ALDEN, MEDINA & NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — KeyBank Real Estate Capital has secured $19.5 million in CMBS financing for a retail portfolio consisting of three Tops grocery-anchored shopping centers. The properties are located in Alden, Medina and Niagara Falls, and total 250,174 square feet. William Cassidy of Key’s commercial mortgage group arranged the financing with a 10-year term and 30-year amortization schedule. The non-recourse first mortgage loan was used to refinance existing debt.
WESTPORT, CONN. — Brett Sherman of Angel Commercial has arranged the $2.2 million sale of 1555 Post Road E. in Westport. Located on Route 1, the property consists of an 11,461-square-foot office building on .61 acres. Sherman represented the buyer, BAO Partners, which plans to update the building with a new roof, HVAC, windows, masonry and parking lot.
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. — BBS Architects, Landscape Architects and Engineers has completed the renovation and expansion of South Side High School for the Rockville Centre Union Free School District located on Long Island. BBS served as the architect; interior designer; technology designer; and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineer for the project. The school is located at 140 Shepherd St. in Rockville Centre. The $26.6 million South Side High redevelopment was a part of a $45.9 million school improvement bond issue that was approved by local voters in 2013. BBS’s project team included architect Roger P. Smith, project manager Kenneth Schupner, designer Tracy Hansen and construction administrator Peter Dawkins. Park East Construction served as construction manager.
NEW HAVEN, CONN. — Northeast Private Client Group has arranged the $6.4 million sale of a 40,000-square-foot office property known as Exchange Place in New Haven. The property is located at 123-127 Church St. Edward Jordan and Bradley Balletto of the firm’s Connecticut office represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction. William Jekiel Forbes built the Exchange Place property in 1832 and it was renovated in 2003. The seller, Connecticut-based 123-127 Church Street Associates LLC, purchased the property in 2013 shortly after its primary tenant The Annie E. Casey Foundation ceased activities. The company signed a lease for the upper floors with a rapidly growing technology company, and signed a net lease for the ground-floor retail space with a national pharmacy. The property was 100 percent leased at the time of sale. The buyer, Boston-based New England Investment Partners, purchased the property for roughly $160 per square foot.
RIVERSIDE, N.J. — Bussel Realty Corp. (BRC) has brokered a 92,000-square-foot industrial lease for Keymar Warehouse Inc. at 301 W. Washington St. in Riverside. The leased space is part of a 250,000-square-foot industrial property. Leo Esses and David Posner of BRC represented the landlord, Remy Investments LLC, in the transaction. Colliers International represented Keymar Warehouse. The property, 301 W. Washington St., is located near Exit 5 of the New Jersey Turnpike and I-295. It features 18-foot to 24-foot ceiling heights, 15 tailboards and two drive-in doors for loading. The property has 100,000 square feet of space available, and an additional 100,000 square feet of new space can be constructed on the site.
NEW YORK CITY — Gene Kaufman Architect (GKA) has received design approval from the NYC Department of Buildings for a Marriott and Residence Inn at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. In addition, The Lam Group has asked GKA to take over work on a Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn already under construction at 215 Pearl St. Together, the projects offer 870 rooms and represent 424,000 square feet of hotel space. The 540-room, 270,000-square-foot Marriott-and-Residence Inn at JFK Airport is being designed for Soundview Real Estate Partners and Chartwell Hospitality. The dual hotel property, expected to break ground later this year, will have 4,000 square feet of lounge and bar space and more than 4,000 square feet of meeting space. It will also have an office center, a fitness center and parking. Construction is already underway on GKA’s second dual-hotel project, a 330-room, 170,000-square-foot Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn at 215 Pearl St., which is expected to open in 2018. The Lam Group asked GKA to oversee the final design of the building created by the previous architects Nobutaka Ashihara, and to design the interiors for both the hotel’s public spaces and its guest rooms.
BILLERICA and MARLBOROUGH, MASS. — Colliers International has secured acquisition financing for a two-building portfolio purchase consisting of 734 Forest St. in Marlborough and 35 Dunham Road in Billerica. The 120,000-square-foot flex/industrial portfolio sold to a New England-based real estate investment firm. Colliers secured the acquisition financing from Belmont Savings. Adam Coppola, Tom Welch, John Poole and Tonia Jenkins of Colliers arranged financing.
Retail vacancy levels declined in 2012 and 2013 in Eastern Massachusetts following several years of rising vacancy rates during the Great Recession. But since 2013, vacancy rates have been on the rise as shopping habits continue to tilt toward online options. In 2016, retail inventory gained modestly, reaching 194.2 million square feet, an increase of 0.5 percent, although no major center opened during the year. The region added 488,800 square feet of vacant retail space, and the vacancy rate increased to 9 percent. Big box closings — notably Sam’s Club, JCPenney, and Kmart — and the departures of Citibank and City Sports, were the primary cause of increasing vacancy. Nonetheless, the region experienced positive absorption, netting 573,600 square feet. As reported in The KeyPoint Report: Eastern Massachusetts/Greater Boston, Boston and Cambridge ranked one and two in the list of top 10 towns by retail square footage. Abington tops the rankings for lowest vacancy rate. Eight of the top 10 towns with the highest vacancy rates are repeats from the previous year; new additions include Wrentham, site of the 135,000-square-foot Wrentham Crossing, which is vacant and currently for sale. The under-2,500-square-foot size classification remains the largest segment of the market, and …
NEW YORK CITY — HFF has arranged $290 million in financing for the development of 151 E. 86th St., a mixed-use residential and retail project in Manhattan’s Upper East Side neighborhood. HFF worked on behalf of the developer, a joint venture between Ceruzzi Holdings and Kuafu Properties, to secure the construction loan with a foreign capital source. HFF previously sourced financing on Ceruzzi’s behalf for its acquisition of the site in 2014. The property is located at the corner of 86th Street and Lexington Avenue and will include 151,500 square feet of residential space and 36,000 square feet of retail. There will be 61 condominium units averaging 2,485 square feet with floor-to-ceiling windows and views of the Manhattan skyline and the East River. Resident amenities will include concierge service and 6,500 square feet of amenity space, including a fitness facility, lounge, rooftop terrace and children’s playroom. HOK Architects designed the 18-story building and Shelton, Mindel & Associates handled the interiors. The property is due for completion in the first quarter 2019. David Nackoul, Christopher Peck and Scott Findlay led HFF’s debt placement team.
GLEN COVE, N.Y. — RXR Realty has begun construction of Harbor Landing at Garvies Point in Glen Cove. The property is slated for completion in 2019. Harbor Landing, a 385-unit apartment complex, will offer a mix of studios, one- and two-bedroom residences across two buildings. Units will range from 500 to 1,300 square feet. The residences will also feature amenities including a fitness center, club room, private dining room, lobby and on-site parking. The property is being built in conjunction with a condominium development known as The Beacon.