Whole Foods Signs on As Anchor Tenant in CO

By Natalie Dolce

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Whole Foods rendering

BASALT, CO-Mariner Real Estate Management has purchased the stalled Willits Town Center, multi-use community development here in the Roaring Fork Valley near Aspen and Snowmass. Whole Foods Market will be the anchor tenant for the center. 

Don Trossman, managing director of Cohen Financial in the Chicago office, advised Mariner Real Estate Management in the acquisition and recapitalization of the project. Mariner Real Estate Partners, LLC and Mariner Real Estate Partners III LLC provided the $20 million equity investment for the initial phase of the acquisition. 

During the initial phase of development, more than 75,000 square feet of retail space will be constructed. The development project has the potential to construct another 200,000 square-feet of buildings in the town center, which may include a hotel, retail, residential and office space, according to a prepared statement.

 “Cohen Financial assisted MREM in evaluating the Willits Town Center’s immediate cash needs, and long-term development potential,” Trossman says. “Cohen will continue to advise them in future financings needs across the various stages of its development.”

 “Through our extensive research into the Willits development and the surrounding communi­ties, we are confident that we will be able to complete this vibrant retail, residential and office center,” says Ryan Anderson, co- president of MREM. “On one hand, the project represents a solid investment opportunity for our shareholders,” he continues. “At the same time, it’s a real boon for the community. We are carrying forward the original goal of creating a sustainable, mixed-use community in the Roaring Fork Valley.”

Since inception, MREM and its affiliates have purchased real estate and real estate debt with a total enterprise value of over $860 million, according to its website, putting approximately $80 million of equity to work. The majority of the assets purchased have been real estate debt from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., national and regional banks.

Categories: West, Retail, Leasing, Denver