New Orleans — As legacy retailers continue closing stores and mall and mixed-use developers face the prospect — and reality — of vacant store spaces, specialty leasing and business development teams are becoming more important. The millennial consumer, who can buy almost anything online, needs a good reason to visit a property. Malls and shopping centers that will thrive in this climate will deliver exceptional ancillary retail experiences and come up with new reasons to attract visitors. “Ancillary” can mean pop-up stores, sponsorships, events or any other revenue sources outside …
Louisiana
Owner of Metro New Orleans Mall to Start $100 Million Redevelopment, Adding Office Space and Apartments
Metairie, La. — The Richards family, the longtime owner and operator of Clearview Shopping Center in Metairie, has unveiled plans to transform the 700,000-square-foot regional mall into a mixed-use destination. Located at 4436 Veterans Memorial Blvd., the new Clearview City Center sits on a 35-acre site approximately six miles northwest of downtown New Orleans. The $100 million project will add a hotel, 260 upscale apartments, open-air restaurants with rooftop seating, 100,000 square feet of office space and green space for outdoor events and concerts. “This is what the next-generation consumer …
Harahan, La. — Regency Centers has sold Elmwood Oaks Shopping Center, a 136,284-square-foot retail center in Harahan, for $15 million. Academy Sports + Outdoors and Dollar Tree anchor the property, which was 96 percent leased at the time of sale to tenants including Lumber Liquidators and AutoZone. Elmwood Oaks is located at 800 S. Clearview Parkway, eight miles west of downtown New Orleans. Kyle Stonis, Pierce Mayson and Steve Miskew of SRS represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer was Property Commerce Dividend Fund LP.
New Orleans — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $6.4 million sale of River Commons, a 59,483-square-foot shopping center in New Orleans. River Commons, which is shadow-anchored by Walmart, was leased to 17 tenants at the time of sale, including Dollar Tree, Shoe Show, Cato and Sally Beauty. Zach Taylor and Don McMinn of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, Rivercrest Realty, in the transaction. The buyer was Salim Rupani, a private investor based in Texas.
Lafayette, La. — Uber Capital Group LLC has provided a $33 million acquisition loan for Acadiana Mall in Lafayette. The loan comes with a 15-year term, a 5.4 percent fixed-rate, 70 percent loan-to-value and is partial recourse. Acadiana Mall spans 1.6 million square feet, and is located six miles south of downtown Lafayette. The anchor tenants are Macy’s, Dillard’s and JCPenney. Additional tenants include Aeropostale, Victoria’s Secret, Forever 21, The Children’s Place, Zumiez, Kay Jewelers, Jimmy Jazz, Men’s Wearhouse, Chick-fil-A, Thai Max and T-65 Café restaurants. Namdar Realty Group acquired …
Ruston, La. — Hutton has opened Ruston Marketplace, a 103,413-square-foot shopping center in Ruston. The property’s tenants include Hobby Lobby, T.J. Maxx, Ulta Beauty, Five Below and Rack Room Shoes. Ruston Marketplace is situated off of Interstate 20, one mile from Louisiana Tech University. Hutton partnered with the City of Ruston to deliver the project. According to multiple media outlets, the City of Ruston paid $6.4 million to improve the infrastructure around the shopping center to make it more accessible to shoppers.