COLUMBUS, OHIO — Clear Investment Group has acquired a 70-unit, value-add multifamily portfolio in Columbus for an undisclosed price. With this addition, Chicago-based Clear expands its presence in the Midwest to more than 450 units, when combined with a larger portfolio purchased in December 2023. CEO Amy Rubenstein says the acquisition aligns with the company’s growth strategy of finding distressed assets in the workforce housing sector.
JOHNSTOWN, OHIO — Cologix Inc., a hyperscale data center owner and operator, has purchased 154 acres in Johnstown, a Central Ohio city located about 25 miles northeast of Columbus. The Denver-based company plans to invest $7 billion for the development of a data center campus at the site. Upon completion, Cologix plans to have eight data centers that are “AI-ready” and have the capacity for 800 megawatts (MW) of scalable power. The firm plans to begin construction on the first phase in 2025, with the campus ultimately spanning 2 million square feet of data center space. The new campus will support the region’s advancing digital economy and provide “high-density, ultra-low latency and sustainable infrastructure” for hyperscale clients and enterprises that will tenant these new data centers. Cologix currently operates four data centers in Columbus with a combined footprint of 500,000 square feet and 80MW of power. The company delivered its fourth Columbus data center, a 256,000-square-foot facility dubbed COL4, this past summer. “As the largest provider of colocation and interconnection solutions in Columbus, we are thrilled to deepen our investment in Central Ohio,” says Laura Ortman, CEO of Cologix. “This new campus is more than an expansion — it’s a …
CLEVELAND — Discovery Builders, a joint venture between Turner Construction, Next Generation Construction, The AKA Team and Adrian Maldonado & Associates, has broken ground on a $300 million Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB) at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The five-story, 189,000-square-foot building will support innovation in areas such as industrial batteries, sustainable manufacturing, pathogen research and advanced prosthetics. National architecture firm HGA and local partner DVA Architecture designed the facility. Located on the former site of Yost Hall, the project marks the largest on-campus development for the university in decades. It will serve as the largest building on the Case Quad, home to the university’s science and engineering departments. The ISEB will play a critical role in growing the university’s annual research expenditures to $600 million, according to a release. The building will feature a variety of research spaces, including wet and dry labs, core labs and equipment platforms. The project is expected to receive LEED Gold certification. Completion is slated for 2026. Nearly 6,200 undergraduate and 6,100 graduate students from across 96 countries study in Case Western Reserve’s more than 250 degree programs across arts, dental medicine, engineering, law, management, medicine, nursing, science and social work.
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia-based Alterra IOS has acquired seven industrial outdoor storage (IOS) sites totaling 23 usable acres largely in the Midwest region. The purchase price was undisclosed. The sites are fully leased to a national telecommunications and broadband network company. Each parcel is located across metro areas in Dallas, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Chicago, Nashville, Cleveland and St. Louis. Specifically, the properties are located in Haslet, Texas; Osseo, Minn.; Indianapolis; Frankfort, Ill.; La Vergne, Tenn.; Avon, Ohio; and St. Peters, Mo. All of the assets in the portfolio are located near city downtowns, interstate highways, international airports and rail networks. CRE Advising facilitated the acquisition.
KeyBank Provides $93M in Construction Financing for Affordable Seniors Housing Community in Columbus
COLUMBUS, OHIO — KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) has provided a $43.3 million construction loan and $23.8 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit financing for construction of The Caravel, a 234-unit affordable seniors housing community in Columbus. KeyBank Commercial Mortgage Group also arranged a $25.9 million Forward Fannie MTEB permanent loan for the project. The Caravel will provide affordable housing for individuals age 55 years or older who earn no more than 70 percent of the area median income. All units will be adaptable to residents with ADA needs, and 25 will be fully accessible. The developer, Kittle Property Group, is partnering with Homeport to provide residents with resources and connect them to services throughout the community. Homeport will provide a service coordinator for residents. Derek Reed and David Lacki of KeyBank CDLI structured the financing. Robbie Lynn of KeyBank Commercial Mortgage Group facilitated the permanent loan placement.
AKRON, OHIO — Topgolf is set to open its fourth Ohio location in Akron on Friday, Nov. 8. The golf venue is located at 600 Swartz Road in the former BigShots Golf Firestone property. Topgolf Akron features 44 outdoor climate-controlled hitting bays spanning two levels. The venue is equipped with Topgolf’s Toptracer technology, which traces each golf ball’s flight path and distance. Guests will receive half-price gameplay from Nov. 8-21, according to a release.
NEW ALBANY, OHIO — Flagship Healthcare Properties has acquired a 14,416-square-foot ambulatory surgery center (ASC) in New Albany, about 15 miles northeast of Columbus. The purchase price was undisclosed. Built in 2003, the property at 6520 W. Campus Oval is fully leased to Central Ohio Surgical Institute, which is majority owned by nonprofit healthcare system OhioHealth. The ASC features five operating rooms and offers multiple surgical specialties, including ENT, plastics, orthopedics, gynecology, dentistry and gastroenterology. The property is situated within the 9,000-acre New Albany International Business Park. Flagship utilized its private real estate investment trust, Flagship Healthcare Trust, for the acquisition. Flagship will provide property management and asset management services for the ASC. Fifth Third Bank provided acquisition financing. Nick Myeres of Zeustra represented the undisclosed sellers.
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Dual Appraisal Methods Improve Opportunities to Get Fair Taxation for Seniors Housing Properties
By Phil Brusk and Caleb Vahcic of Siegel Jennings Co. L.P.A. The seniors housing sector can’t seem to catch a break. Owners grappling with staffing shortages and other operational hardships lingering from the pandemic are facing new challenges related to debt and spiraling costs. High interest rates and loan maturations loom over the industry, with $19 billion in loans coming due within the next 24 months, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s “H1 2024 Market Trends and Investor Survey” on senior living and care. Factors driving high costs include wage pressures, inflation and — incredibly — rising property taxes. Despite operational challenges and declining occupancy at many facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, property tax relief for seniors housing was mixed. Many assessors resisted downward adjustments to taxable values, maintaining that recovery was around the corner. Now, seniors housing operators face property tax assessments that equal or exceed pre-pandemic levels. As in the hospitality sector, most seniors housing owners understand that their operating properties include more value components than real property alone. In evaluating whether a tax assessment is reasonable and fair, however, owners need to realize that how an assessor addresses their real estate, personal property and intangible assets can drastically …
NORTH OLMSTED, OHIO — Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp. (MMCC) has secured an $8.5 million CMBS loan for the refinancing of the Hampton Inn by Hilton North Olmsted Cleveland Airport hotel in North Olmsted, a southwest suburb of Cleveland. Built in 2016, the 118-room property features a dining area, business center, meeting space, fitness center and indoor pool. Pete Fehlman and Jake Marshall of MMCC arranged the loan on behalf of the borrower, Riley Hotel Group. The five-year loan features interest-only payments for the full term, a fixed interest rate of 6.91 percent and a 70 percent loan-to-cost ratio.
STRONGSVILLE, OHIO — Peak Construction Corp. has completed a 56,000-square-foot tenant improvement project for Blackhawk Industrial Distribution in Strongsville, a southern suburb of Cleveland. Peak previously constructed the 310,000-square-foot building on behalf of developer Scannell Properties. The property features a clear height of 32 feet, nine docks and 3,500 square feet of office space. HSB Architects & Engineers was the project architect.