SPRINGFIELD, MASS. — China Railway Rolling Stock Corp. has broken ground on its 200,000-square-foot facility in Springfield. Situated on 40 acres, the $60 million facility will be used to manufacture 284 subway cars for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). MBTA awarded the China-based company a $566 million contract to supply care for Boston’s Red and Orange subway. The company purchased the former Westinghouse-owned land for $12 million. China Railway Rolling Stock Corp. was recently formed through a merger between China North Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Corp. and the China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corp. The company plans to begin production next year and deliver its first cars in 2018.
PHILADELPHIA — A joint venture between affiliates of Alterra Property Group and Stockton Real Estate Advisors has acquired an office building located at 1760 Market St. in Philadelphia’s Center City. Located at the corner of 18th and Market streets, the 15-story, 126,000-square-foot property is occupied by Allied Barton, GSA Federal Transit Administration and The Philadelphia Trust Company, among others. The partnership plans to reposition the building as a premier location for Philadelphia’s business community. The repositioning will include retrofitting the exterior with LED lighting and upgrades to the lobby and common areas to give the building a more contemporary look. Stockton Real Estate Advisors will assume on-site leasing and management responsibilities on behalf of the joint venture. The sales price was not disclosed.
HANOVER, N.J. — Vision Realty Estate Partners and Rubenstein Properties have topped off the steel structure for the development of MetLife Investments’ global headquarters at 67 Whippany Road in Hanover. Situated on 14 acres, the 185,000-square-foot office facility has been designed to meet LEED Gold Core and Shell and LEED Platinum Interiors standards. The building will feature an open floor plan with collaborative workspaces and breakout rooms, a town hall with technologically advanced conference facilities, a fitness center, an employee food court with indoor and outdoor seating, and a café. Additionally, the property will offer 4.5 parking spaces per 1,000 feet of rentable area through a combination of surface, structured and underground executive parking. The building, which will house more than 900 MetLife employees, is slated for delivery in the third quarter of 2016.
BOSTON — Localytics, a lifecycle engagement platform for web and mobile applications, has leased 55,000 square feet of office space at Center Plaza in Boston. The company will move into the space in March 2016, relocating from 101 Arch St. in Boston. Center Plaza is a 717,128-square-foot mixed-use complex featuring a 900-foot retail promenade along Cambridge Street, a 575-car parking garage and access to public transit, including the Red, Green and Blue lines. The property will soon undergo a capital improvement program, including new office amenities such as a bike room, conference center and renovations to the street-level interior lobbies, exterior walkway/breezeway areas and rooftop. Boston-based CBT Architects is providing architectural services for the enhancement program. Andy Hoar, John Butterworth, Kevin Kennedy and Suzanne Brown of CBRE/New England represented the landlord, Shorenstein Properties, while Greg Hoffmeister and Jon Frisch of T3 Advisors represented the tenant in the transaction. has a capital improvement program
PHILADELPHIA — Old Navy, a division of Gap Inc., has signed a lease for 23,464 square feet of retail space at 1618-22 Chestnut St. in Philadelphia’s Center City. The retailer plans to open a multi-floor flagship store at the location. Steven Gartner of CBRE represented Old Navy in the long-term lease with an affiliate of Pearl Properties, which recently purchased the property.
NEW YORK CITY — Carlton Group has closed a $125 million equity investment from three major Asian investors. The deal will facilitate an $800 million ground-up condominium project in Tribeca located near Goldman Sachs corporate headquarters. This transaction marks the first investment for an Asian insurance company, which is lead investor in the consortium. The investment enabled the closing of a major construction loan provided by one of the top commercial lenders in the United States. Additional terms of the transactions and involved parties were not released.
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital has provided $107.2 million in first mortgage financing for the first phase of Fortis Property Group’s acquisition of the Long Island College Hospital (LICH) real estate portfolio in Brooklyn. Collateral for the loan is a mix of former LICH properties comprising 357,000 square feet of retail, medical office and residential space, as well development sites. The properties are located at 91-95 Pacific St., 350-352 Hicks St., 349 Henry St., 112 Pacific St., 82 Amity St., 84 Amity St., 124-134 Atlantic Ave., 113 Congress St., 336 Flatbush Ave. and 184 Sterling Place. Madison Realty provided Fortis with a flexible financing solution to facilitate the acquisition, which is the culmination of a complex, multi-party deal related to the LICH portfolio. David Harte of Ackman-Ziff represented Fortis in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Houlihan-Parnes Realtors has arranged a $1 million loan for a retail property located at 3600-3614 White Plains Road in the Bronx’s Gun Hill section. The 6,500-square-foot property features a 5,335-square-foot building consisting of five retail spaces. The loan was placed with a savings bank at a five-year interest rate of 3.2 percent on a 30-year amortization schedule. Jeremiah Houlihan of Houlihan-Parnes Realtors arranged the loan for the undisclosed borrower.
NEW YORK CITY — Colliers International has arranged a long-term retail lease for 3,295 square feet at 223 E. 59th St. in New York City’s Upper East Side. London-based Savoir Beds will open its first company-owned store in New York at the location this fall. First created for The Savory Hotel in London in 1905, the company’s tailor-made beds are recognized as one of the world’s most luxurious sleeping systems. Peter Simel, James Emden and Timothy Pond of Colliers represented the tenant in the transaction. The name of the landlord was not released. Savior’s U.S. flagship store opened in SoHo earlier this year.
ROCKY HILL, CONN. — O,R&L Commercial has brokered the sale of an office building located at 2264 Silas Denne Highway in Rocky Hill. The 15,570-square-foot property sold for $610,000. The buyer, NAJO92 Holdings LLC, plans to use the property for its various businesses. Robert Gaucher of O,R&L Commercial represented the seller, 264 SDH LLC, in the transaction. The buyer was self-represented.