, Marq*E will include 240,000 sq. ft. of retail space as well as a 23-screen cinema and IMAX theater.
An affiliate of The Shopco Group LP, New York, has acquired Riverside Square, a 636,000 sq. ft. mall anchored by Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue, in Hackensack, N.J. The seller was JMB Income Properties Ltd.-XI, an affiliate of Chicago-based JMB Realty Corp.
Baltimore-based Prime Retail Inc. has entered into an agreement to sell three factory outlet centers, including two future expansions, to a new joint venture between an affiliate of Orlando, Fla.-based Estein & Associates USA Ltd. and Prime Retail. The outlet centers are located in Birch Run, Mich.; Williamsburg, Va; and Hagerstown, Md. The two expansions involve Phase II of the Williamsburg center and Phase III of the Hagerstown center. The joint venture is expected to close on the properties at different times, beginning next month and completing all transactions by the end of September 2000.
The total purchase price for the three centers, including expansions, is $274 million. The price includes an $8 million payment to Prime Retail for a 10-year not-to-compete covenant as well as a $6 million payment for a 10-year licensing agreement allowing the joint venture to continue using the Prime Outlets brand name.
Providence, R.I.-based Churchhill & Banks, a developer in New England and North Carolina, recently purchased Lincoln Mall in Lincoln, R.I. Seeing it as a redevelopment opportunity, the company paid $24.5 million for the 504,000 sq. ft. shopping center. The company has attracted Super Stop & Shop, which joins existing tenants Kmart, The Gap and Cherry Webb. The seller was New York-based Merrill Lynch. Boston-based CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners represented the seller in the transaction.
Eatontown, N.J.-based New World Coffee-Manhattan Bagel Inc. has completed senior debt financing in the amount of $15 million with BankBoston, NA. Under the new financing, BankBoston will provide a $12 million term loan and a $3 million revolving credit line. Proceeds will be used to repay senior debt to Philadelphia-based BET Associates LP and to repurchase the Manhattan Bagel Company Unsecured Creditors Trust note at an $850,000 discount. In addition, funds will partially finance the recently completed Chesapeake Bagel Bakery acquisition, and will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. New World Coffee-Manhattan Bagel Inc. currently owns, operates, franchises or licenses stores under its three brands in 28 states.
FINANCING AWARDS Houston-based L.J. Melody & Co. has arranged $56.3 million in fixed-rate financing for a portfolio of retail properties for Vista, Calif.-based Pan Pacific Retail Properties. The portfolio comprises four grocery-anchored centers, three in California and one in Oregon. The mortgages carry a 7.1% interest rate for a 10-year term with a 27-year amortization.
Horsham, Pa.-based GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp. has acquired Allan D. Dannatt & Co., a Houston-based full-service commercial mortgage banker. Dannatt, which started in 1986, represents a number of life insurance companies, conduit lenders and other institutions. According to Harold W. Purcell, GMAC's executive vice president responsible for retail production, Dannatt's well- established relationships combined with GMAC's expanded array of products and services will give GMAC a significant presence in an important regional market. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
CORPORATE MERGERS Two Chicago-area architectural companies have merged to form Otis Koglin Wilson. Otis Associates Inc. (OAI) joined its office, retail, residential, landscaping and planning strengths with the downtown location, retail and corporate interiors expertise of Koglin/Wilson Architects. OAI is known for its Village Green downtown center in Lincolnshire, Ill., as well as several Chicago office sites and residential developments. Koglin/Wilson is known in retail for its 415,000 sq. ft. IKEA flagship store in Schaumburg, Ill.; Woodfield Village Green, also in Schaumburg; a three-story retail building at North and Sheffield avenues in Chicago; and the addition and renovation of Hyde Park Shopping Center in Chicago. The newly formed company will have offices in the new Lincolnshire commercial center designed by OAI and in Chicago's landmark Inland Steel building.