This story is a part of the CBJ’s Newsmakers edition. This year-end wrap-up from the staff of the Corridor Business Journal is a compilation of the year’s most noteworthy articles and projects, as told through stories that appeared in the bi-weekly issues of the CBJ.
This story was originally published in June 2023.
Brookwood Capital Advisors is putting the Iowa City Marketplace up for auction nearly one year after purchasing the mall for $14.25 million from Core Sycamore Town Center.
The listing for 1600 Sycamore St. on RI Marketplace shows that the auction will take place from July 17-19, with a starting bid of $5 million.
After adding Ollie’s Bargain Outlet as the mall’s largest new tenant in January, the IC Marketplace is now 81% occupied. It will be the first Ollie’s Bargain Outlet store in the state of Iowa when it opens this fall.
“With the new Ollie’s, we feel it’s time to move on to another project and would love to see a local developer continue our good work and bring it to 100% full,” said Brookwood Capital founder Ben Hamd in an email to the Corridor Business Journal.
He added that Brookwood Capital currently has an offer from national discount chain retailer Five Below that the next buyer could act upon. If the new owners decide to bring Five Below to the south side of Iowa City, the mall would be nearly 100% occupied.
Right now, there are two other Corridor-based Five Below locations, in Coralville and Cedar Rapids.
Brookwood is choosing to auction the property to ensure the property is sold, even if it’s for a lower price than they could otherwise fetch.
“… Because it’s an auction it will be a higher return than on market (10%+ return expected), so somebody will be able to buy it for less than $18.4M,” Mr. Hamd explained.
Brookwood Capital has a history buying up partially vacant centers to raise the site’s value before ultimately selling the mall again for a profit. On their website, the group displays completed projects in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Mr. Hamd told the CBJ in October that the company may sell the IC Marketplace once it is fully stabilized.
Once called Sycamore Mall, Iowa City Marketplace includes Planet Fitness, Marcus Theaters and local businesses such as Da Flava Unit.
News of the auction was first reported by The Gazette.
Newsmakers update
Brookwood Capital Advisors put Iowa City Marketplace up for auction in July, with a starting bid of $5 million. The sale occurred nearly one year after purchasing the mall for $14.25 million from Core Sycamore Town Center. According to the Johnson County assessor’s site, the building is currently valued at $13.4 million.
Ben Hamd, managing director for Brookwood, said the company still owns the Marketplace but is working with an Iowa buyer and hopes to close the deal within the next 60-90 days.
Mr. Hamd would not disclose the buyer, only they are someone who heads a business group that is “famous” within the business community with over onemillion Instagram followers.
Mr. Hamd also noted that Ollie’s Bargain Outlet has brought a large amount of traffic to the Marketplace since opening this past fall, though traffic statistics are unknown at this time.
Brookwood Capital works only on redeveloping shopping centers to raise the site’s value before ultimately selling them again for a profit. On their website, the group displays completed projects in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina and Tennessee.
