McCraney Breaks Ground on Park27 Spec Industrial

West Palm Beach-based McCraney Property Company broke ground on its new Park27 project, the only spec industrial new construction building in Davenport, Florida. McCraney partnered with Northwestern Mutual Real Estate, the real estate investment arm of Northwestern Mutual, to develop 603,000 square feet of industrial building space, located at the northwest quadrant of interstate 4 and US Highway 27. The development is adjacent to a recently announced Walmart ecommerce distribution center with two buildings and more than 2 million square feet. Project costs were not disclosed.

"On the heels of the Orlando industrial market experiencing an explosive 2 million square feet of absorption to date this year, currently there is no other sector within commercial real estate more fluid and exciting than the industrial market today," said Steven McCraney, President and CEO of McCraney Property Company. "Industrial is morphing its traditional makeup with retail and technology, and Central Florida is at the perfect crossroads to capitalize on ecommerce momentum.

Park27 includes two buildings on its 33-acre site:

• The first building will span 189,000 square feet
• The second will be 414,000 square feet, and be the only multi-tenant spec space available in the immediate area that can accommodate a 300,000+ square foot user with trailer storage

"Park27 is a first-class development that represents an exciting opportunity for us to have a growing presence in Central Florida," added John Jacobs, director of production for Northwestern Mutual Real Estate in a press release.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Retailers Opening Smaller Urban Stores

In a New York Times article titled Retailers' Idea: Think Smaller in Urban Push, the Times examines the trend of larger retailers, like Wal-Mart and Target, opening small city stores to open their growth. "The suburbs are basically saturated with retailers," said Patrick L. Phillips, chief executive of the Urban Land Institute, an urban-planning research nonprofit, "but it's easy to develop stores in the suburbs, and hard to develop stores in cities." An excerpt from the article:

Most large American cities are growing faster than their suburbs for the first time in almost a century, according to a Brookings Institution analysis of census results released last month, largely because young adults are choosing urban apartment life. That population shift, along with Internet competition, have made the car-focused, big-box model less relevant.

Target opened its first City Targets, in Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle, on Wednesday. At 80,000 to 100,000 square feet, City Target, at its smallest just over half the size of a remodeled Target, is aimed at urban shoppers. For instance, City Targets would not carry a six-piece patio set, but a three-piece balcony set instead.

"We see this as an opportunity for the people who live, work and play downtown, who probably have a suburban Target they call their home base," said Molly Snyder, a company spokeswoman. "You'll see less 12-packs of paper towels and more four-packs, knowing most people will arrive by foot or public transportation and will have to carry it home."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Tysons West Breaks Ground

JBG Rosenfeld Retail (JBGR) and JBG Companies announced that they broke ground this week on their Tysons West development project in the Washington, DC area. The 247,000 square foot mixed-use development located on Route 7 in Arlington, Virginia is located on block from the Tysons Spring Hill Road Metro stop and near the bustling Tysons Corner Center area.

"JBGR is proud to be the first company to break ground on a true, transit-oriented, mixed-use development which is the embodiment of Fairfax County's vision for the future Tysons Corner," said Jay Klug, Principal at JBGR. "Our plan for Tysons West is to transform this car dealership, a space that represents the suburban era, into a quality, New Urban development. Even better, we are taking existing suburban structures, such as a parking garage, and repurposing them for an urban use."

The development reportedly will include modern smartly designed apartment living, a full service and newly renovated Sheraton Premiere Hotel, a new urban format Walmart grocery, a world-class fitness facility, class A office space, and great dining choices.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Wal-Mart Buys Leased Property for $104.5M

Wal-Mart Corp. has acquired the 4 million square foot distribution center it's been leasing since 2005 from the Texas Permanent School Fund for $104.5 million according to a CoStar report. The Baytown property was built in 2004 and originally sold shortly after completion by Wal-Mart to the state's General Land Office, which invests in real estate property for the Permanent School Fund. The state reportedly has made more than $40 million on the deal in rent and proceeds.

According to CoStar the deal totals 4 million square feet and includes two industrial buildings at 4554 E. Greenwood Road in Baytown. The property is on a 473-acre tract in Chambers County, about 14 miles from the Houston Ship Channel.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.