Pre-Emptive Move Reels In 105,195-SF Center

DALLAS-With repositioning as part of the plan, locally based JAH Realty LP has closed on a pre-emptive play for the 105,195-sf Plaza Rios shopping center in North Dallas. Sources peg the deal at roughly $140 per sf, based on the area and comps.

JAH, a recognized long-term holder, acquired the 7.4-acre center at 8602-98 Skillman St. from a joint venture between the New Hyde Park, NY-based Kimco Realty Corp. and Stamford, CT's GE Commercial Real Estate. JAH had made a run at the shopping center about two years ago, but the JV owner ended up pulling it from the market to stabilize occupancy, explains Jack Crews, former principal for Trammell Crow Co. and now part of the CB Richard Ellis team. He and former TCC vice president Ken Bendalin, also with CBRE, were ready to re-market the asset in November when JAH's principal Jay Henry surfaced with an offer.

"He came back and wanted a pre-emptive move. Ken worked with him to bring it up to full speed," Crews tells GlobeSt.com, "and Jay convinced Kimco to let him buy it."

Jeff Norman, JAH's president, says the center's location and submarket positioning were the drivers for the long chase. "It's really our first shot inside the loop in Dallas," he says. "We worked on this a long time before we got it." Not only is the immediate neighborhood being upgraded, but it's an infill property being primed for re-tenanting to complement the 53,000-sf leased Tom Thumb grocery and fueling station. "That's our bet as soon as the area turns. Then, we'll see some tenants change," he says.

Norman says the 24-year-old Plaza Rios, possibly in line for a name change, will get a facelift, with work slated to start in early second quarter. The overhaul will include clay tile roofs, pedestrian walkways and new landscaping. Sam Gresham, an Oklahoma City architect, has been hired to redesign the center.

The 96%-leased center has "no significant short-term lease roll," Norman says. The lease for the Tom Thumb grocery store, renovated in recent years, runs through February 2017. The sale included both pad sites--the grocer's fueling station and a McDonald's restaurant.