Wednesday, May 18, 2011

La Plaza Mall Considers Expansion














An artist’s rendering of La Plaza Mall’s new food court, scheduled to open during June 2012.

The Monitor - Posted by Dave Hendricks on May 18, 2011

La Plaza Mall may build a second story, and has undertaken a feasibility study on the idea, said Irma Castor, who oversees La Plaza, Palms Crossing and Harlingen’s Valle Vista Mall for Simon Property Group.
“We’re still in the feasibility study stage, but yes, there’s definite interest in expanding La Plaza, but we don’t have a date yet,” Castor said Wednesday morning. While adjacent property, ...

McAllen lures second Sam's Club






McALLEN — City leaders and an Austin-based developer have inked a deal to build the Rio Grande Valley’s third Sam’s Club near the intersection of North 10th Street and Trenton Road.

It’s an economic development coup for McAllen, which already has a Sam’s Club at 1400 E. Jackson Ave. The new Sam’s Club, slated for the intersection’s northwest corner near First National Bank and Red Lobster, must open by Dec. 31, 2012, according to the 380 Economic Development Agreement — a type of accord named for the chapter of the Texas Local Government Code under which it is allowed.

“I think this speaks very highly of the retail strength of McAllen,” said Keith Patridge, president and CEO of the McAllen Economic Development Corp. “There are very few cities where you have two Sam’s Clubs.”

It’s also part of an extended build-out along Trenton Road, starting at U.S. 281 and moving west. Both McAllen and Edinburg have experienced rapid growth along the corridor.

Signed April 26, the agreement between McAllen and Uptown Partners, a corporation controlled by Austin-based Cielo Realty Partners, contains several major incentives for the developer. Uptown Partners will keep 75 percent of sales tax revenue generated by Sam’s Club until the company receives $4 million. McAllen also agreed to waive some development-related fees and install necessary traffic lights without charge.

Sam’s Club will anchor the development, called Valencia Marketplace. Once Cielo Realty closes the deal, which should happen during the next few months, construction should begin shortly, said Rob Gandy, a partner at Cielo Realty.

“The retail sales numbers in the Valley continue to catch the attention of the regional and national retailers,” Gandy said. “And we believe north McAllen is a very attractive location for them to be.”

Several pad sites along 10th Street, including the Red Lobster location, have already been sold, according to county property records. Gandy said he couldn’t discuss the conversations he’d had with other restaurants and smaller retailers, but that announcements will be forthcoming.

Feldman’s, the Valley-based chain of liquor stores, may be among them. Owner Steve Jabour said during March his company might build a trendy, market-style store near the intersection.
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Dave Hendricks covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4452.

NAI Global Firms and Agents Earn 216 CoStar Power Broker Awards


NAI Global, the premier network of commercial real estate firms and one of the largest real estate services providers worldwide, today announced that 84 NAI member firms and 132 NAI agents were named 2010 Power Brokers by CoStar Group, a leading information provider for the commercial real estate industry. NAI received a total of 216 Power Broker Awards across 56 markets for its performance in 2010. Only one other brokerage firm received more awards.
“NAI Global’s performance demonstrates the strength and depth of our organization throughout the United States,” said Jeffrey M. Finn, NAI Global’s President and Chief Executive Officer. ”This impressive showing confirms NAI Global’s leadership position and illustrates the capabilities of our professionals to provide best-in-class local market knowledge and real estate services in every market that we operate in. We are proud of our continued strong performance and appreciate the recognition of a leading independent organization like CoStar.”

CoStar Group tracks data on commercial properties and transactions throughout the U.S., U.K. and France. The Power Broker Awards are presented annually to the top brokerage firms and individual agents in major U.S. markets based on their leasing and sales transaction activities the prior year. The complete list of NAI member firms and agents receiving honors is available at http://www.costar.com/specialprograms/powerbrokers.aspx.