NEW YORK CITY — HFF has secured $80 million in construction financing for the ground-up development of a boutique condominium property located at 17 Jane St. in Manhattan’s West Village. Christopher Peck and Scott Aiese of HFF arranged the first mortgage and mezzanine loans for the borrower, Edward J. Minsoff Equities Inc. Designed by London-based David Chipperfield Architects, the property will feature a three-, four- and five-bedroom condominiums. Completion is slated for third quarter 2018.
HAMMONTON, N.J. — Colliers International has arranged the sale of a three-story office building located at the intersection of Routes 30, 54 and 206 in Hammonton. Interstate Commercial acquired the property from Hammonton 1 LLC for $6.2 million. At the time of sale, the 33,000-square-foot property was fully occupied by South Jersey Family Medical Center and South Jersey Energy Solutions, a subsidiary of South Jersey Industries. Evan Zweben of Colliers represented the seller, while Dan Silverstri of Interstate Commercial provided in-house representation for the buyer.
PENNSVILLE, N.J. — Houlihan-Parnes has arranged the sale of Laura’s Glen Apartments, an apartment community located in Pennsville. The 197-unit property, along with an adjacent 26-acre land parcel, sold for an undisclosed price. Situated on 17 acres, the community features 10 two-story buildings offering a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, ample parking, a swimming pool and playground. Stewart Wolf of Goldberg, Weprin, Finkel, Goldstrin LLP provided legal counsel for the seller, an investment group. The name of the buyer was not released. Robert Tiburzi and James Coleman of Houlihan-Parnes brokered the transaction.
RYE, N.H. — National Health Investors Inc. (NYSE: NHI) has financed the acquisition of a 40-unit memory care community in Rye, located along the coast near the Maine border. The investment totaled $10 million. The borrower is Evolve Senior Living, a first-time partner for NHI. The property was built in 2013. The loan is secured with a first mortgage with an initial term of five years, renewal options and an interest rate of 8 percent. NHI funded the investment through its revolving credit facility. NHI has an option to purchase the property after 24 months if certain performance goals are achieved.
NEW YORK CITY — Equicap has closed a $16 million bridge loan for two retail properties located in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn for an undisclosed borrower. The loan was used to acquire two Santander locations that were owned by Santander Bank. Both locations included accompanying retail space, some of which was occupied and vacant. Daniel Hilpert of Equicap arranged the financing for the borrower.
KING OF PRUSSIA, PA. — A joint venture between Merion PHC Holdings LLC and Moreland Development LLC has acquired an office property located at 950 Pulaski Drive in King of Prussia, approximately 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Hemar Realty Co. sold the asset for $8.2 million. The 40,000-square-foot property is currently configured as physicians’ offices, exam rooms and labs. Gary Leone and Steven Gartner of CBRE represented the seller in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY — Cleeman Realty Group has brokered two separate transactions in Brooklyn totaling $6.1 million. In the first deal, an undisclosed buyer acquired a three-story, 3,440-square-foot residential walk-up building in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene area for $2.5 million. The building features eight rental units, four of which are vacant. Zach Hering of Cleeman Realty represented the buyer and undisclosed seller in the transaction. In the second deal, an undisclosed seller sold a vacant mixed-use building located on St. Felix Street in Brooklyn for $3.5 million. The 4,600-square-foot property features five residential units and two floors of community space. The building has been vacant since it was built in 2007. Michael Cleeman of Cleeman Realty represented the seller, while Hering represented the undisclosed buyer in the deal.
OLD SAYBROOK, CONN. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a retail property located at 107 Main St. in Old Saybrook. An undisclosed limited liability company acquired the 3,690-square-foot property for $3 million. Laurie Ann Drinkwater and Seth Richard of Marcus & Millichap brokered the sale. The name of the seller was not released.
WORCESTER, MASS. — Kelleher & Sadowsky has arranged the sale of a 3,200-square-foot office space located at 31 Harvard St. in Worcester. Private investor Kenneth Davis acquired the property for an undisclosed price and plans to convert the property into office and residential space when vacated by the current tenant, Family Service Organization of Worcester. Will Kelleher and David Cohen of Kelleher & Sadowsky brokered the transaction. The name of the seller was not released.
With employment representing one of the most critical factors in the health of the office sector, people naturally look to the unemployment rate as a key metric to quickly assess a given market. By this standard, Fairfield County should be thriving, with the unemployment rate at 4.4 percent in April 2017 — just under the 4.8 percent rate reached just prior to the recession. And yet, the availability rate in Connecticut’s largest office market stood at 24.5 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2017 — a far cry from the 15.2 percent rate seen at year-end 2007. There are two reasons for the discrepancy. First, it is far more accurate to look at office-using employment (information, financial, professional services and other industries) versus overall employment as a barometer. While office-using employment has rebounded approximately 4.0 percent since the depths of the latest recession, today’s count is still 8.4 percent lower than the latest peak. Second, a marked shift in the desired style of office and an upswing in remote working opportunities have led to reduced utilization rates in terms of square feet per employee. Today’s employers want to be in buildings that make their employees happy and …