The marketplace is wary in the lead-up to the 2020 election, but Anuj Gupta, president of Commercial Real Estate Lending with Ready Capital, says there’s opportunity for bridge lenders in the meantime as equity investors look for higher returns. Gupta believes rates will be lower for a longer period, although there is no telling what might happen after the election. Gupta feels confident about Ready Capital’s preferred strategy of focusing on small-to-medium loan sizes in secondary markets. In gateway cities, the company is supportive of creative solutions to high rent, like co-living, a sector that is expected to grow aggressively over the next few years. Meanwhile, Ready Capital is working to stay ahead of the curve by looking at more efficient ways to tackle lending in the small-to-medium sized real estate market with new technology. Watch the interview to learn more about how Ready Capital is taking advantage of the present while preparing for the future. This video is posted as part of REBusinessOnline’s Finance Insight series, covering MBA CREF 2020. Click here to subscribe to the Finance Insight newsletter, a four-week newsletter series, followed by video interviews from MBA CREF.
Public forums have painted a picture of Cook County residential owners carrying an unfair property tax burden, but the truth is that property taxes have increased for everyone. The culprit is not the institutional taxpayer, nor is it the valuation process; today’s oppressive property taxes are a symptom of a diseased system for funding municipal pensions. Clarity on inequity To understand where the inequity lies, it is important to first understand how Cook County values residential versus commercial real estate. Outside of Cook County, every property is assessed at a third of its market value, regardless of property type. Therefore, every $1 million property — residential and commercial alike — will have a taxable assessed value of $333,333. Multiplying that by the local tax rate (let’s use 7 percent) creates a $23,333 tax bill. By contrast, Cook County assesses every residential property for taxation at 10 percent of its market value, whether it be a single-family home, apartment building, condominium, co-op or the residential component of a mixed-use development. If the market value of a single-family home is $1 million, its assessed value is $100,000. Taxing entities multiply this by the state equalization factor, which hovers around 3.0 for an …
FORT WAYNE, IND. — United Technologies Electronic Controls Inc. (UTEC) has signed a long-term lease for 53,246 square feet at the Indiana Office Center. The company will occupy several floors of the building, which is located at 111 E. Wayne St. in downtown Fort Wayne. Brad Sturges of Sturges Property Group handled lease negotiations on behalf of the undisclosed landlord. Tammy Canfield of Sturges will lead coordination of the construction of tenant improvements. UTEC is a manufacturer of electronic controls for the HVAC, foodservice and RV industries. Up to 140 engineers, research and development staff will begin occupying the new space this summer. Built in 1994, Indiana Office Center is an eight-story building. Current tenants include Flagstar Bank, Wells Fargo and Elevatus Architecture.
CHICAGO — Skender has completed interior construction of the 23,000-square-foot headquarters for Paragon Biosciences LLC in Chicago. The life science innovator, which invests in, builds and advises bioscience companies, has relocated to the 35th floor of 330 N. Wabash from its current office in Northbrook. Components of the new office include open office workstation areas, private offices, conference rooms, two reception areas, a warming pantry and large café. Skender collaborated with Gensler and CBRE to complete the project.
INDIANAPOLIS — Peachtree Hotel Group has purchased the 180-room Downtown Indianapolis Hampton Inn for an undisclosed price. Located at 105 S. Meridian St., the property is situated near Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indiana Convention Center, Circle Center and Lucas Oil Stadium. The transaction also included a land parcel that Peachtree plans on developing at a later date. Brian Silberman, Scott Miller, Paul DeLucia, Matt McClure and Jack Silberman of CBRE represented the seller, 105 S. Meridian Inc.
KANSAS CITY, KAN. — MVP Law is expanding its Kansas office from 26,273 square feet to 38,485 square feet. The law firm will occupy two full floors of the three-story office building located at 10 E. Cambridge Circle in Kansas City. Founded in 1901, MVP Law serves clients throughout the Midwest in workers’ compensation defense, employment law, public sector law, civil litigation and insurance defense, and business litigation and transactions. Jeremiah Dean of Copaken Brooks handled the lease negotiations.
WYOMING, MICH. — Wolverine Tacos is set to open Wednesday, April 15 in Wyoming, just south of Grand Rapids. The taco restaurant has signed a lease to occupy space at 1740 44th St. The menu will offer a variety of tacos, bowls, salads, soups, appetizers and desserts. Todd Leinberger and Rod Alderink of NAI Wisinski of West Michigan represented the undisclosed landlord in the lease transaction. Carol Johnson is the owner of Wolverine Tacos.
CINCINNATI — Time Equities Inc. has acquired 302 West Third in Cincinnati for an undisclosed price. The nine-story, 177,624-square-foot office building was originally built in 1915 and renovated in 2001 and 2016. The loft-style property features a conference center and complimentary morning coffee for all tenants, some of which include Al Neyer, Baxter Hodell Donnelly Preston Inc., Immedion and Grey Advertising. Max Pastor and Brian Soto of TEI led the acquisition on behalf of the organization. Michael Sullivan of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, an affiliate of HighBrook Investors.
CHICAGO — Joseph J. Duffy Co. has begun construction of a seven-story, mixed-income apartment community in Chicago’s Jefferson Park neighborhood. Nonprofit organization Full Circle Communities is the developer for the 75-unit building located at 5150 N. Northwest Highway. The project will provide housing for veterans, persons with disabilities and working families. Sixty of the units will be affordable and 15 will be market-rate. Amenities will include a community room, library, business center, picnic area, community garden, dog run and 40 parking spaces. The project is expected to receive LEED Silver certification upon completion. Cordogan, Clark & Associates is the project architect.
DETROIT — Bedrock has begun pre-leasing The Flats at 2660 John R. Street, the first of five market-rate multifamily properties to be located in City Modern, an 8.4-acre development in Detroit’s Brush Park neighborhood. The first property is home to 35 units, comprised of studios, one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Amenities include bicycle storage, dry cleaning lockers, a package delivery system and third-floor outdoor terrace. Move-ins will begin in April. Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects designed the property. Detroit-based Bedrock is a full-service real estate firm. Since its founding in 2011, the company and its affiliates have invested and committed over $5.6 billion to acquiring and developing more than 100 properties.