There may be uncertainties within the market and larger economy, but Tom Turnage, vice president of Bellwether Enterprise, believes much of the activity on which 2018 hung its hat will continue. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are coming off record years, as are companies like Bellwether. Turnage believes the multifamily and industrial markets will remain active…but so will competition. This means borrowers and lenders must approach this year with creativity and flexibility. Both will be key to success in this lending environment. Watch the video for insights from Turnage on the lending landscape in the coming year.
Midwest
Ernie Katai, executive vice president and head of production, and Christopher Philipps, head of small loan originations at Berkadia, believe commercial real estate lending activity will continue with steady momentum through 2019. Katai was admittedly nervous about last year’s interest rate increases, but was happy to see his worry was for naught as the commercial market took it in stride. In Katai’s experience, investors have remained active. Most are willing to accept lower returns, which won’t keep them from buying in 2019. Philipps is focused on future growth. He notes Berkadia’s intention to utilize new small balance loan programs from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer a wider spectrum of resources to current clients, while introducing a new pool of borrowers to the firm. Watch the video for more insights from Katai and Philipps.
MILWAUKEE AND WAUKESHA, WIS. — Colliers International has brokered the sale of a six-building office portfolio in Milwaukee and Waukesha for $37.7 million. The 392,021-square-foot portfolio includes a mix of single- and multi-tenant buildings. At the time of sale, the portfolio was 92 percent leased to 23 tenants, including Von Briesen & Roper, Morgan Stanley, Aurora Health Care and DentaQuest. Tom Shepherd of Colliers represented the seller, LSOP WI LLC. Felton Properties was the buyer. Colliers will handle property management services on behalf of the buyer.
CHICAGO — Co-developers Brinshore Development and Michaels have broken ground on 4400 Grove, an 84-unit apartment building in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. The development will include a mix of affordable and market-rate units, as well as street-level retail space, a public plaza and landscaped park space. The city of Chicago provided $7.2 million in tax-increment financing and $1.9 million in low-income housing tax credits. U.S. Bancorp and the Chicago Housing Authority are also project partners. The affordable units will be restricted to households earning up to 60 percent of area median income. Pappageorge/Haymes served as the architect. McShane Construction and UJAMMA Construction are the general contractors. First move-ins are expected in spring 2020.
COLUMBIA, MO. — ThermAvant Technologies is set to open a 33,000-square-foot facility in Columbia in May. The facility will more than quadruple the thermal management company’s engineering and manufacturing space. Last year, ThermAvant received $400,000 in funding from Missouri Technology Corp. to promote entrepreneurship and foster the growth of new and emerging high-tech companies.
EAST DUNDEE AND CAROL STREAM, ILL. — Cawley Chicago has arranged two industrial property sales in Illinois. In the first transaction, High Street Realty purchased a two-building portfolio totaling nearly 80,000 square feet in East Dundee. In the second transaction, Venture One Real Estate acquired a 16,072-square-foot building. The facilities were fully leased at the time of sale. Jack Brennan and Daniel Cawley of Cawley represented the sellers, both of which were private investment entities.
HOLLAND, MICH. — Martin Commercial Properties has negotiated three retail leases totaling 6,300 square feet at Holland Town Center. The tenants include Michigan Pantry, MBH Stores and Art as a Lifestyle. Robert Lotzar of Martin represented the undisclosed landlord in each of the lease transactions. The retail center, located at 12330 James St., was recently renovated.
AcquisitionsAlabamaConnecticutIndianaIndustrialIowaMassachusettsMidwestNew JerseyNortheastPennsylvaniaSoutheastTop Stories
Rubenstein Properties Sells 28 Industrial Properties for $197M
by Alex Tostado
LITTLE FALLS, N.J. — Rubenstein Properties has sold 28 industrial properties totaling more than 5 million square feet across six states for $197 million. Bernards Township, N.J.-based Silverman Group acquired 27 buildings for $183 million. Properties are located in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa, Indiana and Alabama. The portfolio was 95.8 percent leased at the time of the sale. Locations include: New Jersey 10 Park Place, Butler; 20-21 Wagaraw Road, Fair Lawn; 39 Avenue C, Bayonne; 101 E. Main St., Little Falls; 114 Beach St., Rockaway; and 1578 Sussex Turnpike, Randolph, N.J. (units 2 through 5). Connecticut 20, 50 and 80 Utopia Road, Manchester; 118 Sanrico Drive, Manchester; 135 Sheldon Road, Manchester; 428 Hayden Station Road, Windsor; Alabama 207 Jacintoport Blvd., Saraland. Indiana 2190 Summit St., New Haven, Ind. Further details about the properties were not disclosed. In addition, a tenant occupying 1055 Crossroads Blvd. in Muhlenberg Township, Pa., acquired the asset for $14 million. “The properties are all strategically located within infill locations in order to take advantage of consistently improving industrial leasing fundamentals and increasing demand with extremely limited supply,” said Brian Fiumara, executive vice president of CBRE. “Rubenstein Properties’ portfolio provided the buyer with an exceptional opportunity …
SAN DIEGO — Politics may slow down progress, but positive changes are on their way to the seniors housing industry and U.S. healthcare system, according to former Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan. Ryan’s comments during the opening general session Feb. 21 at the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) 2019 Spring Conference. The event drew nearly 1,700 seniors housing professionals to the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, gave a speech before sitting down for a discussion with moderator John Kelliher, managing director of Berkeley Resource Group. Ryan identified Kelliher as a long-time friend with a deep background in legislation, law and the military. The event was Ryan’s first speech since retiring from his political office six weeks prior. “We’ve got a lot of work to do because we are not ready for the baby boomer generation,” Ryan said regarding seniors housing. Ryan identified the top political challenges facing the seniors housing industry as healthcare reform, immigration reform and entitlements such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Facing the labor shortage Ryan said low unemployment is good for the economy as a whole, but creates struggles for business owners who simply can’t …
As we begin 2019, there are several opposing market forces at work that are sure to influence each of us, and our respective firms and clients. These market dynamics will ultimately dictate who has a great year and why — or why not. This year, it seems the signals are more mixed than in the past several years, so making predictions about the local industrial real estate market is somewhat daunting. Nonetheless, here is what to look for in 2019. A tale of two halves Listen carefully: skip vacations, stay in town, hunker down and make as many deals as you can in 2019. Based on current supply and demand dynamics with several significant users already in play (build-to-suits, new leases, renewals, etc.), plus a recent wave of speculative deliveries, look for the first and second quarters to be fairly robust in terms of gross absorption. This should extend the growing record of 35 straight quarters of positive net absorption, dating back to the second quarter of 2009, with at least two to three more such quarters. But, like in sports, what happens in the first half can be overshadowed by a shift in momentum or other significant change in …