The Hornet has a new landlord for its nest on Broadway.
A group of five investors operating under 76 N Broadway LLC purchased the bar and grill’s real estate at 76 N. Broadway last week for $3.3 million, according to public records.
The Hornet still has several years left on its lease and will be unaffected by the change in building ownership. The entire two-story, 13,000-square-foot structure is also home to another restaurant tenant, Lucky Noodles, and has 18 roughly 400-square-foot offices on the second floor.
One of the buyers, Tyrone Rocque, said the restaurant at the corner of 1st Avenue and Broadway was what they were really after.
“I think it’s nearly fully leased,” Rocque said of the office space. “We may just gut it and completely make some class-A space out of it. We may leave it as is. We haven’t really made a decision. I mean, that’s totally the tail on the dog. We wanted what was on the first floor — we really wanted The Hornet.”
The deal works out to $256 per square foot for the building. The real estate sits on a third of an acre and comes with a 21-space parking lot.
Rocque financed the deal with a five-year, $2.5 million loan set with a variable interest rate from MidFirst Bank, per public records.
Three Pillars LLC was the seller, with Paul Greaves listed as its manager in the public filings. He purchased the property in 1996 for $415,000, and declined to comment on the transaction. The Hornet opened in the building a year prior, in 1995.
Rocque works as one of the owners of Platinum Properties Holdings, a local real estate firm with sister companies in property management and lending. The company invests in retail, industrial and apartment buildings, he said.
“I’m one of the people who searches out real estate acquisitions, and because of that, I’ve got an ownership component in all the deals that we close through our office,” Rocque said.
He bought the Broadway building for a roughly $600,000 discount; it was originally listed at $3.95 million, per a marketing brochure for the property.
“In terms of deferred maintenance – I would say it’s minimal. They need some asphalt work behind the building. I think there was some great negotiation that took place. I think the owner was motivated to sell, and I think we were just at the right place at the right time, and made a great deal on it,” Rocque said.
Todd Snyder, a broker with Kentwood Commercial who represented the seller, listed the property for sale around the start of the year and said there “was good activity on it.” Rocque’s team expressed interest even before it hit the market.
“Given where the retail market is now, I would say the activity is stronger than other properties in not as good of a location,” Snyder said.
Paul Cattin of Platinum Commercial Real Estate represented the buyers.
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