Marquee Capital and Belay Investment Group Announce Acquisition of Merchants’ Square in Carmel, IN

Marquee Capital and Belay Investment Group announced the acquisition of Merchants’ Square, a 233,727-square-foot shopping center in Carmel,
Indiana.

CARMEL, IN, UNITED STATES, November 6, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Marquee Capital (“Marquee”), a Milwaukee-based real estate investment firm, and Belay Investment Group (“Belay”), headquartered in Los Angeles, announced the acquisition of Merchants’ Square, a 233,727-square-foot shopping center in Carmel, Indiana. The transaction closed on July 24, 2026, and represents the largest acquisition to date within the firms’ strategic joint venture, which targets anchored retail centers across the Midwest.

Prominently positioned at Keystone Parkway and East 116th Street, one of Carmel’s busiest intersections with approximately 71,000 vehicles per day, Merchants’ Square spans five buildings across 21.25 acres and is shadow anchored by Harvest Market, an 80,000-square-foot premium grocer that opened in May 2024 and has driven substantial new traffic to the center. The property is 97% leased, attracts more than three million visitors annually, and features approximately 70% national tenancy including Flix Brewhouse, World Market, Planet Fitness, Petco, Dollar Tree, and Aveda Fredric’s Institute, along with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles.

The center’s anchors are standouts within their own brands. Flix Brewhouse, a 40,788-square-foot cinema-brewery concept, ranks among the top-performing locations in the Flix Brewhouse portfolio, while the Merchants’ Square World Market ranks first in Indiana and in the top 4% of the retailer’s locations nationally.

Merchants’ Square sits in the heart of Carmel, one of the Midwest’s most vibrant suburban communities. Carmel has been recognized by WalletHub as the Best Small City in America and by U.S. News & World Report as the No. 2 Best Place to Live in the United States. The surrounding trade area features average household incomes exceeding $189,000 within a five-mile radius, 20% population growth since 2010, more than 4,000 housing units in the development pipeline, and citywide retail vacancy of approximately 1%.

“This acquisition marks an important milestone for our partnership with Belay and reinforces our strategy of targeting high-quality, anchored retail centers in growing Midwest markets,” said Jay Peirick, President of Marquee Capital. “Merchants’ Square’s strong tenant roster, exceptional demographics, and below-market rents give us a clear opportunity to create additional value over time.”

“The Merchants’ Square acquisition represents another significant step forward in Belay’s strategic partnership with Marquee and we are pleased to announce the close of our fourth investment together. We believe the property embodies many of the objectives of our anchored retail investment strategy given the presence of market-leading anchors, meaningful mark-to-market opportunity, an attractive acquisition basis, and its location in one of the Midwest’s most affluent and supply-constrained submarkets. We look forward to working alongside the Marquee team to execute our business plan as we continue to expand our anchored retail footprint across Midwestern markets,” said Eliza Bailey, Co-Founder, CEO & CIO of Belay Investment Group.

Merchants’ Square has enjoyed strong leasing momentum, with 40,095 square feet signed across ten leases since 2023, representing 17% of the center’s leasable area. With in-place rents approximately 20% below prevailing market rates and a small number of suites still available, the center offers meaningful embedded growth alongside its stable income base. Since closing, the partnership has focused on operational improvements and efficiencies to enhance overall property performance, including a series of site and common area upgrades. Marquee and Belay will continue to pursue institutional-quality neighborhood and power centers anchored by high-traffic grocers or big-box retailers in thriving suburban markets across the Midwest. The partnership targets assets with value-add potential, including opportunities to improve performance through strategic leasing, physical upgrades and site optimization.

The partnership acquired Merchants’ Square from Big V Property Group. JLL Capital Markets represented the seller in the transaction and arranged acquisition financing on behalf of the partnership through Bank of America.

Dan Sisel
Marquee Capital
+1 4145858877
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