Off-Market Coup Bags 121,228-SF Retail Asset

GRAPEVINE, TX-Moving swiftly to secure the deed, Henry S. Miller Cos. has snagged the 121,228-sf Vineyard Marketplace in an off-market coup. The class A center, trading for the second time in 2.5 years, is destined for a slight expansion and a long-term hold.

The investment group bed down the deal within three months of opening talks with Dallas-based Clearview Investments LLC for the 12.5-acre development at 5325 William D. Tate Ave. "It's a very active market. You've got to act fast when you find a deal," Vance C. Miller, chairman and CEO of Henry S. Miller Cos., tells GlobeSt.com about the race to get it under contract before word got out on the street.

Miller is mum about the final price, but did say that, like two years ago, the asset went for more than $100 per sf and less than $200 per sf. Tarrant County has the holding and its one developed pad assessed at more than $11 million.

Clearview, known for buying centers with dark anchors and repositioning them, bought the center just as a deal was working to put Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby into a long-dark Winn-Dixie grocery spot. Clearview bought the center, built in 1998, from a partnership led by Dallas-based Cencor Realty Services in September 2004.

Miller is beginning its reign with 90% occupancy, marketing the open space at $20 per sf, triple net. The primary vacancy is an end cap that's eyed as a means to expand the center by 7,500 sf to 8,000 sf, creating a 10,000-sf opening at the Texas 121-Glade Road junction, where additional apartments and big-box retail are poised to rise right across the street. Henry S. Miller Commercial has taken over leasing and management from the Retail Connection in Dallas.

Chance Johnson, senior vice president and general manager of HSM Equity Partners, says the 90%-leased center has about 5% of its roster rolling this year. "The property will benefit from contractual rent increases," he says. "We liked the location, condition of the property and the size of the transaction. It fits well with our business plan." Johnson arranged the financing through Wachovia Bank's New York City operation.