Many interested retail concepts looking to locate in Tucson these days are not finding their requirements available in what the market has to offer. “Interest from big box retailers is strong… and we are starting to see the beginning of new development to meet the need of the incoming retailer requirements,” according to the Big Box Mid-Year 2013 Report by Nancy McClure of CBRE in Tucson released this week.

Big box retail activity in the Tucson area was “robust” in the first half 2013, according to McClure, with the majority of spaces absorbed being between 10,000 to 18,000 sq. ft.

“By mid-year there were only 59 spaces greater than 10,000 sq. ft. available, totaling 1,056,139 sq. ft. of big box space in the market. This compares to 41 spaces greater than 10,000 sq. ft. and 1.1 million sq. ft. available at mid-year 2012.”

Although number of spaces have increased, the majority of these fall below 30,000 sq. ft. Of note is that of these available spaces, there are only seven vacant with 30,000 sq. ft. or greater. In the meantime, retailers comb the market anticipating more closures or redevelopment to make way for bigger box spaces.

Top 10 Big Box Spaces Sold / Leased YTD 2013

1) Walmart Supercenter (built to suit) 156,000 SF
2) Burlington (former Mervyn’s) 75,220 SF
3) Walmart Neighborhood Market (former Office Depot) 37,174 SF
4) Walmart Neighborhood Market (former retailer Billiard Hall) 35,000 SF
5) Total Wine (former Barnes & Nobel) 26,878 SF
6) AZ Air Time (former PetSmart) 25,815 SF
7) Summit Hut (former Razmataz) 18,363 SF
8) CareMore (former Cost Plus) 18,229 SF
9) dd’s Discount (former Walgreen’s) 17,388 SF
10) Planet Fitness (former Golf Galaxy) 15,305 SF

Nancy McClure, First Vice-President at CBRE in Tucson, provides leasing, sales and investment services to retail owners and developers, as well as corporate real estate solutions to major retailers including strategic planning, market research and site selection services.

McClure should be contacted for more information at (520) 323-5117.

To see the full report, click here: CBRE Big Box Mid-Year Report

Zemans Ethiopian Cusine (Amanuel Gebremarian) will be opening its new restaurant at 119 E Speedway in Central Tucson this Friday, July 19th. The property was purchased for $280,000 ($180 PSF) from Cuong & Susan Nguyen, for the 1,552 sq. ft. building (built 1925) on a .17 acre lot.  It was most recently used for a Bistro. Zemans’ other restaurant is at 2731 E Broadway Blvd. in Central Tucson; this will be Zemans second location in Tucson.

For those of you who are still intimidated by the thought of eating with your bare hands, here’s everything you need to know in a brief lesson. When you enter an Ethiopian restaurant, you’ll find standard tables and chairs. The service is always friendly and servers eager to answer any questions that may come to mind on the menu or the culture.  Leave all your North American preconceived notions about eating out at home.

What’s on the menu? You’ll find plenty of vegetarian options to choose from but also beef, lamb, chicken, and fish at the new Zemans’ on Speedway. Food is served on platters lined with injera, a traditional Ethiopian bread made with teff flour. Injera looks like a big pancake the size of a pizza. It’s essentially a large sourdough crepe. Your food will be served in a ring of mounds on the injera like a delicious, beautiful, and fun painter’s palette!

By now you’ve realized, there’s no silverware, no forks or knives on the table. As with many parts of the world, its important to know you typically would eat with your right hand, since the left is reserved for cleansing your body– which by the way you did do, right? Go wash those hands! Thank goodness all left-handed people are ambidextrous, otherwise they might risk horrified looks from others around them.

Ethiopian cooking uses a lot of berbere, which is a ground orange-red powder of chili peppers, garlic, ginger, basil, korarima and fenugreek, it has an interesting, deep, smoky flavor that will delight you. This is what gives Ethiopian food its distinct flavors. Not all Ethiopian food is spicy, though jalapeno peppers have been known to make an appearance.

Try taking your coffee with sugar and no milk, Ethiopian coffee is strong and one of the special highlights of Ethiopian dining, but you can also order regular.  Desserts are not common after dinner, however, sweet lovers may find a selection of ice cream at Zemans.

Ready to practice your newfound knowledge? Then go forth and eat Ethiopian this weekend!

Zemans’ new location will open this Friday, July 19th and be open from 10:00 A.M. to 9:30 P.M., Tuesday thru Sunday going forward. Unlike its other restaurant, this second location will also have a bar license.

Lynn Hansen of The Negotiators Realty in Tucson represented the seller and Jill Rich of Long Realty in Tucson represented the buyer in the transaction.

Gebremariam at Zemans can be reached at (520) 323-9928. Hansen can be contacted at (520) 219-0903 and Rich is at (520) 349-0174.

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[ismember]119 E Speedway Blvd closed 6/4/2013 with $100,000 down and a seller carry back for the balance. Market Time was 2-3 months and a 30-day escrow. The property is a converted SFR that sold with full kitchen included. [/ismember]

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The Dollar General Store at 1742 W Ruthrauff in Tucson was committed to by  Colina Investment Properties, LLC (Gary Beynon) of Utah before construction began and sold for[mepr-show rules=”58038″]$1.49 million ($163 PSF). DCM Development Company of Tucson (Chris Lechner, manager) was the developer and seller of property. In a subsequent transaction, Colina sold the property for $1.59 million ($174 PSF) to Saddlehorn Realty, LLC of Sedona, AZ (Stephanie Brand, managing member) in a double escrow.

Dollar General Corporation of Goodlettsville, TN (NYSE:DG) went public on November 13, 2009 in what was called “the largest retail-store IPO in at least 15 years” by Wall Street veterans. At that offering Dollar General raised $716 million, its stock ended at $22.73, up 8% from its IPO price of $21.00. Dollar General’s leases carry corporate guarantees and are typically either 10 or 15 year initial term.

Dave Hammack of Volk Company in Tucson represented the seller, DCM Development Company in the first transaction. J.R. Broadbent of Salt Lake City, Utah represented the buyer and handled the resale of property.

Lechner should be contacted at (520) 888-1212. Hammack can be reached at (520) 326-3200. For Dollar General information contact (615) 855-5210.

For other recent articles on Dollar General, please see: https://realestatedaily-news.com/dollar-general-builds-3-new-stores-plans-7-more-for-2013/

[/mepr-show]Please login for additional sale information.

[ismember]Sale date was 6/14/2013 for both transactions. Exact sale price on first was $1,487,101.66; and second was $1,587,000. The building is 9,100 SF (built 2013) on 56,581 SF lot. The property was purchased with a 7.65% cap rate and net-net lease terms;  it was flipped with a 7.1% cap rate. Dollar General’s leases have a corporate guarantee and are typically either 10 or 15 year initial term. Escalations and landlord responsibilities vary, but Dollar General’s net-net lease terms usually include bumps in lease in year 11, while holding the landlord responsible for at least roof and structure.

On 5/17/2013, in a separate unrelated transaction. 1.02 acres at 2820 W Los Reales sold by Daniel, LLC (Larry E Swindell Sr, Manager) to DCM Development (Chris Lechner) through an affiliate, Tombo 51, LLC for $215,000 ($4.85 PSF) in Tucson’s West submarket, for construction of a “Family Dollar” store that buyer plans to build and hold for investment. [/ismember]