PHILADELPHIA — Metro Commercial Real Estate Inc. has brokered two deals for Target in the Center City area of Philadelphia. Pearl Properties is developing an approximately 23,000-square foot site at 1900 Chestnut St., and The Brickstone Companies is developing an approximately 22,000-square-foot site at 1112 Chestnut St. Both stores, which will be configured as smaller versions of the traditional Target store format, are currently under construction with planned openings in 2016. Tom Londres and Steve Niggeman of Metro Commercial represented Target in the transactions.
OLD BRIDGE, N.J. — Franchisees David Ezekiel and Abraham Ezekiel are breaking ground on the new $5 million Primrose School of Old Bridge, located on Route 9 near the intersection of Route 9 and Spring Valley Road in Old Bridge, in early November. The 12,300-square-foot school, which will create approximately 50 new jobs, will provide early education and care schools for children ages six weeks to six years old and offer after-school care for children up to age 12. Primrose School of Old Bridge will be the fifth Primrose school in New Jersey.
EAST ORANGE, N.J. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged $43.5 million in financing for a pair of adjacent residential and mixed-use properties located at 141 and 315 South Harrison Street in East Orange, on behalf of Blackstone 360, the properties’ owner. George Gnad, Jessica Ke and Michael Winters of Cushman & Wakefield secured the financing from Amboy Bank. The Capital Services team arranged a $19.5 million-term loan for the 105-unit high-rise residential building located at 141 South Harrison, and an additional $24 million construction loan for a proposed seven-story project of 150 high-end luxury rental residential units above the current 30,000 square feet of ground-level commercial space located at 315 South Harrison.
NEW YORK CITY — Quinlan Development Group and Building and Land Technology (BLT) are redeveloping the 100-year-old The Pioneer Warehouse at 41 Flatbush Avenue in downtown Brooklyn. The $30 million redevelopment of the 10-story property, which will be renamed The Pioneer Building, will result in approximately 235,000 square feet of modern office space and 25,000 square feet of retail space ready for occupancy in second quarter 2016. Located near the Barclays Center and Atlantic Terminal, The Pioneer Building is well along in a comprehensive redevelopment to enhance the building’s barrel-vaulted terra cotta ceilings, brick walls and ornate limestone façade. The interior finishes and exterior enhancements have been designed by architects Beyer Blinder Belle. New features include new, oversized, energy-efficient windows, state-of-the-art tenant-controlled HVAC units, industrial-sized elevator cabs, a renovated lobby, a landscaped roof terrace with views of all of Downtown Brooklyn and the New York Harbor, and an on-site bicycle storage facility. The property owners have named Bruce Mosler, Mikael Nahmias, and Joseph Cirone of Cushman & Wakefield as exclusive leasing agents.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Margules Properties Inc. has purchased five mixed-use buildings in Jersey City for $8.5 million. The company — which owns and manages more than 1 million square feet of development rights in the city’s Journal Square neighborhood — plans to upgrade the buildings to make them more appealing to new retail tenants and millennials looking for apartments near the PATH train. Two of the buildings form a triangle bound by Montgomery Avenue, Orchard Street and Jordan Avenue, in the McGinley Square section of Jersey City. They include a gut-renovated, five-story walk-up building at 52 Orchard Street, with 12 apartments and three stores, and 685 Montgomery Avenue, a three-story mixed-use building with three stores and five apartments. The other buildings include 70 Tonnele Avenue, a 17-unit apartment building; 142 Monticello Avenue, a corner three-story townhouse building with 2,500 square feet of retail space on the first floor and two units with two bedrooms each on the two upper floors; and 2175 JFKennedy Boulevard, a one-story vacant commercial building.
NEW YORK CITY — GFI Realty Services has brokered the $5.5 million sale of 310-312 Graham Avenue, a 5,000-square-foot development site located in the East Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Max Koshkerman of GFI represented the seller. Moshe Gelbstein and Joseph Landau of GFI represented the buyers. Both the buyers and the seller are local investors. The property includes a two-story mixed-use building, which was delivered vacant to the buyers. The buyer plans to construct a seven-story mixed-use building with 23 apartments, parking and a commercial unit. The site is located on the northeast corner of Graham Avenue and Ainslie Street and has a maximum buildable area of approximately 16,700 square feet including 1,700 square feet of air rights acquired from the adjacent parcel.
MANCHESTER, N.H. — CBRE/New England has arranged the sale of 345 Cilley Road, a 6,096-square-foot two-story medical office building in Manchester. CBRE/NE’s Christopher Healey represented the seller, Hassell’s End Properties, and procured the buyer, Peerless Properties LLC, a privately owned company.
New York City’s multifamily market in the second quarter of 2015 was able to continue the momentum of 2015’s first quarter and generate an impressive $3.30 billion in gross consideration. The quarter also saw 364 properties trade over 225 transactions, which is a 33 percent increase in transaction volume compared to the same quarter last year. Boosting significant growth, both Brooklyn and Manhattan saw a number of institutional and portfolio deals again this quarter. Of the trades in Manhattan, the top 10 percent made up approximately 73 percent of Manhattans dollar volume and four of the five largest multifamily transactions to occur in NYC happened in Brooklyn, which contributed to both submarkets ending the quarter with dollar volumes above $1 billion for the second time in as many quarters. Pricing throughout the city continues to evolve by most measures. Gross rent multiples have increased by 1.4 year-over-year and the average price per square foot in Manhattan has eclipsed $900. Compared to last year, average capitalization rates were down 60 basis points in The Bronx, and are down in Brooklyn and Northern Manhattan. These are the signs of solid fundamentals in the market. Institutional caliber multifamily deals had a big second …
NEW YORK CITY — Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP (HFF) has secured $200 million in financing for the acquisition and pre-development of a 19,684-square-foot development site at 151 East 60th St., which is located at Lexington Avenue across from Bloomingdale’s in Manhattan. The undeveloped parcel has zoning square footage that will accommodate up to 350,000 square feet; development is slated to begin in March 2017. Working on behalf of Kuafu Properties, HFF placed the floating-rate loan with Mack Real Estate Credit Strategies. Loan proceeds will facilitate the purchase of the fee simple interest in the property and fund pre-development costs towards construction of a luxury residential tower with approximately 40,000 square feet of retail space. Christopher Peck and Jay Marshall led HFF’s debt placement team.
BAYONNE, N.J. — Castle Lanterra Properties (CLP) has purchased Alexan CityView, a 544-unit apartment community situated on 7.4 acres along the waterfront in Bayonne for $147.5 million from a joint venture between an investment fund and a large property manager. Jones Lang LaSalle arranged the transaction. The new owner will rename the property Harbor Pointe and plans property upgrades, including updates to the clubhouse and an expansion of the gym. The LEED Silver-certified property, which was built in 2010, features a 9,000-square-foot clubhouse, fitness studio, indoor basketball half-court, children’s playroom, a resort-style saltwater pool, and a seven-story parking garage. It was at 91 percent occupancy at the time of sale.