deals & dealmakers
A look at the transactions making the biggest impact on the commercial real estate landscape
development
$60M VEGAS RETAIL PROJECT
TARGETS ASIAN POPULATION
Las Vegas—Catering to one of this area’s
largest ethnic groups, a joint venture of DFG
Development Corp. and McMahon
Development has unveiled plans for Asia
Town Center, a 188,000-sf shopping complex here. This is the partnership’s first
development together.
“The demographics speak to the fact
The $60-million facility is believed to be
the largest retail center in the Southwest to
provide specialty Asian goods, according
to developers. Groundwork on the project,
says Hardin, will commence in June with
an anticipated 12-month build out.
Architectural firm Lee & Sakahara is
responsible for the design.
HMart, a major Asian grocery chain with
16 national locations, has signed on as an
anchor tenant for 50,000 sf. “HMart is not
only a destination for Asian shopping, but
because it carries a wide variety of everyday
goods at very low prices,” it benefits the
entire neighborhood, says Hardin.
The grocer, according to a statement
from the property’s leasing agent, NAI
Horizon, liked the location of the center,
which is situated off the 215 Beltway and
adjacent to the 5.6-million-sf Thomas &
Mack Beltway business park. A chief Las
Vegas Valley employment center, the park is
expected to generate a great deal of traffic
to the store.
Lease rates at the complex, Hardin points
out, are similar to that of other Asian shopping centers in the area, penciling in at $2.75
per sf to $4 a per sf per month for premium
space. But the executive insists, “Although
we are charging the same rates, we’re giving
people a much better facility, with a much
better location and parking.”
Several other leases are currently in negotiation, according to Hardin, who declined to
disclose the names of the retailers. However,
he did share that the “sub-anchors will add a
lot of value to the center,” since they are
“names that have equal or greater draw than
HMart.”—Danielle Douglas
Leasing
Asia Town Center
that the Asian population in Las Vegas is
growing faster than others, and they are
without a modern retail center in which to
shop,” says Christopher Hardin, vice president of operations for locally based DFG.
Development: Did You Know?
Edward J. Minskoff Equities Inc.’s plan to build a 410,000-sf mixed-used property in Manhattan was given a boost
when Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art agreed to a 99-year ground lease for 51 Astor Pl.
Minskoff plans to raze the existing structure, which the school now occupies, and construct office, retail and some academic space designed by Fumihiko Maki. Groundwork on the site will commence once the school moves into its new
building at 41 Cooper Sq. in mid-2009. Minskoff anticipates that the building will be ready for occupancy in 2010.
Studley negotiated the $97-million contract on behalf of the owner…A joint venture of the Lionstone Group, Sansone
Group and Equis Hospitality Management LLC has broken ground on University Village, a $150-million mixed-use
complex in Richmond Heights, MO. Situated on 7. 4 acres, the property will feature a 40,000-sf retail structure, an 8,000-
sf restaurant, a 158-key Homewood Suites by Hilton, a 243-room Westin Hotel by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Inc. and two parking garages…South Tuscaloosa, AL will welcome the first phase of a $20-million shopping venue,
Capital Market Center, by the end of this year. Capital Growth Buchalter Inc. expects a spring start for the shopping
center, which will feature a 46,500-sf Publix supermarket, an additional
40,000 sf of retail shops and up to eight out-parcels for sale and lease. Paul
B. Krebs & Associates designed the site. The second phase will be completed 24 months after the initial portion is finished…IDI’s Meridian 75
Logistics Center, a 257-acre industrial park in Monroe County, GA, is under
way. The Monroe County Development Authority recently sold the property, which can house four distribution facilities totaling three million sf. Pad-ready sites for buildings ranging from 200,000 sf to more than 1. 2 million sf
will be ready in the third quarter, at which time the developer will consider
51 Astor Pl. starting on an approximately 500,000-sf building.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
FILLS ELLINWOOD COMPLEX
Pleasant Hill, CA—After standing vacant
for several years, the 137,232-sf Ellinwood
Corporate Center here has been fully leased
by Contra Costa County for its employee
human services division. Owner DJM
Capital Partners has signed the entity to a
20-year deal for the three-building complex.
According to Eric Sahn, senior vice president and chief financial officer at DJM, the
county will pay $1.70 per sf per month for
the first 10 years of the agreement.
The San Jose, CA-based executive relates
that Contra Costa leased the buildings to
consolidate some of its social services operations and for a more conveniently located
site for its clients. About 385 employees will
be moving to the campus, but there is
enough space to accommodate up to 500
employees. Sahn adds that the lease is one
of the most significant ever executed in this
office market.
In addition to the size, the length of the
deal in and of itself makes it very unusual,
he says. “There have certainly been other
leases for single buildings or campuses that
comprise more square footage, but I think
the combination of the size and term is
what makes this so significant,” he states.
DJM is currently implementing a $16.5-
million turnkey renovation program to bring
the complex to the tenant’s specifications,
including reconfiguring and rebuilding all
interior spaces and upgrading building systems to state-of-the-art standards. The firm
has already completed exterior work on the
structures and landscaping including the
creation of dramatic two-story stone
