Property Types Retail
CASTO Invests $400M in Puerto Rican Portfolio
May 14, 2008

Columbus-based CASTO has invested $400 million in 1.7 million square feet of retail and office space in Puerto Rico. The properties were owned by Vadim Nikitine, president of Puerto Rico-based Commercial Centers Management Inc. Nikitine and Casto will now split ownership of the assets.

The partnership--dubbed CASTO Caribbean--acquired nine retail properties located throughout Puerto Rico, along with a high-rise office tower in Downtown San Juan. The acquisition places CASTO Caribbean among the top five retail owners in Puerto Rico. CASTO and Commercial Centers Management will split ownership of the properties equally, and Commercial Centers will continue to operate and lease the assets.

This venture is the latest in a series of partnerships between the two firms, beginning with the development Winter Park Village in Winter Park, Fla. Since that project, the partnership has expanded their holdings to eight lifestyle centers totaling 2 million square feet, as well as three mixed-use developments that are currently under development. PACE Financial Group provided financial advisory on the deal, working with institutional investors advised by JP Morgan Asset Management.

 
Recent Retail Headlines
Bankrupt Filene's Basement Assets Snapped Up by Men's Wearhouse in $67M Auction
June 09, 2009
Clothing retailer Men's Wearhouse has emerged victorious from a feverish nine-hour auction of assets belonging to off-price chain Filene's Basement, which fell victim to the retail market's downward spiral and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early May, just two weeks after its purchase by Buxbaum Group affiliate FB Acquisition II. Acting through its affiliate, K&G Acquisition Corp., Men's Wearhouse put forth the winning bid of $67 million for 17 to 20 of Filene's store leases, as well as the leases on the company's Massachusetts corporate headquarters and distribution center, its Maryland storage facility and-- possibly most important--the Filene's Basement trade name.
Economic Update - Starwood Eyes Distressed Sector with $500M Fund
June 08, 2009
Yet another deep-pocketed real estate entity has jumped into the grave-dancing game—only please, don’t call it that, but rather strategic investment in distressed properties. The player is a newly formed investment company called Starwood Property Trust Inc., a creation of Starwood mogul Barry Sternlicht, which filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late last week for a public offering that aims to raise half a billion dollars to do the distressed-property boogie. It will invest in not only physical properties, but mortgages and mortgage-backed securities.
Economic Update - Retailers See May Malaise
June 05, 2009
May comparable-store sales numbers are filtering down from various retailers, and the results aren't inspiring confidence in the prospects for recovered consumer spending. Actually, most analysts expected average retail same-store sales to decline in May 2009 when compared with May 2008, but the trouble was they declined more than expected.
 
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