BOSTON — IBA – Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción has secured $1.3 million in financing from the Department of Housing and Community Development to renovate Residencia Betances, a housing development in Boston’s South End. Located on Shawmut Avenue, the property, which serves low-income individuals with serious mental health issues, features 11 single-room occupancy units. Planned renovations include enhancements to the property’s historical brownstone exterior and revamping the interior to create a more open and welcoming floor plan, along with improvements to the individual units. Originally developed in 1993 by IBA, the property is one of the few properties that provides supportive housing to Spanish-speaking residents who are formerly homeless clients of the Development of Mental Health.
RIVERDALE, N.Y. — Meridian Capital Group has arranged a $36 million underlying cooperative loan and a $5 million line of credit for The Whitehall, a cooperative property located at 3333 Henry Hudson Blvd. in Riverdale, for Whitehall Tenants Corp. The 15-year loan, provided by a New York-based commercial bank, features a 3.7 percent fixed rate and interest-only payments for the initial 10-year term. Constructed in 1970, the 22-story property features 432 residential units, 21 office spaces, a health club and spa, indoor swimming pool, 496-car garage and 24-hour concierge. Allan Lieberman of Meridian Capital negotiated the transaction.
ALLENTOWN, PA. — City Center Investment Corp. (CCIC) is developing Strata II, a 67-unit residential complex at City Center Lehigh Valley, a mixed-used development in downtown Allentown. Designed by WRT with engineering work by T&M Associates, the five-story, 100,000-square-foot building will feature one- and two-bedroom market-rate apartment units and a variety of amenities, including a game room, movie theater and private courtyard. Additionally, the project will feature eight arts-related retail spaces on the first floor, including a co-op gallery. Slated to open in spring 2017, the $23 million residential property will join the 170-unit Strata Flats residential property that opened in July 2015. The project team includes Cityline Construction as project manager of the building’s commercial portion; T&M Associates as engineer; and Harkins Builders as general contractor.
WAYNE, PA. — PDC-Old Eagle LLC and Long Wharf Real Estate Partners have partnered to acquire Evolve IP Corporate Center, a 12-building office park located at 983-999 Old Eagle School Road in Wayne. The partnership secured a $29.6 million five-year, fixed-rate acquisition loan for the 376,303-square-foot property. Situated on 49.9 acres, the office park is 80.2 percent occupied by 95 tenants, including Evolve IP LLC, McBee Associates, Administrative Concepts Inc., YSC Academy, Prosoft Software and North American Specialty Products. Jim Cadranell of HFF arranged the joint venture equity and debt financing for the buyers. John Schonborn of HFF represented Long Wharf Real Estate Partners and Pat McNulty, also of HFF, represented PDC-Old Eagle in the joint venture transaction.
MANCHESTER VILLAGE, VT. — Carey Watermark Investors Inc. has acquired The Equinox Golf Resort & Spa in Manchester Village from HEI Hotels & Resorts for an undisclosed price. Situated on 1,300 acres between the Green and Taconic Mountains, the resort offers 195 guestrooms, 18,500 square feet of flexible meeting and event space, an 18-hole championship golf course, a 13,000-square-foot spa and five food and beverage outlets, as well as a variety of guest amenities and experiences. The hotel, which is part of Starwood’s The Luxury Collection, will be managed by HEI Hotels & Resorts. JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group brokered the sale.
Metro Philadelphia’s industrial market saw strong demand, developer confidence and declining vacancy rates in 2015. Asking rents averaged $4.43 per square foot for the region, a 4 percent increase from 2014. The overall vacancy has decreased to 7.7 percent as demand kept pace with 5.7 million square feet of completed spec development. The only submarket that is posting greater than 10 percent vacancy is New Castle County, Delaware; however, New Castle’s vacancy rate was trending downward at the end of 2015. We continue to see healthy demand for industrial space in 2016. There could be some impact from global uncertainties, but these will be offset by continued on-shoring of manufacturing requirements and last-mile delivery expansion. Companies seeking between 25,000 to 80,000 square feet have seen limited availability in most submarkets, particularly for purchase. Due to strong demand and reduced availability for modern, net-leased, single-tenant buildings, some investors must consider lesser-quality assets and/or secondary locations. Sale prices and rents have increased. It is not unusual for modern bulk facilities with long-term leases in place to trade in the $90-per-square-foot range. In one recent deal, a private investor paid more than $78 per square foot for the leaseback transaction of an 85-year-old …
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital has partnered with USAA Real Estate Co. to acquired The Buchanan, a mixed-use property located at 160 E. 48th St. in midtown Manhattan. According to the Wall Street Journal, the partnership purchased the 16-story, 300,000-square-foot property for $270 million. Comprising five interconnected mid-rise towers surrounding a garden courtyard, the property features 289 apartments and 16,000 square feet of retail and office space. Additionally, the asset offers nearly 140,000 square feet of excess air rights. The partnership plans to initiate a comprehensive capital improvement program to renovate and reconfigure the existing residential units, enhance operating efficiencies and create a high-end amenity package. The residential unit mix includes oversized studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments on the second floor through the sixteenth floor, with penthouse units offering private outdoor terraces. The ground-level retail and office space is currently 100 percent occupied. The name of the seller was not released.
NEW YORK CITY — Mission Capital has secured $45 million in financing for the acquisition of a commercial property located at 1825 Park Ave. in Manhattan’s Harlem. Savanna acquired the 135,000-square-foot property for $48 million. At the time of sale, the 12-story building was 55 percent occupied by a mix of retail and office tenants, including JP Morgan Chase and Popeye’s. Jonathan More, Ari Hirt and Jamie Matheny of Mission Capital arranged the financing for the acquisition. The name of the seller was not released.
WEST ORANGE, N.J. — Clarion Partners has purchased Essex Green, a community shopping center located 495 Prospect Ave. in West Orange, for an undisclosed price. Situated on 33 acres, the 350,000-square-foot shopping center was 96 percent occupied at the time of closing. Tenants includes ShopRite, Macy’s Backstage, a nine-screen AMC Theatre with dine-in service, Total Wine & More, Sears Appliance/Outlet, Petco, TGI Fridays, Panera Bread, GameStop and GNC. Jose Cruz, Kevin O’Hearn, Stephen Simonelli, Andrew Scandalios and Chris Munley of HFF represented the seller, a global investment manager, in the transaction.
LATHAM, N.Y. — RD Management LLC, a real estate development and management organization, is redeveloping an existing retail property into a health and wellness plaza in Latham. Situated on New York State Route 2, the site, a former Kmart shopping center, spans 118,863 square feet. Located at 195 Troy Schenedtady Road and Swatling Road, the new health and wellness center will offer alternative and holistic healthcare services, close to Albany Medical School and Albany Pharmacy School, in addition to an existing 22,058-square-foot health and fitness training facility. RD Management owns 42 properties throughout New York and has more than 200 properties in its national portfolio.