BOSTON — An affiliate of Abramson Brothers Inc. has acquired 4 Liberty Square, a retail and office building located in Boston, for $8.8 million. Located at the corner of Water and Batterymarch streets, the seven-story, 26,000-square-foot pre-war office building is 100 percent leased and has one restaurant tenant in the ground-floor retail space. Built in 1900, the building features a steel frame with masonry walls, windows and a marble lobby. This transaction is Abramson Brothers’ first acquisition in Boston as the company continues to seek growth opportunities.
Northeast
WILMINGTON, MASS. — Waltham, Mass.-based Vantage Builders Inc. has completed a 23,000-square-foot office renovation project for Trane, on behalf of Griffith Properties LLC. Vantage has completed the $925,000 tenant fit-up for Trane at 181 Ballardvale St., which is part of Ballardvale Office Park. The project required the complete demolition of the existing space prior to the reconstruction of seven offices, three conference rooms, two training rooms, an employee lounge and a kitchen. The new offices feature new carpeting, lighting, paint, custom millwork, glass walls and new doors. Vantage also installed a new energy management system, including five rooftop units to help Trane reduce overall heating and cooling costs. The project team included Design-Science as architects and Engineered Systems as mechanical engineering services.
NEW YORK CITY — Meridian Capital Group has arranged $29 million in acquisition and construction financing for the development of a residential condominium project in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. Aggelos Sklavenitis of Meridian Capital Group negotiated the loan on behalf of Six Sigma. Located at 435 West 19thSt., the existing five-story, 21,800-square-foot office property will be expanded into a nine-story, 27,500-square-foot residential condominium. Knighthead Funding LLC provided the 30-month, interest-only loan. This financing coupled with the sponsor’s equity creates a total capitalization of $41.3 million or approximately $1,500 per buildable square foot.
ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. — Elmwood Park-based River Drive Construction has completed vertical construction of the second phase of Riverwalk, a luxury multifamily rental community located at 400 Riverfront Blvd. in Elmwood. Slated for completion by the end of 2014, the second phase includes the construction of 51 apartments and 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Additionally, the new building will house The Goddard School, an early childhood organization. The school recently leased 8,600 square feet of space at Riverwalk. Florian Suserman and Michael Rawlins of RIPCO represented the school in the transaction. Fred Fisher of F. Fisher & Co. LLC represented Riverfront Residential, which developed the Riverwalk project. Construction of the first phase included 107 apartments and was completed in 2012.
MIDDLE ISLAND, N.Y. — National Cooperative Bank (NCB) has provided a $4 million loan for Hidden Meadows, a 143-unit cooperative apartment community in Middle Island. The loan, which includes a $3.5 million first mortgage and a $500,000 line of credit, will be used to refinance existing debt and fund future capital improvement projects at the community. The planned work includes upgrades to the sewer treatment plant and repairs to the sidewalk, roadways and tennis courts. Built in 1971, Hidden Meadows consists of nine two-story cooperative apartment buildings and is currently 100 percent occupied. Mindy Goldstein of NCB arranged the loan for the cooperative, Hidden Meadows LLC. Mark Walsh, the financial advisor for Hidden Meadows, also helped negotiate the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — TerraCRG has brokered the sale of a mixed-use building located at 328 Marcus Garvey Blvd. in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The property sold for $2.05 million or approximately $360 per square foot or $410,000 per unit. The four-story building features three residential units and 1,800 square feet of retail space divided into two retail units. The three residential units and one of the retail units were vacant at the time of closing. Matthew Cosentino, Eric Satanovksy and Robert McDonald of TerraCRG represented the seller in the transaction. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
NORTH HANOVER TOWNSHIP, N.J. — CBRE Group Inc. has arranged the sale of a 9,333-square-foot property in North Hanover Township for $1.4 million. Located at 189 Jacobson New Egypt Road, the newly constructed freestanding property is fully net-leased to Dollar General for a 10-year term with two five-year option periods. Charles Berger and Elli Klapper of CBRE’s Investment Properties Group represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer, an out-of-state investor, offered an aggressive capitalization rate for the asset and plans to hold the corporately guaranteed property for investment purposes.
HARRISON, N.J. — First Niagara’s Commercial Real Estate Group has closed on a $16.9 million loan with The Hampshire Companies for the construction of a 104-unit apartment complex on the site of the former David’s Cookie Factory in Harrison. The loan will finance the development of two four-story buildings at 400 S. Second St., which is part of the Harrison Waterfront Redevelopment Plan. Bergen Street Urban Renewal LLC, a joint venture between CrownPoint Group LLC and The Hampshire Companies, is developing the project, which is slated for completion in July 2015. Yvonne Ulrich of First Niagara is managing the transaction for the bank.
NEW YORK CITY — HFF has brokered the sale of and arranged financing for Avalon Chrystie Place, a 14-story apartment building located at 229 Chrystie St. in SoHo. Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. purchased the property for an undisclosed price. HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller. Additionally, HFF worked on behalf of the buyer to place a senior acquisition loan with the Bank of China and secured preferred equity through a commingled fund managed by American Realty Advisors. The 361-unit property features studio, one- and two-bedroom units averaging 739 square feet, as well as 72,329 square feet of fully occupied ground-level retail space that is anchored by Whole Foods. On-site amenities include a 24-hour concierge service, fitness center, rooftop sundeck and resident storage. Andrew Scandalios, Jose Cruz and Jeffrey Julien of HFF represented the seller. John Pelusi, Mike Tepedino and Jennifer Keller of HFF secured the financing for the buyer.
NEW YORK CITY — Starwood Capital Group, on behalf of a controlled affiliate, has sold the leasehold interest in an office building to an affiliate of Ross Stores Inc. Located at 1372 Broadway, the 21-story building offers 572,000 square feet of office space. The building serves as the East Coast buying office for Dublin, Calif.-based Ross Stores. Terms of the sale for were not disclosed. Starwood Capital Group, through its Starwood Distressed Opportunity Fund IX, originally purchased the leasehold interest in the property in June 2012. Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP advised Starwood Capital Group in the transaction.