Southpark Meadows’s Music Meadows is back and better than ever! On May 3rd, we kicked off a weekend celebrating the grand reopening of this iconic South Austin playground, and what a festive time it was!
From the moment we arrived, Music Meadows was buzzing with excitement. Kids played on the vibrant new playground equipment with a new climbing structure and interactive musical elements. The space has truly been transformed, blending Austin’s rich music culture with fun, family-friendly activities.
The weekend was packed with entertainment, including local Austin musicians, favorite characters from Star Wars and Encanto greeting, a local farmer’s market, balloon artists, face painters, and more! A special thank you to all of our retailers who participated in making the weekend a success!
We’re so thrilled to have Music Meadows once again join the community, and we look forward to many events here in the future!
Thank you Austin for celebrating with us!
You can learn more about Southpark Meadows: https://bigv.com/p/southpark-meadows-i-ii
Written By: Eric Zimmermann – Chief Acquisitions Officer, Big V Property Group
The sold-out ICSC Open-Air Conference (“OAC”) provided great networking and, even better, actionable information on the state of the industry. OAC attracts top leaders in the retail real estate sector. The general consensus is that it’s a great time for the retail industry’s fundamentals.
The economy remains surprisingly resilient coming out of the pandemic, according to keynote speaker Ryan Severino, CFA, Managing Director, Chief Economist, and Head of U.S. Research at BGO. Though it’s happening in fits and starts, inflation is cooling off and he anticipated it will stabilize at about 2% – The Fed’s target. Thus far, the economy seems to be adapting to higher interest rates (though look for rate cuts by the Fed in the second half of this year), and a persistent labor shortage. So, it’s not surprising that goods spending is continuing.
Over the last five years, retail sales are up 89%, while the U.S. GDP is up 33%. It’s a terrific time for retail, based on supply and demand, according to our team’s conversations at the meeting. At 93%, occupancy is at an all-time high for most owners. That is due to a combination of very restrained new construction (GLA up just 6.8% over the last five years), continued robust expansion by retailers and smart demolition of some 200 million square feet of obsolete space in the last five years.
Most of the weak retail performers that had dragged down properties earlier in the decade have since restructured or closed. Stronger tenants have taken advantage of these opportunities, and 2023 announced store openings were 45% higher than closings. Landlords and property managers are actually excited about the possibilities of vacancies, because those spaces can be filled with stronger tenants at better rates. In most markets, we’re seeing retailers competing for available spaces – particularly anchor spaces
Penciling out a project or a new tenant remains challenging, as the costs of capital and construction remain painfully high. On the transaction front, which slowed dramatically as interest rates rose last year, optimism suggests that volume should pick up 10% to 20% this year. We may even see some portfolio transactions, if tight CRE debt markets become more liquid.
While challenges remain due to the uncertainniss of geopolitical events and the looming Presidential election, there are many more reasons to be optimistic than pessimistic about the long-term prospects for retail landlords. Shoppers are smarter, retailers are on better financial footing, our spaces more valuable to tenants due to last-mile distribution use, and new product construction is at an all-time-low; and is predicted to remain so. All in all, OAC was extremely encouraging.
About Eric Zimmermann
Eric Zimmermann joined Big V Property Group in 2023 as an advisor to the Executive Committee and stepped into the role of Chief Acquisitions Officer later that same year. Eric’s principal mission will be to steer the company’s acquisitions strategy, leveraging his vast knowledge in retail acquisitions, capital markets, and equity investment. Read Eric’s Full Bio
Since 2017, Big V Property Group has completed energy-efficiency exterior lighting transformations at over 25 of our properties. These projects’ significant financial and environmental benefits have been outlined in a sustainability report released by our lighting partner, Southpoint Solutions, a leading provider of sustainable lighting solutions.
The collective impact of these projects is impressive. According to Southpoint Solutions, Big V Property Group has saved 9,328,042 kWh and 6,611 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, a significant environmental impact. Additionally, Big V Property has been able to secure $300K+ in rebates and reduced energy costs by over $800K.
Aside from these quantifiable benefits, the upgrades have also improved safety and security in the facilities while reducing maintenance costs and improving aesthetics. The upgrades have also increased tenant and consumer satisfaction.
After the installation at Deerbrook Marketplace in Humble, Texas, there was a 79% energy reduction. The original installation was poorly lit, using high-energy-consuming 1000-watt pole lights throughout the parking lot. Leveraging an incentive from Centerpoint Energy, project costs were reduced by more than twelve percent.
Many of the properties that 9,328,042 kWh has acquired were previously illuminated with outdated and inefficient lighting systems, resulting in inadequate lighting and excess energy consumption. By investing in LED lighting, Big V has achieved better light distribution while capturing significant savings in energy usage and maintenance costs.
In addition, Big V Property Group is at the forefront of implementing Bluetooth control systems to aid property management and anticipate future needs. This innovative technology enables the lighting system to be controlled through a mobile device, allowing Big V Property Group to monitor and adjust lighting as needed.
“Our goal is to upgrade every shopping center we purchase instantly to LED because of the significant benefits. The LED products that Southpoint Solutions installed to date are impressive. We have done numerous projects with Southpoint Solutions so far and the performance gets better each time. Southpoint Solutions has been a great partner for these important improvements” -Scott Cozzali, Big V Property Group Vice President, Construction.
At Big V Property Group, we are committed to executing projects on our properties that benefit all stakeholders, from our clients and investors to the communities we serve. We recognize the importance of our role in creating sustainable developments that have a positive environmental impact and provide significant financial benefits. We believe that our success is intertwined with the success of the communities we serve, and we remain committed to creating projects that contribute to their growth and well-being.
Celebrating our past and defining our future through a foundation of tradition, integrity, commitment and innovation.
Celebrating an anniversary is a milestone for any company, but an 80th anniversary is a monumental one. In 1942, when William and Viola Rosenberg opened Victory Super Market in Florida, NY, they could have never predicted what would grow from the foundation they laid. A self-service grocery store that innovatively supplied housewares and toys, in addition to the standard grocery offerings, Victory Super Market began drawing in shoppers from an over twenty-mile radius thanks to its pioneering one-stop-shop approach and family-oriented ethos.
In the last 80 years, this humble, yet pioneering, storefront has skyrocketed into a vertically integrated real estate investment and management company that was named the 3rd largest private buyer in 2021. Big V Property Group currently owns and operates 54 open-air retail shopping centers across the Sun Belt region that encompasses more than 9 million SF; it’s no small feat (literally).
Celebrating 8 Decades of Growth, Community, and Legacy
As part of the celebration, the Big V Property Group team, partners and families, came together this past November to commemorate the milestone of the company’s 80th anniversary. In attendance were members of the Rosenberg family, including current President and CEO Jeffrey Rosenberg, former President Richard “Dick” Rosenberg (1972-1992), COO Mike Rosenberg, and CAO Jason Nidiffer.
President Jeffrey Rosenberg recounted that whenever he finds himself in a challenging position, he asks himself, “What would my Grandfather William do? He remains at the heart of Big V and its decision-making even today, as do his time-enduring values of kindness, fairness, honor, and trust.” Striking a thoughtful balance between blazing new trails and preserving the ones already walked upon is a noteworthy element of the company’s continued success.
In its 80 years, Big V Property Group has accomplished something substantial, something that makes a difference— upholding its family-owned beginnings, while welcoming many more into the fold and serving tenants and communities on a grand scale.
Looking Towards Our Future
Building on the same fundamental principles that were set in place over 80 years ago, Big V Property Group has set a vision for the future that will continue to uphold the principles and values that have served so well. The Big V Team remains focused on their tenants, putting them first and enable success by proactively working to find future-focused solutions to any challenge they face. They are just as committed now as William and Viola were 80-years ago.
Taking all that has been learned over the past 80 years, Big V Property Group begin’s 2023 with inspired optimism to continue their path of growth and success for their tenants, investors, team and communities.
Click here to learn more about our 80-year history
Big V Property Group’s Chief Revenue Officer, Kenton McKeehan recently joined JLL’s James Cook on his “Where We Buy” Podcast. This episode was recorded live at the JLL booth at ICSC Las Vegas 2022.
During this podcast, James Cook, the director of retail research in the Americas for JLL talks to Kenton about Big V Property Group’s recent acquisition of three retail ski villages: The Village at Stratton in Vermont, The Village at Snowshoe in West Virginia and The Village at Copper Mountain in Colorado.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
About Where We Buy Podcast
James Cook and his fellow retail researchers visit shopping destinations around the world, interview retail and real estate executives and discuss market research in a fast-paced and fun setting. James researches retail and real estate for JLL.
Big V Hoping for Big Impact
Shopping center owners filling empty storefronts
This article appeared in Loganville Insider, Spring/Summer 2021 Issue
Story by Robbie Schwartz
Photo by Jason Cain
North Logan Commons was completed in 2009 and with it a major westward expansion of retail fo rhte city along Highway 78 into Gwinnett County. The 175,969-square-foot shopping center brought big-name box stores Lowe’s, Best Buy, PetSmart, OfficeMax and Dick’s Sporting Goods to the City of Loganville.
Though the shopping center was never fully occupied, it provided – and continues to provide – residents a reason to keep their shopping dollars local/ Even when the Best Buy store shut its doors in 2012 as part of a nationwide restructuring for the company, the space was soon filled with TJ Maxx, Pamendi’s has established itself as a great local eatery and when Jersey Mike’s Subs relocated, it was replaced when Five Guys Burgers moved in nearby.
While internet shopping has impacted many businesses, the shopping center has proved its resilience. When the economic downturn hit, the shopping center survived. But when the property was sold to CIM Group in 2013 for $20.8 million, the inability to fill unoccupied space in the shopping center remained persistent.
Just as the pandemic began drastically altering lives in 2020, a buyer emerged for the North Logan Commons Shopping Center. But the pandemic complicated matters as financing for the retail projects was difficult to find. Big V Property Group, who were looking to buy the property, helped sell the deal to potential lenders by working with the national tenants of the shopping center to renew their leases and stabilize the asset prior to its purchase.
“We worked with all the local tenants as well because they are the thread to these centers. We made sure that everyone had the opportunity to ride out the storm and be able to once again grow their business as we turned the corner of COVID.” – Greg Ix, Vice President of Leasing
While multiple extensions were required, CIM eventually sold the property to Big V Property Group for $15.6 million. The center was about 83 percent occupied at the time of the sale.
Once the deal was finalized, Big V hit the ground running. The new owners replaced all the parking lot lights with LEDs and began working with city officials on expanding the sign in front of the center. This was done in part to accommodate new tenants for the shopping center. Later this year work will be done to upgrade the landscaping and address some visibility issues.
At the center of Big V’s strategy for its shopping center is creating the right mix and lease-up strategy to keep spaces occupied and tenants benefitting from one another. The goal is to have a customer come to North Logan Commons to ship a variety of stores – not just one. Part of the their initial leasing strategy focused on the need for more casual style restaurant options. Before closing on the property, Big V officials worked to get restrictions on food uses either amended or removed as part of the improved agreements with the already existing tenants.
Storefronts that remained empty for more than a decade were an issue for both the new owners and tenants, some of whom were considering not renewing their leases. But Big V Property Group brought them a level of excitement and promise that seemed to put the restless tenants at ease and ready to sign new long-term leases.
So what made the shopping center a worthwhile investment?
“We look for well-positioned real estate with good anchor tenants that have a strong online presence or have a merchandise mix that is somewhat internet resistant,” Ix said. “We look in markets that are growing. We like the family-oriented nature of Loganville. North Logan has a business-friendly environment and in a growing Atlanta suburb. Lowe’s Dick’s Sporting Goods, PetSmart, TJ Maxx and Dollar Tree are best-in-segment retailers; We saw opportunity in leasing up the vacancies that the prior landlord didn’t capitalize on for over 10 years.
“Since our purchase in mid-2020, we have leased almost 20,0000 square feet of what was vacant.”
The biggest part of the newly leased space will be pOpShelf, a new concept for high-end shoppers that want discounted products in fancy shopping environment. The store brands itself as selling products similar to merchandise as Target but at lower prices. The first store opened up in January 2921 in Monroe, NC, with parent company Dollar General expected to open 30 stores before the end of the year.
Another new tenant will be Lux Beauty Supply, a local chain of beauty supply and women’s fashions.
Big V officials made sure to show their appreciation for the efforts of the city in being proactive to attract new businesses to Loganville.
“When Big V buys a site, we try to become part of the community because we are,” Ix said. “We own property and take pride in our ownership and the fact that we service the community. We had some concerns before buying the center, but after speaking with Mayor (Rey) Martinez and his staff, we had great comfort that our relationship with the city was going to be a positive partnership.
“If it wasn’t for the foresight and actions of the mayor and the city council, our lease-ups at this point might not have been so successful.”
Big V began first as Big V Supermarkets Inc., founded in 1942 by William and Viola Rosenberg with the opening of Victory Supermarket in Florida, NY. The company grew under Dick Rosenberg to encompass 34 stores and more than $800 million in revenue. The company was sold in 1987, but the family retained many of the shopping centers. Born from this was Big V Property Group, which owns centers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Florida, Alabama and Texas – in addition to the original Victory Square Shopping Center in Florida, NY.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW ARTICLE MAGAZINE ON PAGE 36
Big V is excited to welcome pOpshelf to its Poplin Place Center in Monroe, North Carolina. This new concept store by Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) will offer a selection of on-trend seasonal and home décor, health and beauty must-haves, home cleaning supplies, household and specialty items, arts and crafts, party planning and entertaining needs and toys. Learn more about pOpshelf at https://www.popshelf.com/
pOpshelf at Poplin Place Address:
2901 W US Hwy 74
Monroe, NC
The following article originally appeared on charlottestories.com on December 9, 2020 Read Full Article on Charlotte Stories
The Dollar General is launching a new concept for high-end shoppers that want discounted products in a fancy shopping environment and has selected the Charlotte market to test the concept.
The new store is called ‘pOpshelf’ and will feature seasonal and home décor, health and beauty products, home cleaning supplies, household and specialty items, arts and crafts, party planning and entertaining needs, toys and more — with approximately 95 percent of items priced at $5 or less.
Here is a teaser of what the new concept will look like:
“We are thrilled to expand the pOpshelf offerings into the Charlotte market and look forward to having customers pop by our Monroe store early next year,” said Matt Frame, pOpshelf’s director of store operations. “We’re excited for customers to explore our stores and discover the possibilities of home décor, beauty, party, specialty foods, electronics and more. At pOpshelf, there’s fun in every find, happiness in the affordability and joy in stress-free shopping experience we offer, and we look forward to welcoming our communities to our new stores soon!”
Dollar General has plans to open approximately 30 locations in various markets by the end of fiscal year 2021.
2020 was a challenging year for so many in our industry. At Big V Property Group, we stayed focused on our core values, supporting our tenants and helping them navigate the challenges of the year.
We helped restaurants stay open, putting up signs and distributing masks.
We supported our communities and frontline workers and introduced our #bigvcares initiative.
We continued to improve our properties and acquired five new properties, including The Avenue, our largest acquisition to date.
All while staying safe, either in the office or meeting on Zoom.
As we look ahead to 2021, we are grateful for our hardworking team, our tenants, our investors and, most importantly, our customers!
Big V is excited to launch #bigvcares, an initiative focused on providing assistance for our tenants and support in the communities where we work and live.
COVID-19 has impacted all of us in ways no one could have prepared for. It has disrupted virtually every aspect of our lives both personally and professionally. Tenants have always been the core of our business and this is even more true while we face this global pandemic.
One of the ways we are supporting our tenants is by creating printed signage for all the open restaurants in our centers to help draw customers during this difficult time.
Big V has also been purchasing meals from our tenants to donate to some local health care workers. Just another way #bigvcares.
For Immediate Release
Big V Property Group has closed on Towne Square, 302,135 SF community power center in Roanoke, VA. The center is ideally located with access from Hershberger Rd NW (37,000 VPD), Airport Rd NW (6,600 VPD), and Aviation Dr NW (7,200 VPD). Additionally, the center is less than a mile from I-581 (65,000 VPD), a major artery for the region. Towne Square is anchored by Ross Dress for Less, Marshalls, Bed Bath & Beyond, Five Below, Kirkland’s and Petco and shadow-anchored by Sam’s Club. The center was purchased from Kimco and is 82% leased.
Big V Property Group owns and operates 44 neighborhood and community shopping centers totaling over 6 million square feet, primarily located in the southeastern region of the US. Big V Property Group has 45 employees located in five offices with major offices in Charlotte, NC, Bristol, TN and Florida, NY.
For more information contact:
Ryan Fabbri
rfabbri@bigv.com
(423) 534-4603
Paul Cornette
pcornette@bigv.com
(917) 842-4999