The Toys “R” Us building near the former Northridge Mall site has been sold to a Milwaukee transmission remanufacturer who is planning to expand his business.
The 172,380-square-foot property was sold by SBMC Toys LLC, of Beverly Hills, Calif., to 8825 N. 76th Street LLC, which is registered to Simyon Loshak, president of Engine & Transmission Exchange, 2727 S. 27th St.
Loshak, who bought the building for $800,000, said he is planning to use the space to expand his company.
The Toys “R” Us store, located at 8826 N. 76th St., was one of the few big box stores remaining along the retail corridor when it closed in April 2016.
Many of the other stores in that area, including Walmart, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Walgreens, Stein’s Gardens and Gifts, Circuit City and Stein Mart left the area years before, following the closure of Northridge Mall in 2003.
The corridor has become an area for industrial tenants.
In March, Fox Point-based real estate firm General Capital Group announced plans to purchase the 118,461-square-foot former Target store at 8501 W. Brown Deer Road and redevelop it for industrial tenants. The property had been vacant since Target Corp. closed the store in January 2016.
In February, General Capital Group purchased the former Sam’s Club building at 7701 W. Calumet Road to convert it to industrial space and lease it to Sellars Absorbent Materials, Inc., a local paper towel and wet wipe distributor that was looking for additional space.
These types of changes are happening as the brick and mortar retail market continues to struggle and the industrial market prospers, with vacancy rates in the low single digits.
