MUNCIE, IND. AND FARMINGTON HILLS, MICH. — Muncie-based First Merchants Corp. (NASDAQ: FRME) and Farmington Hills-based Level One Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ: LEVL) have signed a definitive merger agreement by which Level One will merge into First Merchants in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $323.5 million. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022. The combined company, conducting its banking business as First Merchants Bank, expects to complete its system integration during the third quarter of 2022. First Merchants will have assets of roughly $17.6 billion and will remain the second largest financial holding company headquartered in Indiana. The combined company will operate 122 banking offices across Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.
MT. COMFORT, IND. — Colliers International has brokered the sale of Buildings 1 and 2 at Mount Comfort Commercial Park for an undisclosed price. The properties, totaling 650,987 square feet, are located on Enterprise Drive in Mt. Comfort, about 15 miles northeast of Indianapolis. Building 1 spans 260,406 square feet and features a clear height of 32 feet and 26 docks. Building 2 is a 390,581-square-foot facility with a clear height of 36 feet and 38 docks. Both buildings offer 135-foot trailer courts and were completed on a speculative basis. Alex Cantu, Jimmy Cohoat, Jason Speckman, Andrea Hopper and Alex Davenport of Colliers represented the sellers, Becknell Industrial and Cross Harbor Capital. An affiliate of EQT Exeter was the buyer.
INDIANAPOLIS — Developer TWG has unveiled plans to build Rise on Meridian, a $58 million apartment complex on the southside of Indianapolis. Located at 915 S. Meridian St., the project will rise six stories with 269 units and 3,500 square feet of retail space. Amenities will include a pool, lounge, courtyard, dog park, second-floor balcony, coworking space, bicycle storage and garage parking. Construction is expected to begin this month, with the first units becoming available in winter 2023. The units will vary from 562 to 954 square feet, and monthly rents will range between $1,200 and $2,100. The City of Indianapolis contributed tax-increment financing bonds, enabling 5 percent of the units to be reserved for residents who earn at or below 30 percent of the area median income.
FISHERS, IND. — StorageMart has acquired a 73,183-square-foot CubeSmart Self Storage facility in Fishers, a suburb of Indianapolis. The purchase price was undisclosed. Located at 10415 Allisonville Road, the property features 41 percent drive-up units and 59 percent interior, climate-controlled units. David Paulson, Stephen Lapierre and Wyatt Whitaker of Ackerman & Co., along with Steven Cornblatt and Coleman Tirone of Trout Daniel & Associates, represented StorageMart. Georgia-based York Allison LLC was the seller. This is StorageMart’s third location in Indiana. The property’s lighting, security system and gate entry will be updated.
DECATUR, IND. — Ariel Property Advisors has arranged a $2.8 million loan for the refinancing of a 15,000-square-foot retail property occupied by Walgreens in Decatur, about 20 miles southeast of Fort Wayne. The property is located at 123 N. 13th St. Matt Dzbanek and Matt Swerdlow of Ariel arranged the five-year loan, which features a fixed interest rate of 3.99 percent. A national credit union provided the loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
AURORA, ILL. AND WHITESTOWN, IND. — Industrial Outdoor Ventures (IOV) has acquired a 39,450-square-foot property at 1401 N. Farnsworth Ave. in Aurora as well as a 22,500-square-foot facility at 4212 Perry Blvd. in Whitestown. The seller and purchase price were undisclosed. IOV owns properties in the outdoor storage facility space. Both of these properties are designed for truck maintenance and repair and are fully occupied by MacQueen, an environmental and emergency service and products provider. Kate Coxworth, Dominic Carbonari and Frank Griffin of JLL represented IOV in the acquisition.
GREENWOOD, IND. — CA Industrial and Clarion Partners have broken ground on the Indy South Logistics Center, a two-building speculative industrial development spanning 708,000 square feet in Greenwood, about 12 miles south of Indianapolis. Completion of both buildings is slated for summer 2022. Situated at 955 N. Graham Road, the project will offer immediate access to I-65 and I-465. The Peterson Co. is the general contractor. JLL’s Steve Schwegman and Brian Seitz will market the project for lease.
FORT WAYNE, IND. — Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors has negotiated the sale of a single-tenant retail property net leased to Planet Fitness in Fort Wayne for $2.4 million. Located at 7528 S. Anthony Blvd., the building spans 20,000 square feet. The former Kmart property was recently redeveloped into a Planet Fitness location as well as a self-storage facility. Dylan Mallory of Hanley represented the seller, a private partnership between locally based McCormack Development and Jackson Investment Group. A Southern California-based private investor was the buyer.
INDIANA — Newmark has brokered the sale of a four-property retail portfolio in Indiana for approximately $10.5 million. The portfolio includes a Starbucks, Dollar Tree and two CVS properties for a total of 34,814 square feet. Specific addresses and cities were not provided. Matt Berres, Samer Khalil and Jenna Barnett of Newmark represented the seller, a private developer. The team also procured the buyer, a REIT.
SOUTH BEND, IND. — Columbia Pacific Advisors Bridge Lending has provided a $66 million bridge loan to fund the acquisition of Prosper Apartments in South Bend. The 739-unit, garden-style apartment community is located at 3001 E. Jefferson Blvd. The property comprises 28 buildings across 47 acres. Amenities include a theater room, fitness center, indoor pool, billiards room, playground, dog park and community room. H&A Properties was the borrower. The property was 99 percent leased at the time of loan closing. Loan terms were not disclosed.