By Deb McKee, The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE - The sale of Plaza North Shopping Center to a Florida-based real-estate investment company was finalized Thursday for $9.125 million.
Coastal Equities of Weston, Fla., closed on the sale of the 326,000-square-foot shopping center late Thursday afternoon after about eight months of consideration.
Residents could begin to see improvements within six months, said Scott Ross, principal developer for Coastal Equities.
The current tenants in the center will remain, Ross said. "No tenants are leaving," he said by phone Friday. "We hope to have good relationships with them and they all seem to be happy with the change. We're going to do everything we can to make their business better. If they do well, we do well."
The company intends to renovate the facade of the retail center and plans to bring in several additional tenants.
Plaza North, which sits along Fort Harrison Road between Lafayette Avenue and 13th Street, serves "a stable, established and underserved market in North Terre Haute," Ross stated in a news release. He said that while the current tenant mix is strong, "there are specific market demands that are not being satisfied in the area. Now that we own the property, we will work hard to attract retailers who can fill that demand and bring the type of shopping experience that the shoppers and retailers in North Terre Haute deserve."
Ross said by driving around the neighborhood, talking to area residents and tenants in the shopping center, company officials have been able to determine the needs and hopes of the community.
Ross said Coastal Equities already is negotiating with a few potential tenants. "It's become clear to us from speaking with people in the neighborhood and other tenants in the center that apparel is a big need in the area. That is our first priority. That's where we're looking right now."
Other priorities include an-other sit-down restaurant and a dry cleaner/laundromat, he said.
Coastal Equities, established in the late 1970s, is described in the news release as a company that primarily invests in "areas that others don't find so fashionable." The privately held company invests in community, regional and neighborhood shopping centers larger than 100,000 square feet.
Coastal Equities has bought more than 150 major real estate properties, according to its Web site, at www.coastalequities.com. "Coastal also manages all of its own properties," the site states. Plaza North is the company's second acquisition in less than six months, the news release stated.
The company also has been working with several architects to update the center. "We plan on investing in the area," said Howard Arnberg, a real estate developer with Coastal Equities.
Plaza North, built in 1964, has been through multiple owners and tenants, and often is at the center of debates over north-side business development.
Most recently, the shopping center was owned by the Henzlik-Oliver Real Estate Co., based in Kansas.
Residents of North Terre Haute have complained in recent years about the lack of better shopping choices. Plaza North currently is home to Dairy Queen, Big Lots, Harbor Freight Tools, a First Financial Bank branch, Sav-A-Lot grocery, Kadel's Hallmark, the north branch of the Vigo County Public Library, Radio Shack, Curves, Rent-A-Center, Payless Shoe Source, Fortune Buffet Chinese restaurant, H & R Block tax services, Nasser Furniture and Hoosier Hand Pak (a factory). The shopping center's neighbors are Menards on the west side, a Walgreens to the east, and an Applebee's to the south.
"There is great room for improvement," Arnberg said.