Daily Record Financial News &
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 242 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Aeropostale closing at Regency Square
Aeropostale will close its Regency store by mid-November.
Latitude 360 faces eviction lawsuit
Photo by Karen Brune Mathis
Car museum moving into West Mall
Aeropostale will close its Regency Square Mall store by Nov. 15. Regency Square General Manager Jim Kramer said the store, part of a national chain, will close when its lease expires. The location is selling its goods at a discount. Signs within the store state the fixtures also are for sale. Aeropostale Inc. said through a spokeswoman it is the company’s policy not to comment on store closures, and that it is constantly evaluating its real estate portfolio. The company, based in New York, sells casual clothing and accessories
to a target market of 14- to 17-yearolds. Aeropostale also has stores at St. Johns Town Center, The Avenues mall, Orange Park Mall and the St. Augustine Premium Outlets. The closing follows another highprofile departure. Belk Inc. closed
A home away from home Beach is top location for those who buy second houses
By Kevin Hogencamp Contributing Writer
CEO says action tied to Topgolf proposal By Mark Basch Contributing Writer
Public
As a real estate firm CEO, Linda Sherrer tracks industry trends and makes an effort to stay informed about the market. Doing so, she said, is an essential aspect of her livelihood. Besides, the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty founder is often called upon as an expert to provide industry insight at conferences and seminars. “You’re always searching to find out the latest data and see how that plays in the way you’re living at the moment,” Sherrer said. That’s why Sherrer was surprised many years ago to accidentally discover the likely reason she wasn’t enjoying owning her second home in Colorado: It was too far from her primary home in Jacksonville. Sherrer had been managing to get out to Colorado just four to six times a year. “They said in an article that if you buy a second home within 45 minutes to an hour of where you live, you will enjoy it so much more,” she said. “And I thought, ‘Hello.” Ironically, Sherrer’s epiphany occurred while preparing for a presentation on the second-home buyer market. “It really hit me right between the eyes,” she said, “that if you buy within a good driving distance of your primary home, you get more enjoyment from the second home.” Second homes are largely considered in the industry to be vacation homes or investment purchases. In 2014, vacation home sales catapulted by 57 percent nationwide, reaching their highest level since 2006. Meanwhile, investment purchases decreased by 7 percent, Second home cont inued on Page A-4
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The owner of the property leased by Latitude 360 Inc. filed a lawsuit last month seeking to evict the dining and entertainment venue from its site near The Avenues mall. However, Latitude 360 CEO Brent Brown said in an interview Monday the venue is not going away anytime soon. “As far as our customers are concerned, we’re going to be open through the holidays,” Brown said. “We’re going to stand up and fight it,” he said. “This will take time.” The eviction lawsuit was filed by 30 West Pershing LLC, an affiliate of EPR Properties, a publicly traded real estate investment company based in Kansas City, Mo. EPR owns the properties leased by Latitude 360 for its venues in Jacksonville and Indianapolis. Latitude Brown 360 operates a third venue in Pittsburgh, but EPR has no interest in that property. The lawsuit filed in Duval County Circuit Court says Latitude 360 is in default on $2.965 million in rent and other payments on the two properties. Brown said Latitude 360’s Jacksonville venue is doing well, but the financial issues involve its Indianapolis venue. “Unfortunately, Jacksonville is lumped into the same lease as the Indianapolis location,” he said. 30 West Pershing has also filed an eviction lawsuit in Indianapolis regarding that facility, Brown said, but he expects that venue to also remain open. Latitude 360 has said in Securities and Exchange Commission filings that it defaulted on its lease in December, but has been negotiating with the landlord to Latitude 360 continued on Page A-2
its Regency store in February as it opened a new location at Kernan and Atlantic boulevards. Wet Seal closed its stores at Regency and the Avenues in January as part of a closure of 338 locations. The 48-year-old Regency mall was struggling with low occupancy when it was sold in February 2014 to New York-based buyers. The new owners hired Kramer to help lease the mall, which consolidated most of the remaining retail stores from Regency Square’s West Mall into the East Mall, which is anchored Mathis continued on Page A-2
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