Hector Viñas has an affinity for gas stations.
They are prime real estate usually located at
well-trafficked intersections and ripe for redevelopment. The problem with gas
stations is they are gas stations. But, for Viñas, they may be his sweet spot.
“We do them all of the time,” he said. “We’ve done more than
a hundred.”
Viñas parlayed his expertise in redeveloping gas stations a
couple of years ago when his company bought a closed Exxon at the corner of
Route 202 and Allendale Road in King of Prussia, Pa., for $1.9 million. He
launched an environmental remediation of the property and constructed a
structure that is leased to Chipotle and AT&T. In April, Viñas sold the
property for $8.5 million. He sells when the market seems right otherwise he
holds on to his real estate, Viña’s said in an interview over lunch at Seasons
52 in King of Prussia.
The Florida developer and his OneCorp Real Estate Group,
which he formed in 1984, is now making inroads on a big plan to knock down 10
properties along Route 202 in Upper Merion, Pa., directly across from Simon
Property Group’s King of Prussia Mall. Viñas then wants to construct several
structures to house national retailers who want to be in proximity to the mall
but no enclosed in it.
The list of those types of retailers is long. Viñas’ clients
include Chipotle, Vitamin Shoppe, Starbucks, AT&T, Verizon, Walgreen’s,
Mattress Firm and others. Typically, it’s his clients who are seeking to expand
into new or existing geographical areas that drive his business and where he
goes.
“We’re not competing for tenants because the tenants are
already there,” he said. “We don’t build any building on spec.”
That means for his proposed King of Prussia development, the
space is essentially fully pre-leased though Viñas declined to disclose the
names of the retailers. The leases, as with the acquisition of the properties,
are pending final approvals from Upper Merion, Montgomery County and PennDot.
These retailers, with specialized and specific real estate
requirements, want him to find properties in certain markets that fit their
specifications. Sometimes in scouting out a location, the No. 1 or No. 2 site
that fits the bill can take upwards to seven years to get. That’s what happened
in Minnesota, Viñas said. When the No. 1 targeted spot was a building owned by
a bank that wasn’t going anywhere — until they did.
Viñas, when looking at the Exxon station in King of Prussia,
was certain Simon owned it until a search revealed the mall giant didn’t. He
was also taken aback that the 10 parcels across from the biggest mall in the
United States that he has under contract also weren’t already spoken for.
“I was surprised those properties were available,” he said.
“I think timing was a big part of it.”
That’s when he went into action. He has under agreement: 107
Forge Road; 727-729 and 731 W. DeKalb Pike; 113 Crockett Road; 705-707-709 and
715 W. DeKalb Pike; and 611 W. DeKalb Pike. The proposed plan, outlined in an
earlier story here, calls for:
- At what is now a vacant McDonald’s at 611 DeKalb,
preliminary plans call for the construction of a two-story, 5,000-square-foot
building and a single-story, 2,500-square- foot building;
- At 705-715 DeKalb, plans entail constructing a
6,035-square- square foot structure; and
- At 727-731 W. DeKalb, Viñas is seeking to construct two
structures — one that is 1,850 square feet and the other 2,500 square feet.
Viñas continues to scout out properties along Route 202 in
King of Prussia for additional redevelopment opportunities. He’s also looking
along the Main Line, which he says has been difficult. No one seems to want to
sell there, he said.
In King of Prussia, plans for the properties he assembled go
before the zoning board next week. If all approvals are received by spring,
construction is expected to begin and the new buildings completed and opened by
the 2015 holiday season.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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