Northeast

LAWRENCE, MASS. — MassHousing has provided $28.8 million in financing to Reed Realty Advisors for the creation of a 180-unit affordable housing community in Lawrence, about 30 miles north of Boston. Reed Realty will redevelop a section of the former Pacific Mills cotton complex into new mixed-income housing that will include 40 workforce housing units for moderate-income households. The project will be called Pac 10 Lofts. MassHousing provided a $14 million tax-exempt permanent loan, a $1 million taxable permanent loan, an $8.8 million tax credit equity bridge loan and $5 million from MassHousing’s $100 million Workforce Housing Initiative. The transaction also involved $1.8 million from an allocation of state historic tax credits, a $3.6 million seller note, a $2.5 million deferred developer fee and $210,000 in financing from the City of Lawrence.

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NEW YORK CITY — Cushman & Wakefield has negotiated the $17.5 million sale of a multifamily building in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn. The buyer was Golden Lioness Corp. Located at 347 Berry St., the six-story, loft-style building includes 23 residential units and a 606-square-foot retail storefront as well as a partially enclosed parking lot that accommodates up to nine vehicles. The 21,500-square-foot building was converted from an ice cream factory into apartments in 2016. At the time of the sale, the multifamily portion of the building was fully leased. The retail space is occupied by Butler & Co., a café with a 10-year lease. Stephen Palmese, Brendan Maddigan, Michael Mazzara, Ethan Stanton and James Berluti of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Horrigan Development, in the transaction.

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SYRACUSE, ROCHESTER, BUFFALO, N.Y. — Speedway LLC has signed an agreement to purchase 78 Express Mart store locations held by Petr-All Petroleum Consulting Corp. The stores are located primarily in the Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo markets. Following the acquisition, the stores will be rebranded as Speedway locations. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter. Speedway, headquartered in Enon, Ohio, is the nation’s second largest company-owned and operated convenience store chain with approximately 2,740 stores located in 21 states. Speedway is a subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corp.

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NEW YORK CITY — Ariel Property Advisors has arranged a $6.5 million cash-out refinance loan for four mixed-use properties in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Paul McCormick and Matt Dzbanek of Ariel Property Advisors arranged the five-year, cash-out refinancing at a 75 percent loan-to-value and fixed interest rate of 4 percent for the undisclosed borrower. The four properties include 22 residential and six commercial units. Approximately 30 percent of the owner’s gross income comes from commercial leases.  

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NEW YORK CITY — Icahn Enterprises has agreed to sell Tropicana Entertainment Inc. to Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. for $1.85 billion in a deal that includes all of Tropicana’s real estate. The company’s gaming and hotel operations will be merged into Eldorado Resorts Inc., which owns and operates 20 casinos in 10 states. Under the agreement, Pennsylvania-based real estate investment trust Gaming and Leisure Properties will buy Tropicana’s real estate for $1.21 billion and lease properties to Eldorado Resorts. Eldorado will pay $640 million in cash and assume Tropicana’s cash and debt. The transaction includes all of Tropicana’s locations except Aruba, which will close as a condition of the deal. Icahn Enterprises invested in Tropicana when it was bankrupt in 2008, after state regulators deemed its former owner unfit to run a casino. The New York City-based investment company controlled by American businessman Carl Icahn hired Tony Rodio as chief executive and reinvested profits into operations. Carl Icahn has been chairman of Tropicana’s board since 2010. “I am incredibly proud of what the entire Tropicana team has been able to accomplish over the past eight years, taking Tropicana from bankruptcy to one of the industry’s true success stories,” says Rodio. …

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Real estate experts continue to keep a close eye on the Manhattan retail market in 2018. Having wrapped up 2017 with challenges and opportunities for landlords and tenants alike, it appears the biggest strides toward adjusting to new conditions are behind us, though further rent adjustments are never out of the mix. At year-end 2017, average asking rents across Manhattan’s 16 main retail corridors declined by 18.4 percent, compared to those from year-end 2016, while availabilities ticked up slightly. Leasing velocity was strong in 2017 with 2.6 million square feet of transactions closing during the year, posting a year-over-year increase of 8.2 percent. Food and beverage tenants dominated the market in terms of deal volume, inking 172 leases (the most in Manhattan) at year-end 2017, which encompassed nearly 556,000 square feet. The apparel industry also posted strong numbers in 2017, leasing 459,200 square feet of space across 91 deals.   2017 data shows that SoHo was the most active neighborhood in terms of square footage leased (approximately 227,000 square feet) and the number of closed deals (43). The neighborhood outpaced the runner up, Midtown West, by more than 60,000 square feet. After suffering from consistently high vacancy rates, SoHo is …

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BOSTON — Boston-area developer Nordblom Co. has received approval from the Boston Planning and Development Agency for an urban innovation campus at the former Boston Globe buildingin Dorchester. The 695,000-square-foot vacant property will undergo a total renovation with an eye on attracting office tenants working in sectors that are moving the Boston economy forward, including technology, life sciences and advanced manufacturing. The development will be renamed “The BEAT” — The Boston Exchange for Accelerated Technology. In addition to office space, the development will feature a fitness center and food hall. The building was constructed in 1958 and expanded several times throughout the years. In 2017, the newspaper sold the building and moved its newsroom and business operations to downtown Boston.

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LOGAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — HFF has arranged $7.6 million in acquisition financing for a three-building industrial portfolio in the suburban Philadelphia community of Logan Township. The borrower is a joint venture between Novaya and Foxfield Ventures. The lender for the first mortgage financing was not disclosed. Totaling 193,379 square feet, the portfolio comprises the 103,241-square-foot 1 Killdeer Court, the 46,888-square-foot 614 Heron Drive and the 43,251-square-foot 603 Heron Drive. All three of the light industrial facilities were built between 1975 and 1977 and are located in Gloucester County off I-295.

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GREENPORT, N.Y. — Cushman & Wakefield has negotiated the sale of Claudio’s Restaurant, a retail complex located at 111 Main St. in Greenport on Long Island’s North Fork. The property consists of three restaurants, including Claudio’s, Claudio’s Clam Bar and Crabby Jerry’s as well as two deep-water docks and 2.1 acres of developable land. Claudio’s is the oldest family-owned restaurant in the United States, and has been open since 1870, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Guthrie Garvin, Michael Gembecki and Alexander Ball of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, The Claudio Family in the transaction. Perry Weitz, David Weitz, Ian Behar and Ryan Sasson were the buyers. The sales price was not disclosed.

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ABINGTON, MASS. — Fantini & Gorga has arranged a $1.4 million loan for the acquisition of a multifamily property in Abington, 20 miles south of Boston. Located at 387 Adams St., the 12-unit apartment building is made up of one- and two-bedroom apartments. The community is located near the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Abington commuter rail station that provides service to and from downtown Boston. Derek Coulombe and Jon Garcia of Fantini & Gorga arranged the financing on behalf of the buyer.

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