CarterBlog

Carter Continues to Bring Tenants to The Banks

By Laura Swadel, director, Carter

CINCINNATI (Jan. 12, 2012) - Carter continues to fill The Banks mixed-use development here with quality tenants, despite the tough environment for the commercial real estate industry.

Earlier this week, Carter announced that Mahogany's Cafe and Grill will open a new location in The Banks in April. Mahogany's is an upscale soul food restaurant that will increase the presence of minority-owned enterprises at The Banks. Co-owned by executive chef Liz Rogers, Mahogany's signed a lease for 3,500 square feet between The Holy Grail Banks and the spot where Tin Roof will open a location.

The Banks is an 18-acre mixed-use project rising on the banks of the Ohio River, between Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ball Park. Carter serves as master developer of The Banks in partnership with The Dawson Co., an Atlanta-based development firm and one of the city's oldest African-American-owned commercial real estate firms.

The Banks is a prime examples of the new, narrowed focus at Carter. In December, Carter announced it would focus on successfully developing in urban locations - especially multifamily - and in investing in value-add office properties. Carter also will grow its strategic consulting and interiors businesses. 

At The Banks, Mahogany's is the latest in a string of restaurants and entertainment venues to commit to the landmark development. Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill, Christian Moerlein Lager House and Tin Roof will open this winter, and Holy Grail Banks and Johnny Rockets opened to much fanfare last year.

 "The food [at Mahogany's] is fabulous. Liz is passionate about it and she's got a great product," Cincinnati City Manager Milton Dohoney told the Cincinnati Enquirer this week. "We continued to be pleased by the development at The Banks and we're getting a lot of positive feedback. We think this will only add to that."

For more information about leasing and other opportunities at The Banks, contact Laura Swadel of Carter at lswadel@carterusa.com.

 

Carter Continues to Grow the Banks- Plans are to double the size of its residential and retail components

By Laura Swadel, director, Carter

ATLANTA (Nov. 29, 2011) - The Banks mixed-use development in downtown Cincinnati plans to double the size of its residential and retail components.

According to an article in The Cincinnati Enquirer on Sunday, these plans put The Banks a year ahead of schedule with more than $75 million in new private investment.

Carter serves as the master developer for The Banks. By 2019, The Banks will be 1.9 million square feet of new development including 1,000 residential units, a hotel, a new office tower and at least 400,000 square feet of retail space.

The development’s fast-tracked schedule is largely due to a $23 million federal stimulus grant that helped fund a 729-space public parking garage. The deck serves as the foundation for the first phase of the project, which delivered 77,000 square feet of retail space and a 300-unit apartment community, Current at The Banks.  According to the article in The Enquirer, Current is 98-percent leased.

Former Carter Vice Chairman Trent Germano, who oversees The Banks project as a consultant, is pleased with the development’s success, especially considering the current economic climate.

Just last week, the development team was able to secure an important extension from the city and county, giving it another year to attract key retail tenants. Germano hopes to sign four more tenants by early next year.

“Sure, we would have liked to have been five months ahead of where we are in retail leasing by now,” Germano told the Enquirer. “But if we think about the overall economy – and where we’ve come from – we’re still on the front of the curve of seeing improvement. As retailer’s look to expand, we’re high on the list.”

Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill, Crave and Tin Roof all plan to open next month. These restaurants will join Holy Grail Bar & Grill and Johnny Rockets that opened this year.

Located between the Great American Ball Park and Paul Brown Stadium, The Banks spans 18 acres and features residential, office, retail and restaurant options for all to enjoy. Carter was selected by the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County to serve as Master Developer for The Banks. Carter also served as Program Manager for the construction of the City and County-funded parking garage and infrastructure components of the project.

To read the complete article that appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer, click here.

 

Johnny Rockets to open at The Banks Next Month

CINCINNATI (Sept. 29, 2011) The Holy Grail Tavern and Grille will soon have company. Johnny Rockets is scheduled to open at The Banks on Oct. 27. Now visitors and residents at The Banks will have two restaurant options with more on the way.

And we know Cincinnatians are as excited as we are based on all the social media buzz surrounding yesterday's Johnny Rockets announcement.

Carter serves as master developer of The Banks, an 18-acre mixed-use project. Carter also served as program manager for the construction of the city and county-funded parking garage and infrastructure components of the project. 

See below for the complete story in Cincinnati.com about what's happening at The Banks!

A custom-designed Johnny Rockets with a menu unique to Cincinnati will officially open at The Banks on Oct. 27. Interior construction is under way at the nearly 3,000-square-foot restaurant at 191 E. Freedom Way, across from The Reds Hall of Fame and recently opened Holy Grail bar and grill. The restaurant will feature an outdoor patio and a walk-up order window. Menu items exclusive to the location will include Dusty’s Bacon Burger and the Lotta Domata Hamburger, created in honor of Reds’ manager Dusty Baker and Bengals’ defensive tackle, Domata Peko. Appetizers include Banks Shanks, Fried Pickles, Fresh Cooked Potato Chips and Spiral Pass Potatoes. The restaurant will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. A grand opening is planned for 4:30 p.m. Oct. 27 with special giveaways, samples and specials. The restaurant will be operated by local Johnny Rockets franchise owner Rich and Sharon Thompson. The new location is the sixth in Ohio, and the third owned by the Thompsons, who also operate locations at Newport on the Levee and Sycamore Plaza, across the street from Kenwood Towne Center. Scheduled to join Johnny Rockets and Holy Grail later this year are Toby Keith’s I Love this Bar & Grill, Huey’s 24/7 Diner, The Wine Loft and La Crepe Nanou. Construction is under way on Toby Keith’s, which will be located on Second Street between Joe Nuxhall Way and Walnut Street. No opening dates have been announced for the other retailers. In February, Moerlein Lager House – an 1,100-seat restaurant and beer garden – is expected to open just south of The Banks on Joe Nuxhall Way at the Phyllis W. Smale Riverfront Park. The Banks is an 18-acre riverfront development. Its first phase is priced at $80 million and includes 300 apartments and 70,000 square feet of retail space.

 

Carter Secures Nearly 30,000 Sq. Ft. in Leases at Piedmont West

ATLANTA (August 31, 2011) - Carter secured nearly 30,000 square feet of new leases at Piedmont West over the past 30 days. Carter’s Senior Vice President Glenn Kolker heads up leasing for the building and served as landlord representative on each transaction.

Internal/family medicine practice Braude, Mermin, Spivey, Malamis & Perry will relocate to a 6,800-square-foot space on the first floor of Piedmont West from its current location at 1109 W. Peachtree St. in Midtown. Peyton Wimberly of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant.

Piedmont Healthcare will expand its lease on the third floor by 10,000 square feet for legal and administrative offices. John Shlesinger and Steve Barton of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant.

Van Meter Pediatric Endocrinology leased 5,500 square feet on the fourth floor. Bob Allen of Colliers International represented the tenant.

Georgia Skin Specialists - Dr. Linda Benedict - will relocate from its current location at 3280 Howell Mill Road to the sixth floor of Piedmont West. The dermatology practice will occupy a 5,400-square-foot space. Michael Hubley of Sperry Van Ness represented the tenant.

Piedmont West’s street-level retail space also is filling up. Rising Roll Gourmet, a salad and sandwich shop, just opened a location in the building.

Other building tenants include prominent practice groups such as Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine, Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates, Dr. Mark Codner, MD-Plastic Surgery and Jenkins Clinic. Carter developed the mixed-use outpatient facility encompassing 264,000 square feet of medical office and retail space that opened in 2009.

“Medical office continues to be one of the brighter spots in commercial real estate,” said Kolker. “Piedmont West is benefiting from that trend since it is a newer medical office building with state-of-the-art features that today’s physician practices and patients require.”

 

Carter Sells Charlotte-area Shopping Center

ATLANTA (Aug. 8, 2011) – Carter said today it brokered the sale of a major shopping center in the Charlotte suburb of Rock Hill, S.C.

The 132,929-square-foot center on Dave Lyle Boulevard is occupied by retailers Kohl’s and Hobby Lobby. The center is adjacent to Rock Hill Galleria, a regional mall, and a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Terms of the sale were undisclosed, but the Kohl’s/Hobby Lobby center was marketed with an asking price of $12.5 million.

Drew Fleming, Vice President of Carter’s Retail Group, and partner Mark Joines represented the seller in the transaction.

“This asset garnered a lot of attention due to the fact that it is anchored by two credit tenants and is located next to a regional mall in the Charlotte MSA,” Fleming said.

 

Carter Brokers Sale of Property for New Kennesaw State Student Housing Development

By Malloy Peterson, vice president of marketing, Carter

ATLANTA (June 3, 2011) - Carter’s Rob Adamson recently represented the seller on the sale of a 5.9-acre site on Big Shanty Road directly across the street from Kennesaw State University’s new sports complex. Vertical construction of a student housing development is scheduled to begin on the property immediately. The project is projected to be completed by mid-summer 2012 and ready for student occupancy by fall 2012. Check out the video below to hear more!

 

This off-campus student housing facility will be two buildings comprised of 217 units and 804 beds. The project will also include a pool, breezeways and a connected five-story parking deck. This new facility will provide an off-campus alternative for students with direct access to the sports complex which currently includes the main stadium for the university’s soccer events, practice facility fields and home for Atlanta’s professional women’s soccer team, Atlanta Beat.

Another large component of the project is the 20,000 square feet of ground retail. Approximately 8,000 square feet of the retail has already been preleased to McCray's Tavern and Blue Moon Pizza. Carter’s Jack Arnold is assisting Rob and will be heading up the project’s leasing and development management. He is actively working to secure preleases for the remaining 12,000 square feet of space.

“This project offers a glimpse of the demand for student housing at Kennesaw State and also underscores the willingness of private equity and lenders to fund these types of projects,” said Adamson. “We are very excited about this development that will serve as a community where students can live, study and play.”

The Digital Age and Its Evolving Impact on Commercial Real Estate

By: Malloy Peterson, vice president of marketing for Carter

Last week at the ICSC Georgia Continuing Education Program, I had the opportunity to speak on a panel discussing how social media, a hot topic in every industry these days, is affecting commercial real estate.  The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) is the global trade association of the shopping center industry. Its members include shopping center owners, developers, managers, marketing specialists, investors, lenders, retailers and other professionals as well as academics and public officials.

The goal of the session was for participants to better understand how commercial real estate companies and individuals can harness the power of this effective and complementary tool of communication by both pushing and pulling content.  The panel was moderated by Abe Schear of Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, with fellow panelists Ethan Davidson of Atlanta Beltline Inc and Tony Wilbert of Wilbert News Strategies.

The interactive panel sparked lively questions from the audience which included questions like, “How can these tools land me business,” to, “How much work does a robust social network actual take,” to, “So what’s next?” Active participants in social media for a year and a half, Carter uses its CarterBlog, along with Twitter, and Facebook as active platforms to communicate with clients, investors, prospects, prospective associates and other industry players.

To find out more about why Carter got involved with social media and the how social media can grow your business, check out this video with clips from the panel discussion.

Malloy Peterson, leads all of Carter’s marketing, branding, public relations, and communications efforts from strategic planning through execution, directing all marketing associates and several agencies (responsible for social media strategy and implementation). She leads marketing and public relations planning and implementation for individual assets within Carter’s portfolio of investments, including two years of efforts on The Banks, Carter’s $800 million urban mixed-use project in Cincinnati and one of the largest projects currently under development in the country. In this role and as member of Operating Committee, Malloy plays a key role in most major corporate business development pursuits and business planning for diverse corporate strategic initiatives. Additionally, Malloy is currently engaged in several large strategic consulting assignments for government clients. 

Amid an unstable retail market, single tenant properties remain steady

by Michael R. Koch, Investment Advisor - Carter Retail Investment Sales Group

ATLANTA (June 23, 2010) - With a good deal of uncertainty in the retail investment sales market, single-tenant net lease properties are seeing a rise in demand as investors capitalize on their stability and price advantages.  High-net-worth, private investors make up the majority of the buyers of single tenant retail properties due to the fact that their leases usually have longer terms and they provide returns that outweigh comparative investment vehicles. Single tenant deals are also easier to finance.

During the first quarter of 2010, the number of single tenant retail property transactions soared, seeing a significant year-over-year increase in volume for deals in 2010. Additionally, activity on single tenant deals have not experienced nearly as much of a decline as on their multi-tenant counterpart. 

Investors have been keen on properties in primary markets with tenants such as major drugstore chains CVS and Walgreens, nationally recognized quick-service restaurants, and dollar store conglomerates Dollar General and Family Dollar.

Over the past year, cap rates have increased about 100 basis points on single-tenant retail assets secured under long-term, bond-like, corporate leases. However, in the second quarter of 2010, this trend has been continuing downward, turning hesitant investors into legitimate buyers of these properties.

 Michael Koch is a member of the Retail Investment Sales Group at Carter. His area of expertise is in selling single-tenant retail properties and portfolios nationwide. Michael has direct access to the most current and critical market information and is dedicated to fully understanding and exceeding the needs of his clients by using a disciplined and thorough approach to each transaction.