DES MOINES, IOWA — Loja Real Estate has acquired Water Tower Place in Des Moines for $52 million. The community shopping center is anchored by Whole Foods Market and Best Buy. Other tenants include buybuy Baby, Famous Footwear, Marshalls and Ulta. Located at 4100 University Ave., the asset spans nearly 400,000 square feet. Pegasus Investments represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.
BATAVIA, ILL. — Avison Young has negotiated the sale of a 117,472-square-foot industrial building in Batavia for an undisclosed price. The property is located at 1020 Olympic Drive in Chicago’s Fox Valley submarket. The Class B building was constructed in 1977 and expanded in 1983. The property, situated on a seven-acre site, features clear heights ranging from 24 to 28 feet as well as three rail doors that enable connection to the nearby Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail spur. Tom Curtis and John Moysey of Avison Young represented the seller, a national manufacturing company, which used the facility as a single-tenant building for many years. The building was vacant at the time of sale. Midwest Industrial Funds purchased the asset and has retained Avison Young to market the repositioned property, which will undergo major renovations, including a new roof, installation of modern HVAC systems and an office renovation.
LINCOLN, R.I. — Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE: TRWH) has entered into an agreement to acquire Isle of Capri Casino Kansas City in Missouri and Lady Luck Casino Vicksburg in Mississippi for $230 million. Eldorado Resorts Inc. (Nasdaq: ERI) is the seller. Isle of Capri is located near downtown Kansas City, overlooking the Missouri River. The property offers 40,000 square feet of casino space, 939 gaming machines, 13 table games and two dining venues. Lady Luck Casino Vicksburg is situated along the Mississippi River. The property features 25,000 square feet of casino space, 603 slot machines, eight electronic table games, three dining venues and an 89-room hotel. “Isle Kansas City and Lady Luck Vicksburg expand our geographic footprint with assets in attractive markets,” says George Papanier, president and CEO of Lincoln, R.I.-based TRWH. “We believe these assets are a great fit for our portfolio and see the opportunity to increase the net cash flow from these properties by our redevelopment and operating plans.” Eldorado Resorts expects to use the proceeds from the sale for general corporate purposes, including its proposed $17.3 billion acquisition of Caesars Entertainment Corp. Papanier says TRWH will redevelop Isle of Capri, though he did not …
Given the pace at which the Detroit commercial office space market is evolving, updates and projections are changing with extraordinary speed. The market can look very different in just a few short months, and it’s worth checking in to see where things stand relative to the beginning of the year. CBD occupancy is high While growth remains the headline story, the focus has changed somewhat from a high level of leasing activity across the metro area to more of adaptation and evolution as landlords, tenants and brokers all adapt to a downtown market that is reaching capacity. The vacancy rate in Detroit proper is the lowest it has ever been, and office space in Midtown and downtown is getting harder and harder to come by. Deals are still being executed across metro Detroit, but with rents continuing to rise and space at a premium, the incentives landscape looks nothing like it has in recent years. Parking rates have increased dramatically with a major shortage in parking in the central business district (CBD). The monthly cost of parking has increased to approximately $250 per space downtown. Creative solutions Incentives continue and have produced new opportunity for creativity, as owners and operators …
LAWRENCE, KAN. — The Opus Group has begun construction on a new three-story student housing community near the University of Kansas. The project will include 120 units accommodating 312 residents as well as 8,200 square feet of retail space. The development is the first in Lawrence to use the new Smart Code portion of the city’s zoning code, requiring the project to incorporate more civic space and encourage less automobile usage. Residents will be able to take public transportation from a bus stop adjacent to the property. A biking and hiking trail from the property will lead directly to campus. Indoor amenities will include a fitness center, spa, clubroom, game room, podcast booth and study spaces. Outdoor amenities will include a terrace area along 23rd Street in front of the retail space for public use, as well as a pool, fire pits, gas grills and fitness area. The project is a joint venture with The McKinney Fund & Co. Central Bank of St. Louis and Central Bank of the Midwest provided construction financing. Completion is slated for July 2020.
PARK FOREST, ILL. — Matanky Realty Group has brokered the sale of a 102,647-square-foot shopping center located at 80-138 S. Orchard Drive in Park Forest, south of Chicago. Freedom Development Group purchased the three-building property for an undisclosed price. The Family Dollar-anchored center includes a grocery store and auto repair center. The buyer was attracted to the site due to its location within a federal Opportunity Zone, according to Matanky. Terri Cox and Don Wagener of Matanky brokered the transaction.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — The Pizzuti Cos. has purchased the former Grant Oak Apartments in Columbus and is scheduled to begin construction immediately on the redevelopment of the site. Located at the southeast corner of Grant Avenue and Oak Street in the Discovery District, the project will include a combination of renovation work, new construction and site improvements. Phase I will include a renovation of the four westernmost buildings and will result in 70 market-rate studio and one-bedroom units. Completion is slated for spring 2020. Phase II will include a new-construction, five-story building with a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units. The 80-unit property will include walk-up units along Oak and 9th streets. Pizzuti expects to break ground on Phase II in the fall with completion slated for late summer 2020. Sullivan Bruck Architects oversaw the design of the renovated portion and Lupton Rausch Architects Inc. designed the new-construction building. Elford Inc. will serve as the general contractor on both portions of the project.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Berkadia has secured a $9.3 million loan for the refinancing of Lofts on Michigan in Grand Rapids. Built in 2016, the multifamily property features 54 units and ground-floor retail space. Situated at 740 Michigan St. NE, the building offers convenient access to the Medical Mile and downtown Grand Rapids. Aaron Moll of Berkadia arranged the CMBS loan on behalf of the undisclosed borrower.
WOODHAVEN, MICH. — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the sale of Woodhaven Village Square for $5.7 million. The 50,414-square-foot retail center is located in Woodhaven, a southern suburb of Detroit. The property is fully leased to Michaels, PetSmart, Cato and Dance Nation. Ashish Vakhariya and Seth Haron of Marcus & Millichap marketed the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor. The buyer was not disclosed.
Occidental Management Closes on Acquisition of 190-Acre Sprint Headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Occidental Management Inc. has closed on its previously announced acquisition of the 20-building, 190-acre Sprint headquarters campus in Overland Park. The purchase price was not disclosed, but the campus is valued at more than $342 million, according to the Johnson County Appraiser. The deal includes a sale-leaseback agreement with Sprint Corp., which will occupy the buildings primarily in the southern portion of the property. The first buildings opened in 1997 when Sprint consolidated operations in the Kansas City metro area. The campus was designed to accommodate 14,500 employees and reached maximum capacity in 2004 when Sprint merged with Nextel. Since then, Sprint has been downsizing. Of the roughly 4 million-square-foot campus, approximately 1.7 million square feet is leased to other tenants and 250,000 square feet is vacant, according to Gary Oborny, CEO and chairman of Occidental. Wichita-based Occidental has yet to release specific plans for the property’s future, but expects to do so by year’s end. The company does intend to re-invigorate the campus and focus on adding amenities that will help employers retain and recruit talent. “The Sprint campus has been one of our ideal acquisition targets in the Kansas City market, and we’re excited …