Having obtained Cord Camera Centers Inc. properties in Ohio through receivership last summer, Genworth Financial has placed the assets on the market for lease or sale. Cassidy Turley is marketing the retailer's four stores, along with its former headquarters and warehouse at 2030 Dividend Dr. in Columbus, OH.
The offering represents an uptick in distress-related deals up for sale in the area, where a growing number of retail, apartment and office assets have fallen into trouble. "In the past three to four months there's definitely been an increase in defaulted and bankrupt properties," says Kevin James, a vice president at Cassidy Turley, who is representing Genworth along with Micha Bitton, Kevin McGrath, Mike Hurd and Rick Trott. "Most people thought it was going to start last year, but it's really starting in the first quarter of this year."
According to Real Capital Analytics, there has been a noticeable growth in distressed commercial properties throughout Ohio in recent months, with a tally of more than $3 billion worth of troubled assets as of the end of February. That compares to $1.4 billion for the same period in the previous year, according to RCA. Still, Ohio maintains a negligible amount of distressed properties compared to the rest of the country.
Nevertheless, Cassidy Turley forecasted in its year-end review of Columbus that most of the area's transactions in 2010 would derive from distressed or heavily discounted assets. The firm said the majority of last year's distressed sales were smaller, owner-occupied assets-a trend it anticipates may change as "larger investors deplete cash reserves and find it difficult to find replacement financing:
For its part, Cord Camera filed for dissolution and appointment of a receiver in June 2009 to keep its operations running, according to a company release. The company started in 1954, and was one of the biggest camera retailers in the Midwest. However, the family business had experienced a number of financial difficulties, including a call on its $8.6-million credit line by Huntington Bancshares Inc. in 2008. The retailer reportedly ran into defaults on equipment leases as well.
Shortly after heading into receivership, the retailer was acquired by Phoenix-based Colfax Financial LLC, its largest creditor. The camera company had more than 30 stores, but is now down to 18 locations in Ohio and Indiana.Cassidy Turley's James says that Colfax consolidated the Cord Camera stores, vacating the sites now up for sale. The sites include a 10,933 square-foot store at 4784 N. High St. in Columbus, OH, a 4,320-square-foot store at 4949 Tuttle Crossing Blvd. in Dublin, OH, a 10,000 square-foot store that includes drive- thru service at 2014 Baltimore-Reynoldsburg Rd. in Reynoldsburg, OH, and a 7,200-square-foot store at 631 E. Aurora Rd. in Macedonia, OH. Also available is the Dividend Drive property, which includes 17,700 square feet of office and 19,500 square feet of warehouse.
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