Stonemar Properties signs 10,000 s/f lease renewal with Pier One

Pier One Imports has signed a 10,000 s/f lease renewal valued at $524,000 - with a $585,000 five-year lease extension option - at Crossroads Shopping Center. "By moving Pier One from a rental rate slightly above the local market rate to a more competitive rental rate, we have been able to retain this important retailer as one of our strong anchors, along with Office Max, in this vibrant shopping center," said Jonathan Gould, CEO of Stonemar Properties, which owns and manages the center. Pier One occupies 22% of the 44,000 s/f shopping center. Pier One is a national retailer of imported home furnishings and décor with over 1,000 stores nationwide. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Crossroads Shopping Center, 88% leased at the present time, is a location Pier One finds attractive since it is just three quarters of a mile from the Turtle Creek Regional Mall, a recently-opened 750,000 square foot regional shopping mall that draws consumers from across northeast Arkansas and western Tennessee. Turtle Creek is anchored by Target, J.C. Penny, Dillards, Best Buy, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Stonemar Realty Management, a subsidiary of Stonemar Properties, brokered the transaction for Stonemar Properties, the shopping center owner. Stonemar Properties employs a strategy of acquiring and managing high-quality retail assets, like Crossroads, in strong but under-recognized markets. It targets locations with improving demographic trends that are strategically located near other high-quality properties with superior access, high traffic volume and strong retail sales. Along with the adjoining Bernard Court Shopping Center, also owned by Stonemar, Crossroads is located in a major trade center for 350,000 people in northeast Arkansas and southeast Missouri. Crossroads is shadow anchored by a top-grossing Wal-Mart super center. Employment in the Jonesboro area has remained remarkably strong, counter to the national employment trend, said Gould. Recent area developments include Nice-Pak, bringing in 300 jobs and a $40 million investment in the community; StarTek, a new call center; and the expansion of a Nestlé plant, adding165 jobs to its previous 1,000 employee headcount. Stonemar Properties, LLC is a shopping center investment and management company based in New York City that seeks strategically located power centers in expanding secondary markets and has participated in equity transactions worth more than one billion dollars.