DETROIT – The Forum Group, an NAI Farbman Group partner, has arranged a 30,000-square-foot lease for Molina Healthcare of Michigan Inc., located at 615 W. Lafayette Blvd. in Detroit, the building formerly occupied by the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News. Molina will house 125 new employees on the entire fifth floor of the six-story building. After more than 97 years at 615 W. Lafayette, the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News last fall moved into the Federal Reserve Building at 160 W. Fort St., which is owned by Bedrock Real Estate Services. Thomas Lasky of the Forum Group represented Molina Healthcare in the transaction.
CHICAGO — Harrison Street Real Estate Capital has acquired Dwight Lofts, a 771-bed student housing property located in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, for a reported $105 million. During the school year, the property serves as housing for students attending Columbia College Chicago, which recently executed an 11-year lease extension. The institution specializes in art and media disciplines. Harrison Street acquired the 178-unit building, built in 2009, from Bethesda, Md.-based ASB Capital Management. The high-quality amenities and central location of Dwight Lofts make the property an ideal living space for students as well as those seeking housing during the summer months, says Joey Harrison, Harrison Street’s core fund portfolio manager. Dwight Lofts is located a quarter-mile from the main campus building of Columbia College Chicago, and within walking distance of four CTA “L” stations, the LaSalle Street Metra Station, Grant Park, lakefront running and bike paths, and retail and restaurant establishments. The property offers two- and four-bedroom units that are fully furnished. The building features amenities designed to cater to Columbia students, including art studio space, music practice rooms, study lounges, a sky lounge, an on-site fitness center and three food-service providers. The Dinerstein Cos. will manage the property.
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Tower Properties will completely renovate and revitalize the 6601 College Boulevard building, when engineering and consulting firm Black & Veatch vacates the premises at the end of this year. The $20 million project will include a new glass façade, updated mechanical systems and new interior finishes and amenities. The renovation is expected to position the six-story, 101,000-square foot office building constructed in 1979 as one of the upper-echelon properties in the Overland Park office market. Tower Properties has hired RMTA Architects to design the improvements, and Jonkman Construction to renovate the building’s interior and exterior. The building’s mechanical systems will be designed by SNS Engineering and will be completely modernized. Construction will begin in January 2016, and Tower anticipates the renovated building will be available for occupancy in the fall of 2016. Tower Properties has retained Rollie Fors and Adam Tilton, both senior partners with Colliers International, to market the building. New tenants will benefit from the extensive natural light throughout the building and collaborative exterior green space, says Tilton. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, Black & Veatch is consolidating a total of 700 employees into a single 175,000-square-foot space at Overland Park Xchange, …
MINNEAPOLIS — WNC, a national investor in real estate and community development initiatives, has provided $3.2 million in low-income housing tax credit equity (LIHTC) to fund the development of Hi-Lake Triangle Apartments, a newly constructed 64-unit affordable seniors housing community in Minneapolis. Hi-Lake Triangle Apartments is a six-story building comprised of 53 one-bedroom and 11 two-bedroom units. Located at 2230 E. Lake St., approximately three miles from downtown Minneapolis, the elevator-serviced community is part of a mixed-use development containing 5,385 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Hi-Lake Triangle Apartments offers residents a rooftop terrace, outdoor picnic area, community room, recreational facility, common living room with a fireplace, laundry facilities, intercom access and onsite management. Each unit is equipped with central air conditioning. The building’s parking area includes 41 spaces reserved for tenants of Hi-Lake Triangle Apartments. Hi-Lake Triangle LLC served as the general partner of the project, while Stephen B. Wellington Jr. served as the project developer. Wellington Management Inc. received the LIHTC financing to help fund the development, which took nearly 10 months to complete.
APPLE VALLEY, MINN. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $2.55 million sale of a 6,260-square foot net-leased property occupied by Red Robin, a gourmet hamburger restaurant, in Apple Valley. The restaurant is located at 15560 Cedar Ave., about 19 miles south of Minneapolis. Mike Marzinske, Adam Prins, Matthew Hazelton, Sean Doyle and Cory Villaume, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s Minneapolis office, marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The transaction reflects the trend of capital gravitating from coastal markets to the Midwest for properties that are well located and occupied by strong-performing tenants, says Hazelton. “We have observed this trend throughout the year and foresee it remaining sustainable through the end of 2015.”
SOUTHFIELD, MICH. — Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions has arranged an 11,754-square-foot office lease at Nine Mile Crossing, located at 17515 W. Nine Mile Road, Suite 600, in Southfield, a Detroit suburb. The landlord, TNHYIF TRS INC., leased the space to Language Center International Inc. (LCI), which teaches English as a second language. Established in 1987, the private language school provides citizens, immigrants and non-immigrants with language training for academic or personal purposes. Nine Mile Crossing is 12-story, 140,417-square-foot building that was constructed in 1969. Rick Tabbi of Friedman represented the landlord in the transaction.
In the April 2014 edition of Heartland Real Estate Business, I pointed out that the recovery from the historic 2008 flood was nearing completion in Cedar Rapids, a city of approximately 129,000 residents. The last of the damaged city facilities, a recreation center in the Time Check neighborhood on the city’s northwest side, has been demolished. Taking its place will be a new 17,000-square-foot recreation center currently under construction. In July, the Cedar Rapids City Council approved the $600 million flood protection system alignment on both sides of the Cedar River; all the flood system funding plan is now in place, except for the federal appropriation of $78 million pending approval in Congress. Three sections of flood protection are complete or under construction. The National Civic League recognized this feat in 2014 when it named Cedar Rapids as a recipient of the All-America City Award, which recognizes communities that overcome citywide challenges and achieve uncommon results. (The National Civic League is a nonprofit organization that advocates for transparency, effectiveness, and openness in local government.) The city’s strong recovery following the devastating flood in 2008 is evident by the accolades it has received from a variety of media outlets and interest …
WAYNESVILLE, MO. — McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. has completed construction of the $18 million, four-story Phelps County Regional Medical Center (PCRMC) Waynesville Medical Plaza in Waynesville. The new facility, visible from I-44 and located next to the Veteran’s Primary Care Clinic in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks, enables PCRMC to offer expanded healthcare services to Pulaski County. Services include a walk-in clinic, a full imaging suite, cardiac testing services, physicians’ offices, physical therapy and a sleep lab. It also provides a physicians’ clinic with 23 exam rooms and space for various services. The Waynesville Medical Plaza is part of a five-year master plan that PCRMC began implementing in 2013 in an effort to expand and improve patient care in the area. As part of the plan, McCarthy also completed the renovation of the pharmacy and cardiac rehabilitation departments at the main medical center in Rolla and broke ground on the new Delbert Day Cancer Institute at PCRMC this spring.
CHICAGO — Associated Bank has provided a $17 million construction loan for a new mixed-use development at 2501 W. Armitage Ave. in Logan Square. The developer is a partnership between Mario Greco and Dimitri Nassis of Spearhead Properties LLC and Chris Fifield of Fifield Construction and Realty Inc. Michael McGovern of Associated Bank’s commercial real estate division originated the loan. The LEED-certified development will include two buildings comprised of 78 apartments and 6,500 square feet of retail space along Armitage. The project will feature a private courtyard and large landscaped second-floor terraces. Eight affordable units will be made available. Once completed, the new apartments will offer tenants sleek modern finishes and an amenity package that includes an automated package room, high-speed fiber Internet service, a workout area, 55 parking spaces, bicycle parking and a 1,300-square-foot amenity space overlooking a 6,000-square-foot landscaped courtyard. Demolition is scheduled to start in early August and construction will begin soon after.
EDEN PRAIRIE, MINN. — Mortgage banking firm Dougherty Mortgage LLC has closed a $10.6 million HUD 223(f) loan for the refinancing of Olympic Ridge Apartments, a 143-unit market-rate apartment property located in Eden Prairie. Dougherty Mortgage’s Minneapolis office arranged the fully amortizing 35-year loan for the borrower, Olympic Ridge Limited Partnership. Olympic Ridge Apartments, which is managed by Park Avenue of Wayzata Inc., offers nine three-story, wood-framed walk-up buildings with attached garages, some with individual entrances. Amenities include a whirlpool spa, exercise and party rooms, restrooms with showers, tot lot and volleyball net.