MINNETONKA, MINN. — Paster Enterprises has purchased the Highland Bank Building, a 20,149-square-foot office property in Minnetonka, a southwest suburb of Minneapolis. Located at 1730 Plymouth Road, the building is anchored by a 5,517-square-foot Highland Bank and a 3,608-square-foot Avada Audiology & Hearing Care. Additional tenants include A&H Intermediaries, American Family Insurance, Carlstrom Jewelry, Chef’s Classic Fine Foods, Choice Insurance Agency, Elite Medical Scribes, Hannon & Sandler DDS, Lisa Verna, Lynn KlickerUthe and Slack & Young.
FERGUSON, MO. — CSL Plasma has leased 15,000 square feet at Crossings at Halls Ferry in Ferguson, located about 12 miles from downtown St. Louis. Crossings at Halls Ferry is a retail center located at the northwest corner of Interstate 270 and Old Halls Ferry Road. Tenants at the property include The Home Depot, Shop N Save, Anna's Linens, Party City, DTLR and Ashley Stewart, according to LoopNet.com. St. Louis-based L3 Corp. represented the landlord, Crossings Shopping Center LP, in the transaction. CSL Plasma is one of the largest collectors of human plasma in the world.
Strong occupancy throughout the Minneapolis metro area is driving construction activity, and developers are hurrying to get projects off the ground ahead of competitors. Leasing activity is underway for a number of luxury high-rise projects coming on line in the city, heightening competition for renters who desire and can afford top-end amenities. Projects in vibrant locations, such as the Mill & Main Apartments across the river from downtown Minneapolis, have been well received. The Mill & Main building, which is nearly 70 percent leased, has views of the Mississippi River and downtown. New luxury apartments are attracting many nontraditional first-time renters, such as empty nesters. This trend is likely to expand the renter pool across the area as recovering housing prices give the large baby boom cohort more options when selling and downsizing. The higher rents that luxury properties command have reset the bar for Class A rents. Existing Class A properties near top-tier apartments will likely benefit because they can raise rents and remain more affordable than the newer units. Development Pipeline Nearly 3,000 apartments have been delivered in the metro area during the past 12 months, including 2,100 market-rate units. So far in 2013, approximately 1,000 rentals have …
GRANGER, IND. — Hampton Hotels has broken ground on the 99-room Hampton Inn & Suites Mishawaka in Granger, located about 10 miles northeast of South Bend. Each guest room at the four-story hotel will feature high-speed Internet, refrigerator, microwave, hair dryer, iron and ironing board, 42-inch LCD television and Serta Suite Dreams beds. The hotel will also include a two-story lobby, business center, indoor swimming pool, a 675-square-foot fitness center and 500 square feet of meeting room space. The development is a joint venture between Holladay Properties, the owners of the Hilton Garden Inn South Bend/Gillespie Conference Center, and Gateway Hospitality Group, which will oversee construction. The hotel will be located at 7347 Heritage Square Drive and is slated for a fall 2014 completion.
WHITEWATER, WIS. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $6.2 million sale of Fox Meadows, a 73-unit apartment property in Whitewater. Scott Harris, an investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Oak Brook, Ill. office marketed the 61,836-square-foot property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. Matthew Whiteside, an investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Milwaukee office, represented the buyer, a limited liability company, in the transaction. Fox Meadows is located at 291 N. Fraternity Lane, about 44 miles southeast of Madison. Built in 1985, the 9.3-acre property is within two blocks of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus. The property includes four one-bedroom apartments, 60 two-bedroom units and nine three-bedroom residences.
NAPERVILLE, ILL. — The Boulder Group has completed the $3.8 million sale of a net-leased Brunswick Zone XL property located at 1515 West Aurora Ave. in Naperville. Brunswick Zone XL has operated at this location since 1997 and recently extended its lease through June 2018. The 80,425-square-foot building is situated on a 6.9-acre parcel, about 34 miles west of Chicago. Brunswick Zone XL offers 40 lanes of bowling, 16 billiard tables, event rooms, game zone arcade, laser tag, bumper cars and a bar. Randy Blankstein and Jimmy Goodman of The Boulder Group represented the seller, a Maryland-based private partnership, in the transaction. The purchaser was a 1031 exchange buyer.
HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. — GiGi’s Playhouse has leased 10,539 square feet of retail space at Barrington Square Town Center in Hoffman Estates, a northwest suburb of Chicago. The company will lease the space for 10 years as the national prototype for Down Syndrome Achievement Centers. Albert Lindeman and Wayne Caplan, senior vice presidents at Sperry Van Ness Chicago Commercial, represented the landlord in the transaction. Town Center shopping center spans more than 100,000 square feet and is located across from St. Alexius Medical Center. Existing tenants include McDonald’s, Buona Beef, Fred Astaire Dance Schools, Garibaldi's Restaurant and Advance Pre-School Daycare.
ROSEVILLE, MICH. — Compass Self Storage LLC, a member of the Amsdell Cos., has purchased a self storage property located at 29500 Hayes Road in Roseville, a northeast suburb of Detroit. Compass Self Storage will operate the 77,000-square-foot facility. The property features drive-up access, climate-controlled units, digital surveillance, online payment options and a full line of moving and packing supplies. The store will be the 10th location operating under the Compass brand in the Michigan market.
MINNEAPOLIS — Grandbridge Real Estate Capital has closed a $4.2 million first-mortgage loan secured by Charlestown Apartments, a 109-unit apartment property in Minneapolis. Tony Carlson of Grandbridge originated the refinancing. A local bank funded the five-year loan, which includes a fixed interest in the mid-three percent range and a 20-year amortization schedule. The loan equates to less than $40,000 per unit and was used to pay off the borrower’s existing debt and fund property improvements.
STERLING HEIGHTS, MICH. — Bernard Financial Group has arranged a $1.7 million loan for two single-tenant manufacturing buildings in Sterling Heights, a northern suburb of Detroit. Dennis Bernard and David Dismondy of Bernard arranged the financing on behalf of Fifteen Mile & Product Drive LLC. Assurity Life Insurance Co. was the lender.