Foot Locker announced that it will buy Runners Point Warenhandelsges, a German athletic store chain with more than 200 stores for approximately $94 million as it expands in Europe.

Sears Holdings has formed a new unit to market space from Sears and Kmart stores for data centers, disaster recovery space and wireless towers. Ubiquity Critical Environments was created in and attempt to reposition its assets. The retailer operates about 3,200 properties totaling 25 million-square-feet, that includes dozens of Sears and Kmart locations that have been closed over the past few years. Although mall based locations are not viable for data center usage, the company believes they are ideal for disaster recovery centers. The company believes that wireless towers present the most promising opportunity with 70% of the US population living within 10 miles of a Sears or a Kmart store.

TowerBrook Capital Partners has agreed to purchase True Religion Apparel in a deal valued at approximately $835 million. The upscale jeans and sportswear products are sold in department stores and specialty stores around the globe and also operates more than 120 stores in the US and more than 30 international locations. In 1Q 2013, total net sale increased 13.1% to $120.8 million.

Apax Partners and private equity firm, also based in London, has offered $1.1 billion for the PA-based retailer, rue21, a teen clothing retailer.  The retailer plans to open its 1,000th  location this year with sales in excess of $1 billion. The company also plans to launch an e-commerce platform in early 2014. Apax has been an investor in rue21 since 1998 and was majority owner then the retailer went public in 2009.

Upscale department store operator Saks has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs Group to explore alternative including a possible sale of the company and possibly a merger with Neiman Marcus, which also has been exploring a sale or public offering. The two companies have explored a merger in the past in the hopes of gaining more leverage with vendors. Nieman Marcus is stronger in Texas and parts of California, while Saks has its stronghold in New   York and Palm Beach. However, the two retailers do overlap in many locations prompting the risk of cannibalization.

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An investment group formed by Hamilton Zanze & Company (Mark Hamilton, President) of San Francisco, CA acquired Oracle Village Apartments at 5903 – 5929 N Oracle   Road in OroValley for [mepr-show rules=”58038″]$9 million ($62,500 per unit) from locally-based HSL Properties (Omar Mireles, Officer). The 144-unit apartment community in 133, 272 sq. ft. on 8.8 acres is rated as a Class-B community, but the new investor purchased with the goal of renovating into a Class-A complex.

HSL Properties purchased the property in 2002 for $5.7 million with deferred maintenance and upside potential.

The community offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans ranging in size from 694 – 1,098 sq. ft. with air conditioning, dishwasher, washer / dryer, sundecks and high speed internet available. Community amenities include a courtyard featuring a basketball and volleyball court, clubhouse with business center, pool and spa, with lush landscaping, manicured lawns and on-site management and maintenance. Located in the Northwest area, Oracle Village is close to shopping, dining and entertainment at the nearby CasaAdobesShopping Center, Foothills Mall or Tucson Mall. Residents also receive discounted rates at a nearby fitness club.

Hamilton Zanze has been investing in multi-unit residential real estate through investor groups since 1985, consistently producing growth, cash flow, and tax benefits. They are devoted to this asset class and versed in its nuances and idiosyncrasies. With experience, diligence, and commitment, investments are pushed through major improvements, active problem solving, insistent management, opportunistic financing, and a vigilant eye on the unfailing whims of the marketplace.

Hamilton Zanze focuses on apartments because they are convinced there is no better investment. Simply put by the company, “we buy real estate worth buying. For us, those properties are apartments with upside. That said, we invest for ourselves, individuals, families, trusts, funds and publicly traded companies with a focus on producing growth, cash flow, and tax benefits.”  Investment objectives are always framed with risk/reward foremost in mind.

The company owns 75 properties in 16 markets within eight states: Washington, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Nevada, Texas, Utah and Arizona. This is the seventh multifamily investment for Hamilton Zanze in the Tucson area totaling 1,518 units.

Art Wadlund of Hendricks-Bercadia in Tucson handled the transaction.

Hamilton can be reached at (415) 561-6800 ext 101. Mireles should be contacted at (520) 322-6994. Wadlund is at (520) 299-7200.[/mepr-show]

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June 5, 2013, two sand and gravel quarries, one in Pima County northwest of Harrison and Irvington in Tucson and the other in Pinal County at Florence-Coolidge Hwy (Hwy 287) and Nafziger Road in Coolidge, AZ an aggregate of 199 acres, sold for[mepr-show rules=”58038″]$1 million ($.12 PSF), or 8,674,103 sq. ft.

Both were actively being mined for sand and gravel at time of sale, but demand for the product has been slow since the recession and many sand and gravel pits have closed in the state.

The seller was ANB Sonora, LLC of Idaho Falls, ID an affiliate of Kingston Agronomy of Idaho. The buyer was SST Properties, LLC of Holladay, UT (Todd Timmons, managing member).

There was a private lender involved in the sale by the name of Blackwell for a loan amount of $958,313.

No other information was available.

Kingston Agronomy, the seller can be reached at (208) 522-2365.[/mepr-show]