Stirling Properties Welcomes 1st El Pollo Loco to Louisiana Market
Stirling Properties commercial real estate company is pleased to welcome Louisiana’s 1st El Pollo Loco restaurant to Lafayette.
The new El Pollo Loco will be located at 3808 Johnston Street on the corner of Westchester Drive. It will occupy 3,000 square feet of restaurant space, including a drive-thru. Construction on the building is expected to commence in early September, with an anticipated opening in the late spring of 2018.
El Pollo Loco, which is Spanish for “The Crazy Chicken,” features authentically prepared flame-grilled, citrus-marinated chicken, burritos, salads, soups, tacos, and quesadillas.
“We’re dedicated to serving healthy, fresh ‘pollo’ (chicken) hot off our open-flame grills from the skilled hands of our Grill Masters,” said Jason Trotter, El Pollo Loco franchise owner. “Our goal is to serve perfect ‘pollo’ all the time! We are excited to open our first El Pollo Loco restaurant in Louisiana—and we look forward to bringing our authentic Mexican grill to the residents of Lafayette!”
Rhonda Sharkawy and Lauren Ryan, leasing executives with Stirling Properties are the exclusive commercial brokers for El Pollo Loco in the state of Louisiana and are working to identify additional restaurant locations for the franchise. Ryan Pecot, leasing executive with Stirling Properties also represented the sellers in this transaction.
El Pollo Loco is publically traded and has more than 470 company-owned and franchised restaurants in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, and Utah. El Pollo Loco is expanding its presence in key markets through a combination of company and existing and new franchisee development.
Introducing New-To-Market Fitness Concept, HOTWORX
Stirling Properties commercial real estate company is excited to announce that it will exclusively represent HOTWORX, a new-to-market fitness concept across the United States.
HOTWORX is revolutionizing the fitness industry by providing the ultimate hot exercise experience and is the first to launch a 24/7 business franchise model through the use of its proprietary patent pending technology. It is the original fusion of infrared heat and isometrics through a virtually instructed exercise program designed for users to experience the many benefits of infrared absorption while completing a 30-minute workout session.
Joe Gardner, CCIM, and Thomas Bryan, Stirling Properties’ Sales and Leasing Executives, are the exclusive tenant representatives for HOTWORX and are working to secure national retail locations for the new fitness concept.
Currently, select Planet Beach spas are debuting the hot exercise experience. But HOTWORX plans to grow to 500 official HOTWORX Studio locations across the US in the next five years. The company presently has one HOTWORX Studio located in Oxford, Mississippi, with another planned to open in Palm Beach, Florida, within the next month. Future studio sites also include locations in the greater New Orleans area and surrounding Gulf Coast region.
“Our HOTWORX fitness concept is ready to expand, and we are thrilled to be working with Stirling Properties, a true leader in the real estate industry, to grow our business across the nation. We are seeking franchisees for various business opportunities and will be announcing new HOTWORX locations soon,” said Stephen Smith, HOTWORX CEO.
“HOTWORX has aggressive expansion and franchise plans in the works for our region and across the country. We are excited to be able to help them meet and exceed their real estate goals—and introduce a new fitness concept that was founded right here in New Orleans,” said Gardner. “We look forward to announcing new retail locations and storefronts within the coming months.”
For more information on HOTWORX and franchise opportunities, visit www.hotworx.net.
What’s Going On at River Chase in Covington?
Stirling Properties Announces Exciting New Updates and Developments
The first phase of the Offices at River Chase, the Northshore’s premier office campus, has completed construction. Located at the southwest corner of Brewster Road and Stirling Boulevard, Phase I includes a Class-A, two-story, 45,000-square-foot office building located on 3.5 acres. It is accessible from both the LA-21 and Brewster Road interchanges on Interstate 12, and within walking distance to a host of amenities, including restaurants, a movie theater, and residential living options. The highly-renowned architectural firm, Wakefield, Beasley, and Associates, designed the base building, and Mandeville-based Greenleaf Lawson Architects served as the interior architect for the project. Tenant build-outs are now underway, and Duplantis Design Group, PC, will move into their new, 6,000-square-foot office space in mid-May. For more information on the Offices at River Chase and leasing opportunities, contact Ryan Murphy at rmurphy@stirlingprop.com or (985) 246-3771. 
Located across the street from the office building, Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar commenced construction on its new restaurant last November. Set on 1.82 acres on the northwest corner of Stirling Boulevard and Brewster Road next to Sam’s Club, this marks the 1st Northshore location for the highly-anticipated sports restaurant and bar. It will occupy roughly 9,600 square feet and is expected to open late this summer, just in time for football season. The Covington location will include a rooftop bar, The Upper Deck, an element unique to the design by Greenleaf Lawson Architects. The Upper Deck will feature group seating and additional space for catching a game. 
Rooms-To-Go has opened its new 36,000-square-foot retail showroom located next to Zoe’s Kitchen on Stirling Boulevard. The impressive store is highly visible to Interstate 12 traffic. A Grand Opening celebration was held on Saturday, April 22nd. The furniture retailer relocated from its previous site on Highway 190 in Covington.
Construction on Springs at River Chase is complete, and all buildings are open. This project is a joint venture with Continental Properties. The new 296-unit luxury apartment community is located at the southwest corner of Interstate 12 and Brewster Road. The property features floor plans ranging from studio to three-bedroom apartments. Community amenities include a clubhouse, resort-style pool, 24-hour fitness center, dog park, attached and detached garages, car care center, and a pet spa. Occupancy remains high for the multi-family community. For more information and leasing on Springs at River Chase, contact Jan Rayburn with Continental Properties at (985) 327-1350.
Construction is underway for the newest addition to River Chase, the development of the Preserve at River Chase, a single-family luxury residential community, adjacent to the Springs at River Chase apartments. The Preserve development is a joint venture with Southern Lifestyle Development, which is renowned for its highly-acclaimed River Ranch residential community in Lafayette, Louisiana, amongst many other communities. Phase I of the Preserve will include the completion of 76 detached town and country homes. Infrastructure work has commenced and is expected to be complete in November, at which point the residential lots will be available for sale. Construction on the homes is expected to begin early 2018. 
River Chase is the Northshore’s premier master-planned development located amidst 253 acres on the southeast corner of Interstate 12 and LA Highway 21 in Covington, Louisiana. The mixed-use center includes approximately 945,000 square feet of retail and restaurant options, as well as a Holiday Inn Express, Regal Cinema, luxury residential apartment units, and a Class-A office building. Additional residential and office developments are coming soon. Stirling Properties developed River Chase and currently manages and leases the property. River Chase is a Louisiana Economic Development (LED) Certified Site. For more information, please visit www.stirlingprop.com. For retail leasing and sales, contact Rhonda Sharkawy at (504) 620-8145 or rsharkawy@stirlingprop.com. For office leasing and sales, contact Ryan Murphy at (985) 246-3771 or rmurphy@stirlingprop.com.
Stirling Properties Commercial Agents Among Top Producers At 2017 NOMAR CID Awards Ceremony
Carly Plotkin, Joe Gardner, Beezie Landry, Lauren Ryan
Stirling Properties commercial real estate agents were honored during the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors (NOMAR) Commercial Investment Division (CID) 24th Annual Achievement Awards ceremony.
Beezie Landry, Stirling Properties’ Senior Investment Sales Advisor, received the award for Top Overall Retail Production. Sales and Leasing Executive, Joe Gardner, CCIM, was awarded for Largest Land Sale & Largest Landlord Lease. Carly Plotkin, Sales and Leasing Executive, received the Rising Star Award.
Rhonda Sharkawy, Senior Retail Leasing and Development Executive, was acknowledged for her induction last year into the CID Hall of Fame after having received the prestigious F. Poche Waguespack Award for the highest volume of sales and leases in the greater New Orleans area for five consecutive years. She is one of only a handful of women to receive this esteemed award since its inception in 1964.
Lauren Ryan, Sales and Leasing Executive, was a first-time recipient of the Production Award, given for agents obtaining total commercial credit sales and leasing of more than $2.5 million. Landry, Gardner, and Sharkawy were also among Production Award recipients.
The goal of the Commercial Investment Division (CID) Awards is to review and recognize individual achievement among commercial real estate practitioners who are members in good standing of the New Orleans Metropolitan Association (NOMAR) of REALTORS®.
Mobile Office Market Assessment 3rd Quarter 2016
Stirling Properties is pleased to present the 2016 third quarter Mobile Office Market Survey. This report, compiled by Jack Conger and Jill Meeks, Sales and Leasing Executives of our Mobile office, is intended to track average rental rates, occupancy rates, and average absorption rates for West Mobile and the downtown Central Business District (CBD) on office buildings greater than 20,000 square feet. It was created to be a resource for agents, as well as tenants, landlords, developers, lenders, fellow brokers and anyone else looking for information about the Mobile Office market.
Jack Conger is our newest Sales and Leasing Executive in our Mobile office, focusing on industrial and office brokerage. Jill Meeks has over 27 years’ experience in commercial real estate.
Here’s an excerpt from Jack and Jill’s Market Assessment:
Since the Q1-16 Mobile Office Market Survey, the West Mobile office market had a number of noteworthy transactions that created quite a stir in the market. In the end, the office market experienced a slight decrease in average occupancy from 79.5%-79.4% and an average rental rate decrease from $15.50 per sq. ft. to $15.35 per sq. ft., reflecting a decrease in the absorption rate of 0.09% from Q1-16.
Mobile’s growth is evident with several building projects planned and underway. In the CBD, a new Federal Courthouse is under construction and the Meridian at the Port, a 264-unit apartment complex located at 300 Water Street, is awaiting construction. Walmart announced plans for a new 2.9 million sq. ft. distribution center in West Mobile, and Airbus launched the first airplane assembled by its new $600 million final assembly plant back in April. This activity promises to further stabilize the office market in Mobile, and Stirling Properties looks forward to being a part of this season of growth and creativity!
Please click here to view and download the PDF of the Mobile Office Market Survey. This survey provides a good summary of the Mobile office market and my hope is that it becomes a valuable resource in the market.
Walk-On’s Coming to River Chase in Covington, Louisiana!
Stirling Properties, NAI Latter & Blum and Greenleaf Architects announce Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar is coming to River Chase mixed-use development in Covington, Louisiana. This will mark the 1st Northshore location for the highly anticipated sports restaurant and bar.
This week, the company closed on the purchase of 1.82 acres of property located on the northwest corner of Stirling Blvd. and Brewster Road next to Sam’s Club. Construction on the site will commence within the next couple of weeks. The restaurant will occupy roughly 9,600 square feet and is expected to open by the summer of 2017, according to Arkel Constructors who has been chosen as the General Contractor.
Stirling Properties’ Senior Retail Leasing & Development Executive, Rhonda Sharkawy, represented the property owners, and Beau Bourque with NAI Latter & Blum represented the tenant. Greenleaf Architects was selected to design the custom restaurant for the new Northshore location.
The popular restaurant started by two LSU students in Baton Rouge has thrived over the years, and expanded into multiple locations. The next stop for Walk-On’s is right here in St. Tammany Parish, and Greenleaf Architects is fortunate enough to work closely with Walk-On’s Enterprises in making this happen. As a firm full of LSU graduates who frequented the original location on Burbank Drive throughout college, this is truly an honor for Greenleaf Architects. The Covington location will include a rooftop bar, “The Upper Deck”, an element unique to the design by Greenleaf Architects. The Upper Deck will feature group seating and additional space for catching a game under the skyline of St. Tammany Parish.
“Stirling Properties is pleased to welcome Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar to River Chase,” said Townsend Underhill, Senior Vice President of Development at Stirling Properties. “They join a dynamic assortment of restaurants, retailers, hospitality, multi-family, and office users offering a one-of-a-kind, mixed-use destination for the entire region.”
“Among other attributes, low stress ingress & egress and complementary anchor/junior anchor tenants together with Stirling Properties’ and St. Tammany Parish’s commitments to developing a live/work/play environment that improves quality of life attracted Walk-On’s to River Chase. I look forward to seeing Greenleaf Architects’ exceptional design come to life,” said Beau Bourque, Sales & Leasing Associate with NAI Latter & Blum.
River Chase is a 253-acre premier mixed-use development located on the southeast corner of Interstate 12 and LA Highway 21 in Covington, Louisiana. The center includes retail, restaurants and entertainment options, as well as a Holiday Inn Express, Regal Cinema, 500+ luxury residential apartment units, and a 48,000-sqaure-foot class A office building currently under construction. Stirling Properties developed River Chase and currently manages and leases the property.
Anchored by Target, Belk, JCPenney, Best Buy, Marshalls, Ross Dress For Less and Sam’s Club, River Chase shopping center occupies 945,000 square feet, and is the largest open air retail center in Louisiana. Additional tenants include Carter’s, Cato, Charming Charlie, Chuck E. Cheese’s, Cost Plus World Market, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, Family Cuts, Fidelity Homestead Savings Bank, Five Below, GameStop, Hibbett Sports, Holiday Inn Express, In Style Salon, John V Salon & Spa, Justice, Lane Bryant, Maurices, Men’s Wearhouse, Michaels, Nevada Bob’s Golf, Nutrishop, Oreck Vacuums, Pink & White Nails, Regal Cinemas, River Chase Cleaners, Rooms To Go (opening 2017), rue 21, Sephora, Shoe Carnival, The Children’s Place, ULTA Beauty, Verizon Wireless, Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar, Which Wich and Zoe’s Kitchen. Outparcel tenants include Chick-fil-A, LongHorn Steakhouse, Regions Bank, Taco Bell, Texaco and Wendy’s.
