CLEVELAND — Developer Geis Cos. and Sandvick Architects Inc. have teamed up to transform the former AmeriTrust tower and Cleveland Trust Rotunda into The Metropolitan at The 9. The $250 million hotel will be located at the intersection of East 9th Street and Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland. When it opens in the fall of 2014, the hotel will include 156 rooms and suites, featuring 16 custom-designed sky suites with large windows that provide panoramic views of downtown Cleveland. The project will also feature 12,000 square feet of meeting space, a Heinen’s grocery store, indoor dog park, spa and fitness center. Additional amenities include the Adega restaurant, offering Mediterranean cuisine and downtown Cleveland’s largest outdoor dining area, along with Azure Sky, which will offer the downtown’s largest rooftop bar. Geis Cos. and Sandvick Architects plan to preserve the site’s architectural features, while combining that with modern technology and design. The hotel will be affiliated with Marriott International’s Autograph Collection of more than 50 independent hotels. Geis-owned GLSD Architects is designing the project.
Multifamily
RAHWAY, N.J. —A joint venture between three New Jersey residential developers — AST Development, Sterling Properties and Heartstone Development — have started construction on Metro Rahway, a 116-unit rental community in Rahway. The project will transform a former industrial site into a transit-oriented development, which is within walking distance to shopping, dining and the Rahway train station. Situated on 1.6 acres along Campbell Street, Metro Rahway will be a four-story building with a mix of one- and two-bedroom residences featuring nine-foot ceilings and ceramic-tiled kitchens. Rahway is slated for completion by late spring 2014. The rental rates have not yet been set.
DALLAS AND MESQUITE, TEXAS — Centerline Capital Group has arranged $19.3 million in refinancing for two Dallas-area Fannie Mae multifamily properties. The borrower, a Texas limited liability company managed by Gage Investments Ltd., is the same on both loans. Spanish Court Apartments, a 373-unit garden-style community in the western suburb of Mesquite, will receive a 10-year, $10.3 million in funding on a term amortized over 30 years. Spanish Village Apartments, a facility consisting of 22 residential buildings in Dallas, will receive $9 million in funding on the same terms. Centerline Capital is a subsidiary of New York-based Centerline Holding Co.
LOS ANGELES — Mack Urban and AECOM Capital have purchased six acres of land in Downtown Los Angeles’ South Park district for more than $80 million. This transaction represents the largest land acquisition by acreage in the Central Business District prior to the start of the 2008 economic recession, according to Mack Urban. The partnership plans to develop high-rise towers on the land. The project is currently in the planning and design phase. A groundbreaking is scheduled for late 2014, while completion of the final phases is slated for 2024. The project will be designed by AC Martin Partners. The seller was EVOQ Properties. AECOM Capital is the investment fund of AECOM Technology Corporation.
LOS ANGELES — The Mercer at Warner Center, a 477-unit multifamily complex in the Los Angeles submarket of Woodland Hills, has sold to a private investor for $88 million. The community is located at 22100 Erwin Street. The sale completes a 1031 exchange for the buyer, who acquired the property in an up-leg exchange for Crenshaw Village, a $60-million, 669-unit apartment portfolio in the Los Angeles submarket of Baldwin Hills. That sale closed last month. The institutional seller was represented by Greg Harris, Ron Harris, Kevin Green and Joseph Grabiec of Institutional Property Advisors. Financing was arranged by Danny Abergel of Marcus & Millichap Capital Corp.
SCHERTZ, TEXAS — PinPoint Commercial LP and Thrive Senior Living LLC have broken ground on a new seniors housing property, The Legacy at Forest Ridge Assisted Living and Memory Care Facility, in the northeast San Antonio suburb of Schertz. The community, located near I-35 North and Schertz Parkway, will consist of up to 112 assisted living beds and 28 memory care beds and incorporate cutting-edge technologies such as remote radio-frequency identification for resident location monitoring. Construction is slated for completion in mid-2014.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Multi Housing Advisors (MHA) has arranged the sales of six apartment communities in North Carolina totaling 1,261 units. The properties sold for an aggregate $34.3 million. Marc Robinson and Jordan McCarley of MHA’s Charlotte office represented the sellers in all six sales. The buyers weren’t represented by brokers. The acquired properties include the 220-unit Beacon Eastchase in Charlotte, which Eller Capital Partners purchased for $8.3 million; the 109-unit Lemans at Lawndale in Greensboro, which SBV Communities purchased for $2.7 million; the 106-unit Lexington Commons in Greensboro, which SBV Communities purchased for $3.4 million; the 180-unit Fox Run in Greensboro, which Richard Anderson bought for $4 million; the 454-unit The Park in Charlotte, which Northland Investment Corp. sold to FMM for $12.3 million; and the 192-unit Hanover Landing in Charlotte, which Ellington Management Group purchased for $3.6 million.
TAMPA, FLA. — Franklin Street Real Estate Services has arranged the $13.1 million sale of Seasons, a 240-unit apartment community located at 11305 N. 51st St. in Tampa. Darron Katton, Kevin Kelleher, Robert Goldfinger and Zach Ames of Franklin Street represented both the buyer, Seasons Property Holdings LLC, and the seller, Bayside Ventures IV LLC, in the transaction. Seasons has undergone more than $1.2 million in exterior renovations since January 2012, according to Franklin Street.
LISLE, ILL. — The Opus Group has completed Avant at the Arboretum, a 310-unit, luxury mid-rise residential development in Lisle, a suburb of Chicago. The four-story apartment building features in-unit washers and dryers, stainless steel appliances, private balconies, granite countertops, nine-foot ceilings, USB charging stations, deep kitchen sinks and 42-inch cabinets. The development offers nine different floor plans and 310 indoor parking stalls. The community also features an outdoor heated swimming pool, patio area, communal gas grills, outdoor fire pit, fitness center, business center, conference center, club room, bike storage area and dog park. Lincoln Property Cos. Manages the property. Opus Development Co. LLC served as the developer; Opus Design Build LLC was the contractor; and BSB Design Inc. was the project architect.
CHICAGO AND ROLLING MEADOWS, ILL. — The Canyon Multifamily Impact Fund has acquired two apartment properties in the Chicago area. York Terrace, a 331-unit apartment complex on Chicago’s southside and the 662-unit Woodfield Crossing apartment community in Rolling Meadows will undergo a series of improvements during the next year. The Canyon Multifamily Impact Fund is a joint venture between Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and Citi Community Capital that addresses the need for higher quality workforce housing in underserved communities across the United States. The joint venture’s improvement program for York Terrace will focus on addressing deferred maintenance and creating new amenities, including a community multi-purpose room, gym, business center and laundry room. Canyon’s improvement program for Woodfield Crossing will include new roofs and more energy-efficient heating and plumbing systems.