After a lackluster first quarter, the Southern New Hampshire office sector is showing strong potential as we head into the heart of 2015 and as the recovery that is firmly entrenched in major hubs like Boston begins to make its way to secondary markets. Notably, the trend toward reurbanization and the growing popularity of live/stay/play opportunities are driving activity in Portsmouth and promise to bolster activity in lagging submarkets like Manchester and Nashua. As companies increasingly gravitate to downtown locations, Portsmouth is seeing steady demand. In fact, its 3 million-square-foot office inventory boasts the lowest vacancy rate (11 percent) and highest average asking rents ($20.31 per square foot) of the six New Hampshire office submarkets tracked by Cushman & Wakefield. This vibrant seacoast city is the first New Hampshire market supporting speculative construction. Farley White built the 67,000-square-foot North Wing addition to 100 Arboretum Drive, bringing the building’s total to approximately 127,000 square feet. Our team serves as leasing agent for the property, where multiple deals are in the pipeline. At 249 Corporate Drive, the Katz Co. is building a 37,000-square-foot building and recently leased a significant portion of the space to Loftware Inc. Renovation, redevelopment and repurposing of older …
NASHUA, N.H. — Cushman & Wakefield of New Hampshire has arranged the $2 million sale of a former manufacturing facility located on 8.5 acres at 575 Amherst Street in Nashua. The property will be redeveloped as Bridges by EPOCH at Nashua, a 54-bed assisted living memory care community slated to open in fall 2016. National Development and Epoch Senior Living have partnered to acquire and redevelop the property. Thomas Farrelly, Denis Dancoes II and Sue Ann Johnson of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Nashua RE Holdings LLC, in the transaction.
SALEM, N.H. — CBRE/New England has arranged an office lease for 36creative at 23 S. Broadway in Salem. The boutique brand development and creative agency will lease 4,620 square feet from MetScott21 LLC. Formerly a Coca Cola Bottling Corp. facility, the property has been repositioned as a multi-tenant office/retail building. Chris Healey of CBRE/NE represented the tenant, while Art Bonin of ARBonin Cos. represented the landlord in the transaction.
CONCORD, N.H. — Cronheim Hotel Capital has secured $5.9 million in financing for Holiday Inn in Concord. Lisa McMahon and Andrew Stewart of Cronheim Hotel Capital arranged the 10-year loan, which features a 30-year amortization schedule, for the borrower, an affiliate of Chartwell Hotels. Renovated in 2010, the hotel features 122 rooms and 5,300 square feet of meeting space.
LACONIA, N.H. — Eckman Construction has broken ground for River’s Edge Apartments in Laconia. Situated on Union Avenue, the 41,000-square-foot multifamily complex will feature 32 apartment units. Demolition is complete and site work is underway for the project.
SALEM, N.H. — LCB Senior Living has broken ground for The Residence at Salem Woods, a seniors housing community in Salem. Located at 6 Sally Sweets Way, the 77,000-square-foot community will feature 84 units, including a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, a memory care wing, a library, computer room, walking paths, a salon and recreation areas. Eckman Construction is serving as general contractor and Chelsea, Mass.-based The Architectural Team is architect of record. Completion is slated for early 2016.
WEST LEBANON, N.H. — Eastern Real Estate has acquired Powerhouse Plaza, a shopping center in West Lebanon. Dead River Powerhouse Plaza LLC sold the 81,317-square-foot property for an undisclosed price. Located on South Main Street, the center is fully occupied by Shaw’s, Rite Aid, New Hampshire State Liquor, 99 Restaurant and the United States Armed Forces Recruiting Center. Robert Griffin, Geoffrey Millerd, Justin Smith and Richard Ruggiero of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.
SEABROOK, N.H. — Curatolo Seabrook LLC has acquired Seacoast Mini Storage in Seabrook, a suburb of Portsmouth. The Marilyn T. Imke Revocable Trust sold the property for $5.8 million. Located at 233 Route 107, the 63,754-square-foot property has 55,270 square feet of rental storage space with 583 units, 152 of which are climate-controlled units. Situated on 6.1 acres, the property also includes two apartment units on site. Joseph Mendola of NAI Norwood Group represented the seller and assisted the buyer in the transaction.
BEDFORD, N.H. — HFF has brokered the sale of The Shoppes at Bedford Mall, a shopping center located at 73 South River Road in Bedford. Emmes Asset Management Co. sold the 277,289-square-foot center to an undisclosed buyer for $46.1 million. HFF represented the seller, and placed a 10-year, fixed-rate $30 million loan with Guggenheim Commercial Real Estate Finance LLC for the buyer. Renovated in 2012, the property is 98.6 percent leased to a variety of tenants, including Kohl’s, The Fresh Market, Marshalls, Staples, Weight Watchers, Pet Supplies Plus, Bob’s Store, Starbucks Coffee, Chipotle and Outback Steakhouse. James Koury and Xave Jacoby of HFF represented the seller, and Porter Terry, also of HFF, placed the financing for the buyer in the transaction.
SALEM, N.H., AND SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT. — Cushman & Wakefield Senior Housing Capital Markets has arranged $49.6 million in construction financing and joint venture equity for two senior housing developments in New England. The projects are LCB Senior Living’s seventh and eighth senior housing developments since it began its development program in 2013. The properties are The Residence at Salem Woods in Salem and The Residence at Quarry Hill in South Burlington. The Salem property will offer 84 apartments with 88 beds for independent, assisted and memory-care living. Wells Fargo provided $15.6 million in construction financing while the joint venture equity was provided by an institutional investor. The project broke ground in November 2014 and is expected to open in early 2016. The South Burlington property features 102 apartments with 104 beds for independent, assisted and memory-care living. PNC Bank provided $18.4 million in construction financing, while Virtus Real Estate Capital provided $8.5 million in joint venture equity. Construction is slated to begin in January 2015 with a planned summer 2016 opening. Rick Swartz, Jay Wagner, Aaron Rosenzweig and Stuart Kim of Cushman & Wakefield negotiated the transactions.