Green Jeans and Tin Can Alley change ownership

The distinctive shipping container food halls Green Jeans and Tin Can Alley have been acquired by Texas-based commercial real estate firm KM Realty, the company announced.

“I’m very close to both places and all the tenants in it,” former owner and local developer Roy Solomon said. “They’re like family to me, and I wasn’t looking to get out. I’m just looking to back up a little bit. For some personal reasons, it was time to make some changes. Both properties are 100% leased with great people, and they’re all local.”

None of the tenants will be changing, Solomon said. This was the right way to step back, Solomon said, because he took stock in KM’s investment trust, which means he will still be passively invested in the properties.

KM Realty used a 721 Tax Exchange to facilitate the acquisition. Under a 721 Tax Exchange, someone transfers their property to an umbrella company for units of interest in the company. The strategy allows investors to defer capital gains taxes on the sale. The real estate firm has used the same strategy before, because it’s a good way to grow the company without raising additional cash, said Randy Keith, managing principal at KM Realty.

KM Realty is a commercial real estate firm based in Houston that focuses on commercial real estate investments in Texas and the Southwest. The company is building on its presence in Albuquerque, which already includes Project 528, a shopping center located at 3400 NM-528, and is considering purchasing another shopping center in Albuquerque, Keith said.

The two food halls will be part of KM Realty’s unanchored retail Real Estate Investment Trust, adding diversification to the Albuquerque portfolio, according to a KM Realty news release. The addition is a departure from the company’s traditional focus on unanchored retail centers.

The company doesn’t own any other food halls, but the properties are similar to other suburban properties in the portfolio, which are also in good demographic areas and are not big box retailers with big tenants, Keith said.

“This investment demonstrates our ability to identify and seize opportunities even in an uncertain economic climate,” Keith said in a statement. “By diversifying our portfolio with these exceptional properties, we are not only strengthening our presence in the Southwest but also aligning with the evolving needs and preferences of today’s consumers.”

The same local property management company, Commercial Real Estate Management, has been hired to continue managing the two food halls, Solomon said, and Solomon himself still will be doing some part-time maintenance on the properties.

“I’m still going to be around for some of that and, having a vested interest in the company, I’m still interested in making sure everybody’s okay” Solomon said.

Green Jeans opened eight years ago, before the start of a food hall frenzy in Albuquerque. Four new food halls opened in Albuquerque in 2020, including Solomon’s Tin Can Alley.

Solomon was working to develop a third food hall, Margarita Hill, in Rio Rancho, but that project has been put on hold indefinitely after the cost of construction climbed too high to be worth the risk.

But stepping back from the other two food halls might give Solomon the time he needs to again pursue developing Margarita Hill. If he does, KM Realty could be a good partner, he said.

“They’re really good people,” Solomon said. “If I did Margarita Hill, depending on how everything goes, maybe they would come with me and do it. You never know. We’d still have to find another location because the location we were going to use is not available anymore, but there’s some really nice places in Rio Rancho that would work.”

If they can make the numbers work, KM Realty would love to partner with Solomon and get involved developing another food hall from the ground up, Keith said.