CHAPEL HILL, N.C., June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The Kalikow Group, through a joint venture entity known as Rams Plaza Associates, LLC, announces that CVS has signed a long-term ground lease to construct a new, 13,000+ square-foot stand-alone store on the vacant outparcel at the 113,000 square-foot grocery anchored Rams Plaza shopping center at 1728 Fordham Boulevard in Chapel Hill, NC.
Upon acquisition of the property in December of 2011, Rams Plaza Associates announced plans to renovate the 30-year-old shopping center. Those plans are nearing completion and ahead of projections with the signing of this 20-year lease with extension options.
CVS has been a long-time junior anchor of the shopping center, currently occupying 8,500 square feet of inline space. They will continue to occupy their current location until the new stand-alone store is completed.
The new lease marks the beginning of the second phase of a $3 million renovation plan at Rams Plaza. In March, the owners completed phase one of the renovations, which included $1.5 million in upgrades to the facade, building structures, interior courtyard and parking areas.
Rams Plaza is currently 95 percent occupied and anchored by Food Lion. Located just off Highway 15/501 in Chapel Hill, the most prestigious submarket of the Raleigh Durham MSA, the shopping center is just minutes away from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus, with over 30,000 students, staff and faculty.
Argus Development Group, a joint venture partner in the acquisition through its Argus Rams Plaza, LLC subsidiary, handled the approval process, renovations and management of the property. Argus Development Group is co-marketing the property with Retail Strategies, leasing agent for Rams Plaza. Breakers Capital Partners, a Florida limited liability, is the third member of the joint venture acquisition team.
"We are extremely pleased to announce this agreement with CVS, which allows us to complete our redevelopment of this shopping center," said Edward Kalikow, president and CEO of The Kalikow Group. "Tenant retention remains very high in the area, which has significant barriers to entry, and we are gratified that CVS has chosen to expand at the new Rams Plaza."
"Rams Plaza is located in one of the few commercial centers in Chapel Hill, at an intersection with strong traffic counts and good visibility. The scarcity of vacancies in the overall market speaks to the success that most retailers experience in the Chapel Hill market."
One of the three points of the Research Triangle, Chapel Hill is the coveted jewel of the Research Triangle, being in a very desirable market with a strong economic base. The area is home to not only the University of North Carolina, but its affiliated hospitals and the headquarters of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.
The Rams Plaza location boasts strong demographics, with 58,000 permanent residents located within a three-mile radius, 73 percent of whom are college graduates, well above the national average of 27 percent. The average household income in the area is $84,600, well over the national average of $70,173.
ABOUT THE KALIKOW GROUP
The KEP division of the Kalikow Group is a private source of Joint Venture Equity financing for middle-market Real Estate Developers, Operators and Builders. Headed by Edward Kalikow, it has been acquiring, developing and investing in all types of real estate projects for well over 30 years. The Kalikow Group is a multifaceted source of equity for a variety of investment platforms including retail, multifamily, condominiums and single-family home development, as well as land-development for national home builders. To date, The Kalikow Group has raised over $100 million of equity capital, which has funded projects valued in excess of $850 million.
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