CHICAGO—Tucker Development, in a joint venture with Hutensky Capital Partners, recently acquired Town Square Wheaton, a 200,000 square-foot shopping center and office property in suburban Wheaton, for $57.25 million. Until 2014, the Chicago-based firm had spent several years developing giant mixed-use projects in New Jersey, but with those projects well underway, it decided to refocus its attention developing local projects and expanding its retail portfolio.
“Town Square Wheaton is a site that we always considered great real estate,” Richard Tucker, chief executive officer of Tucker, tells GlobeSt.com. “It's had the same owner for a long time and it's in very good shape.” Furthermore, its unique, pedestrian-friendly design, which includes seven buildings arranged in a walkable loop, makes it a comfortable place to shop.
However, Tucker says the company does plan to spend about $2 million on various upgrades, including new signage, façade improvements and enhancements to the outdoor spaces.
The open-air center has 160,000 square feet of retail space occupied by numerous national brands including Banana Republic, Gap, Joseph A. Bank, Starbucks, Talbot's, Victoria's Secret, White House | Black Market, Gymboree and many others. Currently, it is about 85% leased. The property also includes two professional buildings, which house a variety of medical care facilities.
As the company grows its portfolio of retail assets in Chicago and other metro areas, Tucker says it will focus on properties located in areas that are transit-oriented, have high barriers to entry, or like Wheaton, have a critical mass of affluent consumers.
He is optimistic about the long-term prospects for the retail sector, especially mixed-use properties that pair upscale shopping with new luxury residences. “You're going to see more and more apartments coming up in the suburbs,” as developers meet the growing demand from both millennials and empty-nesters for quality rental environments.
Phase I of Tucker's Hudson Lights, for example, a one-million-square-foot development located in Fort Lee, NJ, at the entrance to the George Washington Bridge, has about 143,000 square feet of retail space and 276 luxury apartments.
Although the company is best known here for retail projects like South Loop Marketplace and Marketplace at Six Corners in Chicago, and Country Club Plaza, a 450,000-square-foot center in suburban Country Club Hills, Tucker says he hopes to soon launch mixed-use projects with both retail and luxury rental, similar to their recent New Jersey efforts. “There is a real need for it.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
