San Jose — The famous San Jose retail and restaurant center has been acquired by a real estate company. This shows that large investors are still anxious for physical stores following the coronavirus pandemic.
The plant on the corner of Cartner Avenue and Monterey Road near downtown San Jose was acquired by The Necessity Retail REIT. A real estate company purchased a retail complex in South Bay as part of a $ 1.3 billion purchase of a commercial real estate package.
The real estate company said Tuesday that Necessity Retail paid The Plant $ 175 million.
“This plant is a highly desirable asset in our portfolio of outdoor shopping centers acquired in 2022,” said Michael Weil, CEO of Necessity Retail, in a prepared release.
A total of 650,500 square feet of plants at 1Curtner Ave., according to a leasing pamphlet circulated by brokers James Chung and Marisa Delgard with commercial real estate company Econic, which is looking for tenants for the complex.
“I’m bullish on this kind of center opportunity,” said Chung, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of EconicCo.
The factory was built by the redevelopment of a long-standing General Electric factory on the premises. Some of the old GE structures were retained in the development project.
“The Plant is of interest to many tenants,” says Chung. “This is a great asset.”
According to Chung, the Plant Bistro restaurant recently signed a lease for one space. The restaurant is negotiating the lease of two more spaces within the plant.
“This plant is in a great location,” said David Taxin, a partner at the commercial real estate company Mechaam Oppenheimer. “For new owners, leasing vacancies is everything.”
Target, Home Depot, Best Buy, Famous Dave’s, Panera Bread, Applebee’s Grill + Bar, Ross Dress for Less, and Ulta Beauty are one of the merchants leasing plant space.
“Using Target, Home Depot, and Best Buy as anchors, we are confident that we can rent free space,” says Taxine.
Necessity Retail is betting that despite the financial uncertainties unleashed by the coronavirus and the transition to online shopping, it will be able to successfully own a retail and restaurant complex anchored by a large retailer. ..
“Our property is in a strong suburban community, a physical store that represents the last mile of retail, and a place that consumers continue to visit every day to receive goods and services,” Necessity Retail said on its website. I am saying. “We are witnessing the retail renaissance.”
From a Silicon Valley broker’s point of view, the plant is ready to take part in this rise.
“More investors and tenants are looking for a market for this type of power center,” Chung said.
In the empty space, there is a site that was previously leased to Toys “R” Us (now a discontinued toy retailer) and OfficeMax. But even these are of interest.
“We also see offers in empty big box spaces,” says Chung. “There is definitely a chance here.”