COLLEGE TOWNSHIP, PA. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a $34 million direct loan for development of Centre Care Health Center in College Township. Located in Central Pennsylvania near Penn State University, the 240-bed, 135,645-square-foot skilled nursing facility will replace the existing Centre Crest property. The USDA’s funding is contingent upon the developer — Centre Care — providing an additional $6 million for the project through a fundraising campaign. Miles Kingston of Lancaster Pollard structured the financing and helped Centre Crest secure the USDA commitment. The loan represents an 85 percent loan-to-cost ratio, and features a fixed interest rate of 3.9 percent for the entire 36-year term. The loan also has a year of interest-only payments and no pre-payment penalties. In March, the College Township Council unanimously approved plans for the facility. In June, Centre Care closed on a 30-acre parcel of land where construction would occur. The development is scheduled to open in 2020.
NEW YORK CITY — Marx Realty has purchased two mixed-use properties on the Lower East Side of Manhattan for $48.5 million. Located at 135 and 161 Bowery, the two properties include 48,000 square feet of office and retail space combined. Built in 2016, 135 Bowery is an eight-story building that includes street-level retail and office space on floors two through eight. The building is fully leased to a tenant roster that includes visual effects company Lola, creative agency Minds + Assembly, trading technology firm Tradewind and attorneys Martin Liu & Associates. Originally built in 1920 and redeveloped in 2016, the seven-story building at 161 Bowery also includes street-level retail and office space. Tenants at the fully leased building include Warner Music, Kik Interactive, advertising firm Space 150, and educational startup Brainly. Artemis Real Estate Partners was the seller for 135 Bowery, while 161 Bowery was sold by a joint venture in partnership with Ultimate Realty.
WESTPORT, CONN. — Vidal/Wettenstein Commercial Real Estate has brokered the $1.1 million sale of a 4,000-square-foot office building in Westport. The buyer, a local developer, plans to renovate the building to establish its own office and lease out the remaining space for professional use. The seller was undisclosed. David Fugitt, SIOR, a partner with Vidal/Wettenstein Commercial Real Estate was the sole broker involved in the transaction
NEW YORK CITY — Lexington Realty Trust (NYSE: LXP) has sold a 21-office asset portfolio for $726 million to a joint venture between affiliates of Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP and Lexington. The office properties are spread across the U.S., with properties in the eastern and western regions, the South and the Midwest. The 3.8 million-square-foot portfolio is currently 98.6 percent leased to a tenant roster that includes Amazon, Experian Holdings, Motel 6 and Nissan. “This transaction marks a major step forward as we execute on our strategy to efficiently recycle capital out of suburban office properties and concentrate our portfolio on single-tenant, net leased industrial properties,” says T. Wilson Eglin, CEO of New York City-based Lexington Realty Trust. We intend to use transaction proceeds to continue to acquire high-quality industrial properties and repay our revolving credit facility and other debt, which we believe is the best path to create meaningful long-term shareholder value.” Following the transaction, Lexington’s percentage of industrial assets based on consolidated revenue is expected to increase to 60 percent from 44 percent at year-end 2017. Lexington received net cash proceeds of approximately $565 million at closing. The joint venture is expected to assume approximately $57 million …
After a sluggish start to the year, the Manhattan office market has experienced a strong rebound. In the second quarter, more than 10 million square feet of space was leased, the highest quarterly total since 2014, pushing year-to-date leasing activity to just over 17 million square feet. At mid-year 2018, there were 17 new leases exceeding 100,000 square feet and 35 new leases of more than 50,000 square feet. Although the economy has been at a peak for an unusually long time, the Manhattan office market has reached new highs. This presents an interesting exception to the norm, where real estate typically lags the economy, and it is good news for the market. Market Drivers While demand has come from a variety of sectors, the most recent top occupiers have come from the FIRE (financial services, insurance, and real estate), TAMI (technology, advertising, media and information), law firm and coworking sectors. Early in the year, the FIRE sector dominated large-block transactions. Examples include JPMorgan Chase’s 420,000-square-foot lease at the newly renovated 390 Madison Ave., and Bank of America Corp.’s 343,000-square-foot lease at 1100 Avenue of the Americas and 127,000-square-foot lease at 1114 Avenue of the Americas. This level of expansion …
NEW YORK CITY — TD Bank has arranged an $18 million construction loan for Phoenix Estates, an eight-story, mixed-use building in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the Bronx. The 111,000-square-foot property is located at 700 Manida St. and will consist of 180 residential units for low-income seniors and moderate-income families. The first floor of the building will be a dedicated community facility used to host classes for residents of the building. TD Bank provided financing for borrowers MHANY Management Inc. and We Stay/Nos Quedamos Inc. The housing development will also benefit from a $14 million investment from the City of New York. The project is scheduled for completion by 2020.
LYNN, MASS. — Cornerstone Realty Capital has secured the $6.4 million refinancing of a 55-unit apartment building in Lynn. Located at 16 Newhall St., the fully occupied building is approximately 11 miles north of Boston. Cornerstone secured a loan through a correspondent lender with an initial fixed-rate period followed by a floating rate. The first 12 months will feature interest-only payments, followed by 30-year amortization. The borrower was undisclosed.
RENSSELAER, N.Y. — Red Stone Tax-Exempt Funding LLC has provided $20.2 million in tax-exempt bonds for the rehabilitation of two affordable seniors housing communities in Rensselaer, located just across the Hudson River from downtown Albany. The Section 8 properties, Van Rensselaer Heights and Renwyck Place, were originally constructed in 1980. Millennia Housing Development will perform the renovations on a budget exceeding $45,000 per unit. An affiliate of Red Stone is the borrower, and will also use the funding to acquire the properties. Boston Capital Corp. purchased approximately $9.5 million in Low-Income Housing Tax-Credits (LIHTCs) in association with the properties.
PISCATAWAY, N.J.— Cushman & Wakefield has brokered the sale of an 88,000-square-foot industrial building in Piscataway. The sales price was undisclosed. Jason Barton, Chuck Fern, Tom Tucci and Stephen Shoemaker of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, S.S. White Technologies Inc., a manufacturer of aerospace parts, in the transaction. The buyer was N.J. CRR LLC. The property is located at 151 Old New Brunswick Road.
PHILADELPHIA — Marcus & Millichap has arranged the $1.2 million sale of the Frederick Douglass Apartments in Philadelphia. The mixed-use property consists of 16 residential units and four retail spaces and is located at 5600 Germantown Ave. in the Germantown neighborhood. Fred Paisley of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a limited liability company, in the transaction. A New York-based buyer purchased the property.