CINCINNATI — Messer Construction has broken ground on a 73,000-square-foot speculative industrial building at 2249 Seymour Ave., formerly a parking lot for the Cincinnati Gardens complex. The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority purchased the 19-acre gardens property in 2016 as part of its industrial revitalization strategy to create development-ready sites in order to attract advanced manufacturers to Hamilton County. Messer Construction bought a five-acre parcel from The Port for the construction of the new manufacturing facility and will develop it in partnership with Terrex Development. The project represents a $6.5 million investment, according to Tim Steigerwald, president and CEO of Messer. The project team includes BHDP Architecture, Colliers International and Fifth Third Bank. Completion is slated for next year.
Midwest
For the year ending in March, multifamily vacancy in the Cleveland metro area tightened to the lowest level since 2016, keeping annual rent growth climbing. Measured supply gains amid increased renter demand over the past four quarters have resulted in steady vacancy and rent improvement. These trends should continue over the next several quarters, holding vacancy below the 5 percent threshold. Favorable apartment operations are capturing investor attention. Demand for apartments is coming from an increase in employment that is allowing more people to move into rentals. Employers added roughly 14,200 positions year over year in May, nearly double the previous year’s growth. Another encouraging sign for Cleveland is that most employment sectors added jobs during this period. The heightened hiring has kept the unemployment rate below 5 percent for the past five months and the rate is down 80 basis points since May 2018. Education and health services is the most dominant employment sector, and the construction segment led employment gains during the past 12 months, staffing more than 5,300 new positions, followed by professional and business services with nearly 4,200 people. New apartment projects contribute to some of the construction jobs. Over the past four quarters, builders added …
FARMINGTON HILLS, MICH. — Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA LLC and Olympia Development of Michigan have unveiled plans to develop a new build-to-suit office property in Farmington Hills. The Class A office space will serve as the headquarters for Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and the regional headquarters for Daimler Mobility Americas. The complex, pending permits and zoning approvals from the city, will be located on a 35-acre site on the southwest corner of Drake and 12 Mile roads. The three-story, 200,000-square-foot property will include a fitness center, café and coffee bar. Olympia Development has selected Gensler as the architect and Kirco Manix as the general contractor. Construction is expected to begin in the fall with completion slated for summer 2021. Mercedes-Benz Financial Services currently leases space in an office complex less than one mile from the new site. The automotive financial services provider is a member of the Daimler Mobility AG group of companies, headquartered in Germany. The company’s planned move to a new office space will retain approximately 1,000 jobs in the community.
EDGERTON, KAN. — Kubota Tractor Corp. will host a grand opening ceremony for its new North American distribution center in Edgerton on Wednesday, Aug. 21. Joining Kubota executives will be Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and other state and local officials. Set on 200 acres of land, the new campus includes two 1 million-square-foot buildings. The property will serve as a logistics hub for Kubota’s North American operations and home to the company’s Midwest sales division office. Kubota is based in Grapevine, Texas.
TOLEDO AND OREGON, OHIO — Reichle Klein Group has brokered the $29.4 million sale of an 888-unit apartment portfolio in Toledo and Oregon. The properties include Tamarack Creek, Piccadilly West and Alexor in Toledo; and Piccadilly East, located at 2750 Pickle Road in Oregon. Tony Plath and Harlan Reichle of Reichle Klein represented the local seller, R.J. Lloyd Co. Ltd. Columbus-based Urban Land Co. Ltd. purchased the portfolio.
CHICAGO — Cohen Financial, a division of SunTrust Bank, has secured a $22 million loan for the acquisition of Lacuna Lofts in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. The 220,000-square-foot property includes office, retail and event space. The loft building once served as a macaroni factory. Michael Hart and Ryan Morris of Cohen arranged the bridge loan, which provides capital for enhancing the base building, tenant improvements and expanding the event space. The borrower was a partnership between Ameritus and JBG Property. John Scuras of Jameson Commercial represented the seller.
HAMMOND, IND. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of a 9,327-square-foot retail strip center in Hammond for $4.7 million. Located at 7905 Indianapolis Blvd., the property is anchored by AT&T. All tenants operate under 10-year leases. Austin Weisenbeck and Sean Sharko of Marcus & Millichap marketed the property on behalf of the undisclosed seller. An Illinois-based buyer completing a 1031 tax-deferred exchange purchased the asset.
OMAHA, NEB. — CIT Group Inc. has agreed to acquire Mutual of Omaha’s savings bank subsidiary, Mutual of Omaha Bank, for $1 billion. CIT’s banking subsidiary, CIT Bank NA, will be used for the acquisition. The purchase price will be comprised primarily of cash and up to $150 million of CIT common stock. The transaction will diversify and enhance CIT’s funding profile with stable, lower-cost deposits from Mutual of Omaha Bank’s homeowner’s association banking business, according to New York City-based CIT. It is also expected to extend CIT’s commercial banking capabilities and enhance profitability. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020. The agreement excludes Mutual’s mortgage subsidiary, Synergy One Lending. Founded in 1909, Mutual of Omaha offers a variety of insurance and financial products for individuals, businesses and groups throughout the United States. CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) is a financial holding company with approximately $50 billion in assets as of June 30.
OAK BROOK, ILL. — Fairbridge Properties has acquired Oak Brook Gateway in suburban Chicago for $42.8 million. The eight-story, 233,166-square-foot office building is located at 1111 W. 22nd St. The Class A property is 93 percent occupied. Tenants include Lewis University, U.S. Census Bureau, Oxford Bank and Aerotek. Designed by Holabird & Root and developed by New York Life Insurance Co. in 1984, Oak Brook Gateway includes a conference center, fitness center, full-service café, outdoor patio and covered parking. Brent Jacob of Colliers International handles leasing for the property.
WINONA, MINN. — The Rochester office of Kraus-Anderson has completed construction of Education Village, a $31.2 million expansion at Winona State University in southeastern Minnesota. The project includes comprehensive renovations to Helble Hall, Wabasha Recreation Center and Cathedral Elementary School. Education Village will be used by the College of Education. The facility, designed by Leo A Daly Architects, features flexible learning spaces, including those for early childhood education training. Winona State University was founded in 1858.