Casey Rosen and Dennis Carson, both SVPs at CB Richard Ellis,together with Debra Ramey of the Shopping Center Group, representedthe seller. Located at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue andBland Boulevard, Jefferson Commons is part of the Patrick HenryMall concentration of retail, Rosen tells GlobeSt.com. "There are alarge number of shopping centers located around Jefferson Avenue,which runs north-south through Newport News." He calls the stripthe city's retail corridor.

Despite the high concentration of similar product nearby, Rosensays that Jefferson Commons will have little difficulty leasing upthe remaining 5% or so vacancies in the center. "We have surveyedcompeting centers in the area and found there is a less than 2%vacancy rate in the market," he says. Also, he adds, there arecurrently a number of tenants negotiating for space. Demand forspace is particularly high, according to Rosen, because JeffersonCommons has been designed as a lifestyle retail center.

Jefferson Commons is anchored by Ross Dress for Less, TJ Maxx,Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse, Trader Joe's, and Petco. Othernational tenants include Starbucks, Panera Bread, Ulta, Lane Bryantand Chili's. The property is also anchored by Kohl's, which was notincluded in the sale or in the 306,249 sf reported in the deal,Rosen says, because the retailer owns the building and theland.