“It was fortuitous timing” acknowledged Peter Shawaker, CCIM of CB Richard Ellis, Reichle Klein who negotiated the sale of the
former Premier Martial Arts School building adjacent to Chuck E Cheese at 5077 Monroe St. “The building had been on the market for some time and there had been no viable users for the building” Shawaker noted.
Recently, Chuck E Cheese, a tenant in the building owned by Tom Helberg of Bellevue Investors and other partners, indicated an interest in expanding. “Chuck E Cheese is a very successful New York Stock Exchange traded company. The company has developed a restaurant niche with a strong entertainment component that does very well. Company officials have liked this location and are proceeding with a 3,600 square-foot expansion to their 9,000 square-foot restaurant” Helberg pointed out.
In order to do the expansion, additional parking spaces were required.
Helberg and his partners saw the opportunity to make this all happen. “I had taken Tom the information on the martial arts
building because his group owns the surrounding properties” Shawaker reported. “That is such a good building with 5,600
square feet of useable space in an ideal location” Helberg agreed. “However, the market conditions were just not favorable for
us to buy the building to lease at this time” he related.
Those market conditions and the length of time the building had been for sale presented a unique opportunity, however. Through careful negotiations, Shawaker and Helberg were able to establish an agreement to satisfy everyone involved. Helberg, on behalf of Bellevue Investors acquired the former Martial Arts building, which will be demolished by Chuck E Cheese. That site will be used for the additional parking necessary to accommodate the proposed expansion. Chuck
E Cheese has committed to a long-term lease for the building and the parking area.
“The seller and Huntington Bank recognized the market conditions and worked with us to make this a successful transaction” Shawaker related. “Port Lawrence Title. Company officials were also very important in this transaction and understood the easement revision process” he added.
Rollie Able of First Merit Bank handled the financing for Bellevue Investors to acquire the property.
In addition, Helberg worked with all of the tenants of buildings around the site to resolve access issues. “One of the reasons this has been such a successful transaction is Tom’s involvement. He is a local, full-time owner who knows and has worked with all of the contractors in the area. He understands all of the title issues and knows whom to call to get things done” Shawaker pointed out. “He keeps everything moving along and his coordination is key to the success of this project” he said.
“This expansion is a very good thing for all of us and adds not only construction jobs but others to accommodate the larger restaurant” Helberg pointed out.
Chuck E Cheese opened its Monroe Street restaurant almost 20 years ago. This is the company’s second renovation since it’s
opening.
Originally posted in Sylvania Advantage.