All-new Community Honda coming to Lafayette, Louisiana
Stirling Properties brokered sale of 10-acres for new facility.
Community Honda recently announced plans for an all-new state-of-the-art facility in Lafayette, Louisiana.
The 10-acre future home of Community Honda is located along Highway 90 near the airport. It will include a 50,000-square-foot facility with over 30 service bays, a children’s play area, a café, and many more amenities.
“After three years in Lafayette, we are excited to expand our presence to better serve the community,” said Roger Elswick, Community Honda owner.
Seth Citron, Stirling Properties senior advisor, brokered the transaction and worked with Community Honda to secure the new location. “This was a great project to work on, and I’m excited for Roger and Kim Elswick’s entire Community team. This will be a remarkable new development that will service their loyal employees and customers for the next generation of Honda products in and around the Acadiana area. I’m eager to see this property returned to commerce and provide an enhanced economic boost for the market,” said Citron.
With construction set to begin in 2022, the new facility is expected to open in 2023 and will be the first in Louisiana to use Honda’s newest designs.
For leasing information in southwest Louisiana, contact Seth Citron at scitron@stirlingprop.com / 337-572-0273.
LOFT18 Is Coming to Mandeville, Louisiana
Stirling Properties serving as brokerage tenant rep in company expansion.
Stirling Properties announces LOFT18, an interactive sports bar and lounge, is coming to Mandeville, Louisiana. Stirling Properties is serving as the brokerage representative for LOFT18 in its regional expansion efforts.
LOFT18, founded in New Orleans, Louisiana, is an innovative, interactive golf and multi-sport concept featuring custom-built, state-of-the-art Full Swing Golf simulators. It showcases games & championship courses to deliver precision play at its finest to golfers of all experience levels. And for non-golfers, LOFT18’s full-service bar and restaurant offers gastro-pub fare, craft beer and cocktails, and New Orleans’ famous service and hospitality.
This marks the third retail location for LOFT18. The company recently closed on the purchase of property located at the corner of St. Ann Drive and N. Causeway Blvd. (Hwy. 190 Frontage Road) in Mandeville to construct a ground-up 10,000-square-foot restaurant and bar with outdoor dining space. The new location will feature five simulators and one VIP room with a private simulator for parties of 20-30 people. The contractor on the development is Cassesi Scully Commercial Construction and the architect is Sizeler, Thompson & Brown Architects. Construction is expected to begin soon, with an anticipated opening in September-November 2022.
“We are thrilled to announce our newest LOFT18 location in Mandeville and to deliver the ultimate indoor golf, entertainment, and hospitality experience for the entire Northshore community,” said Greg Whitman, president/owner of LOFT18. “Mandeville’s vibrant, high-growth market is a perfect fit for LOFT18. We look forward to being a part of this community and serving its families, foodies, and, of course, golfers.”
Thomas Bryan and Lauren Ryan, commercial real estate advisors with Stirling Properties, represented LOFT18 in securing the location. “Lauren and I are very proud to represent Loft18 in their expansion efforts and are excited about their new location coming to the Northshore,” said Bryan. “LOFT18 was the first locally-owned golf simulation and entertainment concept in the New Orleans area, and they are setting the course for a unique entertainment and restaurant experience that will be highly successful in this market.”
The LOFT18 concept was dreamt-up by three long-time friends with backgrounds in entertainment, sales and hospitality and a fervent love for the game of golf. Seeing a niche in the hospitality industry, the group opened its first “flagship” location in Metairie in 2017 and its second location in Houston, Texas, in 2019. LOFT18 is currently working on expansion efforts in other major markets.
For leasing information, contact Lauren Ryan at lryan@stirlingprop.com / (504) 620-8124 or Thomas Bryan at tbryan@stirlingprop.com / (504) 620-8138.
Stirling Properties Expands National Property Management Footprint
Awarded management contracts for three retail properties in Mississippi & Ohio.
Stirling Properties was recently awarded the property management duties for three retail properties in Mississippi and Ohio.
Kings Crossing is a 116,952-square-foot Kohl’s shadow center located at 3980 N Gloster Street in Tupelo, Mississippi. The center is 97% occupied with a lineup of national/regional tenants, including Petco, Five Guys, Five Below, Kirkland’s, Ross Dress for Less and others.
Wadsworth Crossing I & II are adjoining retail centers located at 1183 Williams Reserve Boulevard in Wadsworth, Ohio, totaling 63,328 square feet. The centers are shadow-anchored by Target, Lowe’s and Kohl’s and feature a diverse tenant mix. They are currently 95% leased, including Petco, Verizon, Beef O’Brady’s, Wayback Burgers, Mattress Firm and more.
“Stirling Properties is proud to assume the management duties of these high-performing retail properties and looks forward to working with their ownership teams to create added value for their assets. We are also excited to further grow our commercial portfolio and management services on a national level,” said Donna Smith, Executive Vice President with Stirling Properties.
Stirling Properties owns and manages 20.5 million square feet of commercial real estate across the country, including office, retail, industrial, healthcare, residential and mixed-use properties.
For property and asset management information, contact Donna Smith at (985) 246-3758 / dsmith@stirlingprop.com.
Stirling Properties Brings Target to Premier Centre in Mandeville, Louisiana
Rack Room Shoes expansion & relocation paves the way for new retail opportunities.
Stirling Properties announces the addition of Target to the tenant lineup at Premier Centre, located on U.S. Highway 190 in Mandeville, Louisiana.
Target will occupy roughly 58,000 square feet of retail space, backfilling the former Stein Mart store, as well as the adjacent space currently housing Rack Room Shoes, and an additional 13,000 square feet of new building expansion area in the rear of the building. Rack Room Shoes will expand and relocate next to Whole Foods Market in the former Forever 21 Red space. Rack Room Shoes is expected to re-open in its expanded space in the fall of 2021.
“Stirling Properties is excited to welcome Target to Premier Centre and the Mandeville community. The explosive growth of St. Tammany Parish and high retail sales make this an attractive two-store market for retailers. Target has been serving the community in Covington for many years, and this new store presents an opportunity to bring the great shopping experience to more customers in our growing market,” said Donna Smith, Executive Vice President with Stirling Properties. “The recent activity at Premier Centre has also been a catalyst for additional exciting retail opportunities that we hope to be able to announce soon.”
Rhonda Sharkawy, Senior Retail Leasing & Development Advisor with Stirling Properties, is the exclusive commercial broker for Premier Centre and worked with Target to secure the new location and the expansion and relocation of Rack Room Shoes.
Premier Centre, anchored by Whole Foods Market, is located at the corner of U.S. Hwy. 190 & N. Causeway Blvd. in Mandeville, Louisiana, on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish. It consists of approximately 273,000 square feet of retail and restaurant options and is currently 97% leased. Stirling Properties developed Premier Centre and currently manages and leases the property.
Tenants include Whole Foods Market, Bed Bath & Beyond, T.J.Maxx, Barnes & Noble, Old Navy, Rack Room Shoes, Gap/Gap Kids, American Eagle Outfitters, Banana Republic, LOFT, Bath & Body Works, Trek Bikes, Earthsavers, Blu Spero, Buckle, J.Jill, Jose Bali Jewelry, Chili’s, La Madeleine and The Big Squeezy. Electric car charging stations are also available in the parking lot near Whole Foods Market.
Stirling Properties has developed more than 24.8 million square feet of property totaling $2.2 billion, almost exclusively in Louisiana. Other Stirling Properties developments in the area include Fremaux Town Center (Slidell), River Chase (Covington), Northpark Corporate Center (Covington) and Hammond Square (Hammond), to name a few.
For leasing information, contact Rhonda Sharkawy at rsharkawy@stirlingprop.com / (504) 620-8145.
Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux at Hammond Square Opens July 19th
Stirling Properties announces Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux will celebrate the grand opening of its newest location at Hammond Square in Hammond, Louisiana, on July 19th, 2021. An official ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by the Tangipahoa Chamber of Commerce will be held at 10am.
The highly anticipated restaurant will be located on C.M. Fagan Drive, next to PetSmart and Five Below, in the Hammond Square shopping center. Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux local franchisee DBMC Restaurants acquired 1.35 acres of property to build and operate the roughly 8,025-square-foot restaurant as part of a redevelopment project on the northeast side of the shopping center. DBMC Restaurants is a veteran restaurant group that currently operates three restaurant brands across six states and is one of the largest franchisees of Walk-On’s.
Rhonda Sharkawy, Stirling Properties’ Senior Retail Leasing & Development Advisor, is the exclusive commercial advisor for Hammond Square and worked with the property owners and restaurant group to secure the new location.
The popular sports-themed restaurant started in Baton Rouge by two former LSU basketball walk-ons has thrived over the years and expanded with more than 100 locations open or in development across 15 states. Currently, there are 19 Walk-On’s restaurants operating in Louisiana.
Hammond Square marks the 3rd location for the Northshore region, with existing restaurants at Stirling Properties’ River Chase development in Covington and Fremaux Town Center in Slidell.
Hammond Square is Tangipahoa Parish’s premier shopping destination, located on approximately 100 acres at the northwest corner of Interstate 12 and US Highway 51 Business (SW Railroad Avenue) in Hammond, Louisiana. It is the 2nd largest open-air center in Louisiana, encompassing over 852,000-square-feet of more than 40 national and local retailers, shops and restaurants, including Dillard’s, Target, The Home Depot, JCPenney, Academy Sports+Outdoors and AMC Theatres. Stirling Properties redeveloped Hammond Square and currently manages and leases the center.
For more information on Hammond Square, visit www.hammondsquare.com or facebook.com/hammondsquare. For leasing and sales information, contact Rhonda Sharkawy at (504) 620-8145 or rsharkawy@stirlingprop.com.
President’s Message: The Collision of Physical and Digital Retail
For quite some time now, you have undoubtedly seen the exaggerated headlines about the death of brick-and-mortar retail. How ecommerce—led by Amazon—would put physical stores out of business. How ironic is it now that these digitally native retailers are aggressively moving into the brick-and-mortar world?
In fact, Amazon is very bullish on opening new physical stores in all its various formats (Amazon Grocery, Whole Foods, Amazon Four Star, Amazon Books, etc.). And conversely, while Amazon is adding new stores, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are determinedly expanding and beefing up their ecommerce platforms as well. Why? Because it provides multiple avenues and touchpoints to engage with and satisfy the demands of the consumer. It’s like two trains coming from different directions colliding in the same retail space.
We’ve already seen many physical changes occurring in brick-and-mortar retail stores as a result. Retailers and retail property owners are shifting away from the one-size-fits-all model and curating more personalized and experiential environments, a change that has been occurring for quite some time. Consumer safety features, BOPIS (buy online, pickup in-store), curbside pickup and expedited pickup zones for fast-casual restaurant establishments have all become the norm, even consumers’ expectations.
Retail real estate has certainly evolved over the years, but those who believed that brick-and-mortar stores were dying failed to understand consumers’ behaviors and preferences. Sure, specific retail formats and retailer stores have or will die, but overall, brick-and-mortar retail is healthy and here to stay. The onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated trends that were already beginning to occur and even proved that some types of retail are actually essential to consumers. The COVID crises also confirmed that retail centers are more than just for shopping. They offer healthcare services, wellness clinics, fitness, entertainment, community gathering places and social connectivity—all things digitally-native brands are now trying to capitalize on.
Moving forward, retail centers will only play a more critical role in everyday living and bringing communities together, and retailers must recognize and adapt to their role in this transformation. So, what can we expect to see for the future of retail?
- Rapid expansion of those retailers that have emerged as the winners. Grocery stores (value, ethnic and specialty) are performing exceptionally well and remain attractive tenants in retail centers. Off-price players, fitness, healthcare and digitally native brands will grow substantially.
- Constant and substantial physical changes to retail centers. Retailers will continue to alter store sizes and formats to adapt to consumer demands, such as convenience and safety (some may be larger, some smaller), more convenient front-of-store operations for customer pickup and quick product collection.
- Enhanced online ordering systems, technology integration and expedited pickup zones for fast-casual restaurants.
- Activation of common areas and outdoor spaces for restaurant and dining uses, entertainment, community events, and social gathering places.
- Emerging new retail and food concepts (e.g., food kitchens).
- Creative ways for retailers to use data mining and tech advancements to better engage with and attract customers into the physical store.
- Continual incorporation of brick-and-mortar in the supply chain as more stores are utilized as distribution and fulfillment spaces.
Brick-and-mortar retail is definitely not dead, but it will continue to evolve and transform at a rapid pace—and the collision of physical and digital uses of retail space will drive most of this transformation.
Understanding the implications of these changes and being ready and able to adapt will be critical for retail owners and operators. And, for those able to do so, there will be many opportunities in the future.
As the physical and digital retail worlds continue to collide, retailers and property owners will be forced to get on board or get crushed!
