ALLENTOWN, PA. — City Center Investment Corp. has purchased a 250,000-square-foot office building, located at Sixth and Linden streets in downtown Allentown, for $8.5 million. Approximately half of the building is long-term leased to The Morning Call, which uses the property as office space and to print the daily paper. The buyer plans to lease out the building’s vacant space. The acquisition also includes a nearby parking deck. City Center Investment Corp. purchased the property from Tribune Media using financing through Peoples Security Bank & Trust Co.
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. — NorthMarq Capital has arranged the $5 million refinancing of Lohman Village, a seniors housing property located at 1 Wartburg Place in Mount Vernon. The loan features a 5-year term and 30-year amortization schedule. The 31-unit property is part of a large seniors housing campus in Mount Vernon known as Wartburg that offers a full spectrum of senior living options. Robert Ranieri of NorthMarq arranged the financing through NorthMarq’s relationship with an undisclosed regional bank.
RAYNHAM, MASS., AND MONTVILLE, CONN. — Phillips Edison Grocery Center REIT II has acquired two grocery-anchored shopping centers in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The REIT purchased Shaw’s Plaza, a 175,842-square-foot retail center in Raynham, a suburb 30 miles south of Boston. The property is occupied by national and regional tenants, including Jo-Ann Fabrics, Marshalls, CVS/pharmacy, Sovereign Bank, Dress Barn, Gamestop, Panera Bread, Bank of America, PetSmart, SuperCuts, GNC, Spring and Cardi’s Furniture. The acquisition adds the first Shaw’s grocery-anchored shopping center to the company’s portfolio. Additionally, the REIT acquired Montville Commons, a 117,916-square-foot shopping center in Montville. The property is occupied by Stop & Shop, Anytime Fitness, Subway, Sweet Frog, Sleep’s, Hair Cuttery, Gamestop, GNC, Chili’s Bar & Grill and AT&T. Terms of the sales, including the sellers’ names and acquisition prices, were not released.
LYNDHURST, N.J. — Bergman Real Estate Group has acquired 1099 Wall Street West, an office building located in Lyndhurst’s Meadowlands submarket. A private equity fund sold the property for an undisclosed price. Situated on 7.5 acres, the three-story building comprises 120,000 square feet of office space. At the time of sale, the property was 50 percent leased to more than 30 companies. M&T Bank provided a flexible acquisition loan for the purchase. Rick Steel and Mark Zurlini with M&T Bank arranged the loan. Patrick Arangio and Christopher McGlone of CBRE’s National Loan & Portfolio Advisory Group, in collaboration with Jeffrey Dunne, Kevin Welsh and Brian Schultz of CBRE Institutional Properties, represented the seller in the deal.
NEW YORK CITY, AND NEWARK, DEL. — GTJ REIT Inc. has acquired two industrial properties in two separate transactions. In the first transaction, the REIT purchased a 58,000-square-foot warehouse/garage situated on 1.2 acres in Brooklyn’s East New York neighborhood. The property is currently leased to The City of New York for the Department of Sanitation through 2025. In the second deal, GTJ REIT acquired a 208,000-square-foot warehouse distribution facility situated on 12.4 acres in Newark. Built in 1999, the property is fully leased to Valassis Communications Inc. through 2025. The tenant uses the property to sort and distribute print ad materials from Maine to Northern Virginia on behalf of its customers. Terms of the transactions, including the sellers’ names and acquisition prices, were not released. With these two acquisitions, GTJ now owns 47 properties, consisting of close to 5.5 million square feet on approximately 350 acres of land.
PHILADELPHIA — PH Retail, an affiliate of Post Brothers, has acquired a controlling interest of two properties located at 1501-1505 Walnut St. and 1520-1522 Chestnut St. in Philadelphia’s Center City. The total project is valued at more than $50 million and adds 70,000 square feet of prime commercial space to PH Retail’s portfolio. Totaling 30,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space, 1501-1505 Walnut St. is occupied by AT&T Mobility’s flagship location and Club Monaco and has one 2,848-square-foot unit of space available. 1520-1522 Chestnut features 27,000 square feet of above-grade space and 13,000 square feet of below grade space. James Galbally of JLL represented the seller, PREIT, in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — 1776, a public benefit corporation that scouts and funds high-growth startups, plans to open its first New York City campus on the top floor of Building 77 at Brooklyn Navy Yard. The company will become the anchor tenant of the 1 million-square-foot building that is currently undergoing a $185 million renovation. Slated to open in 2017, Building 77 will feature a 60,000-square-foot food manufacturing hub on the ground floor. Additionally, the project will support 3,000 new jobs. 1776 New York City will convene institutions, policymakers and startups to revitalize critical industries like education, energy, food, health, smart cities, transportation and financial services.
The Lehigh Valley has experienced significant residential growth over the last 20 years, and retail development is now catching up. High-growth suburban townships have seen significant retail development. Mixed-use projects that include retail are planned or underway in downtown Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton. New pad site and outparcel development has continued to be strong throughout the entire valley. The Hamilton Boulevard/Route 222 corridor in Lower Macungie has been the most active area for new construction. The 560,000-square-foot Hamilton Crossings in Lower Macungie is scheduled to open shortly and will feature Target along with the valley’s first Costco, Nordstrom Rack and Whole Foods. Trexler Business Center, a new project anchored by Movie Tavern, is also in the works. These developments will keep local residents shopping in this area versus traveling to the Macarthur Road corridor, Cedar Crest Boulevard or the Promenade Shops. The 140,000-square-foot retail component at Madison Farms in Bethlehem Township is nearing full completion and the 270,000-square-foot Westgate Mall is in the middle of a major renovation. New projects are in the planning stages along Route 309 in North Whitehall Township, Macarthur Road in Whitehall Township, Airport Road in East Allentown, Eighth Avenue in Bethlehem, Route 33 in Bethlehem …
NEW YORK CITY — Welltower Inc. and Hines have partnered to develop an assisted living and memory care community at 139 E. 56th St. in Midtown Manhattan. Designed by SLCE Architects, the as-of-right development will have retail space at its base and a senior living and memory care facility above. The 15-story, 125,000-square-foot facility will feature residential units on floors three through 14, community space throughout the property, and outdoor living space on three floors, including landscaped terraces and gardens.
PITTSBURGH — UC Funds has completed a $24.2 million adaptive reuse bridge loan for the conversion of the historic Salvation Army building into the Distrikt Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. The 183-room hotel will operate as a full-service boutique hotel with amenities including a high-end restaurant with room service, bar and lounge, fitness center and rooftop patio.