President’s Message: A Championship Season
With the coming of Fall (hopefully soon) and the kickoff of a brand new football season filled with lofty expectations, excitement is in the air.
Let’s cheer our economic environment – our region remains strong and the nation continues to notice. Just last week, Louisiana was recognized again by a national publication – this time ranking #1 for Best Business Climate in the United States on Business Facilities’ annual Rankings Report, with Alabama rounding out the Top 10. According to the article, “if natural gas, gumbo and Mardi Gras are the only things that come to mind when you think about Louisiana, think again. Name a growth sector – digital media, advanced manufacturing, IT/software – and Louisiana has a specific program geared to welcome new players, with a proven track record of successful startups.”
Perhaps even more impressive, the same magazine’s annual Metro Rankings Report placed Baton Rouge #2, Mobile #3 and New Orleans #5 for Economic Growth Potential – three cities along the booming Gulf Coast in the Top 5, and all are cities where Stirling Properties is actively engaged. Other metro markets in our region are expanding as well – namely Lake Charles, Lafayette, Houma/Thibodaux and Shreveport/Bossier City.
Since my last President’s Message, Stirling too has continued to expand and grow in all of these markets. Our recent efforts include the acquisition of John Toomey & Company in Mobile, commencement of Phase II of Fremaux Town Center in Slidell and the addition of Sam’s Club to Stirling Bossier Shopping Center in Bossier City. We also have in the pipeline two new retail developments in Lake Charles and Lafayette, and we are actively involved in a number of other exciting initiatives.
Our new projects and growth, positive national rankings for our region and the upcoming football season are all certainly creating a buzz of excitement around here…let’s add football champions to the growing list!
President’s Message: Lucky 13!
As we embark upon a new year – 2013 (lucky 13!), I look back in amazement at how much our Stirling team has accomplished over the last twelve months.
We started the year with the acquisition of Avant Properties in Shreveport, Louisiana and capped it off with our recently announced joint venture development deal with CBL Properties of the Fremaux Town Center in Slidell, Louisiana.
In between those two milestone bookends, consider the following list of other accomplishments:
- The kickoff of Mid-City Market in New Orleans.
- The historic redevelopment of the American Legion Building into a state of the art Walgreens Drug Store on Magazine Street in New Orleans.
- The opening of The Fresh Market on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans.
- The $24 million acquisition of Tiger Manor Apartments in Baton Rouge.
- The securing of two new Walgreens development deals in Terrytown & Gulfport.
- The opening of Sam’s Club at River Chase in Covington.
- The successful closing of over $100 million in financing.
- The increase of over 16% of our commercial brokerage volume.
And while all of this was happening, we were also able to implement a new, state-of-the-art accounting software, introduce a brand new corporate website and complete a major restructuring of the company.
These accomplishments are all tributes to the outstanding team of professionals at Stirling Properties. We are now setting our sights on an outstanding new year and plan on making some additional major announcements soon. 2013 will certainly be a banner year – and lucky too.
Sam’s Club Opening a Record-Breaking Success!
Yesterday morning I spoke briefly at the official ribbon cutting for the Sam’s Club in our River Chase development. The parish president, all of the area mayors, several council members and a crowd waiting for the doors to open were all gathered. It was great to see so many people excited about the store opening.
Monday night was the store’s soft opening and it was equally crowded. The Sam’s Club parking lot was full, plus there were about 300 extra cars parked on the street and in nearby lots. The manager, Chris Cuevas, told me that the soft opening was a record for Sam’s Club.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this store sets many more records.
Stirling Properties Announces Sam’s Club Opening at River Chase
Stirling Properties, the developer of River Chase, announces the opening of Sam’s Club at River Chase Shopping Center, the largest open-air retail center in St. Tammany Parish. Sam’s Club opened today, Tuesday, October 30. The grand opening ceremony, led by Covington Sam’s Club Manager Chris Cuevas, featured local dignitaries and special appearances as community officials cut the ribbon to signify the club’s opening.
The new 136,000 square foot Sam’s Club is the only one in western St. Tammany and has have a fuel station and pharmacy. “Sam’s Club is a fantastic addition to the River Chase development. This state-of-the-art Sam’s Club is a great compliment to the existing tenant mix at what has now become the largest open air retail center in Louisiana,” said Stirling Properties’ Vice President of Development Townsend Underhill. “Sam’s commitment to the project and to Western St. Tammany Parish has been tremendous over the past 2 years while this deal has been in the works and we are thrilled to see them cutting the ribbon and officially joining the River Chase community.”
For more information about River Chase, contact Townsend Underhill, Vice President of Development for Stirling Properties, at tunderhill@stirlingprop.com or by phone at (985)-246-3785.
Stirling Properties Expands Retail Options at River Chase Shopping Center
Eight National Retailers Prepare to Open Spring 2012
COVINGTON, Louisiana —- (SEPTEMBER 23, 2011) Stirling Properties announces River Chase Shopping Center Phase Two, which broke ground in August, and the addition of eight new national tenants that will bring 85,000 square feet of retail space to River Chase as part of an expansion to the development’s existing shopping center. All stores are expected to open spring 2012 and will occupy built-to-suit space located within the center’s southern end, south of Brewster Road.
Five of the eight national tenants have signed leases. They are as follows:
- Michaels, the largest specialty retailer of arts, crafts, framing, floral and more, will occupy 28,290 SF. This will be the retailer’s second location in Western St. Tammany with a store already in Mandeville.
- Chuck E. Cheese’s, a leader in the family dining and entertainment industry, will occupy 15,400 SF. This will be the second St. Tammany Parish location for the retailer and first for Western St. Tammany.
- ULTA Beauty, the largest beauty retailer providing prestige, mass and salon products and services, will occupy 10,000 SF. This location will be the retailer’s first within the New Orleans Metro and fifth in Louisiana with stores in Baton Rouge, Hammond, and Shreveport and coming soon to Bossier City.
- Charming Charlie, an affordable women’s fashion accessory boutique, will occupy 8,000 SF. This location will be the retailer’s first within the New Orleans Metro and fourth in Louisiana with stores in Lafayette, Baton Rouge and Hammond.
- Carter’s, a leading brand of children’s clothing, gifts and accessories, will occupy 4,300 SF. This marks the retailer’s third location in Louisiana with a store already in Bossier City and an outlet center in Gonzales.
The remaining three national tenants are in lease and will be announced in the near future. Of them, one is a soft-good tenant that will occupy 8,500 square feet. This will mark their first location in Louisiana; a significant move for the retailer and tremendous economic opportunity for St. Tammany Parish. The other two will be great additions to the well-established co-tenancy at River Chase Shopping Center, occupying 3,600 and 5,300 square-foot spaces.
“The expansion of the River Chase Shopping Center is a strong show of the strength of the Western St. Tammany retail market and the continued growth that this market is seeing,” said Stirling Properties’ Vice President of Development Townsend Underhill. “It is very exciting to see such highly regarded national retailers enter the Western St. Tammany market for the first time and we know they will be successful at River Chase.”
This announcement comes on the heels of the official announcement that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. will build an upscale Sam’s Club at River Chase which is scheduled to open in fall 2012 – just months after these multiple retailers open.
On top of the new retail activity at the River Chase Shopping Center, the entire River Chase development is experiencing new growth. Brewster Commons at River Chase is currently renting 1, 2 and 3 bedroom luxury apartment homes for November occupancy. Holiday Inn Express and Fidelity Homestead Savings Bank are also set to begin construction at River Chase later this year. As well, a 42-acre office park is now pre-leasing 157,400 square feet of space which will be located east of Stirling Boulevard across from the new Sam’s Club location.
For more information about the River Chase development contact Townsend Underhill at tunderhill@stirlingprop.com or call (985) 898-2022.
For information about new construction opportunities, one to six acre outparcels for sale and retail leasing inquiries, contact Rhonda Sharkawy, Retail Leasing & Development Executive for Stirling Properties, at rsharkawy@stirlingprop.com or call (504) 523-4481.
For information about the Offices at River Chase contact Lee de la Houssaye, Leasing and Sales Associate for Stirling Properties, at ldelahoussaye@stirlingprop.com or call (985) 246-3774.
