The last quarter of 2012 indicated signs of overall market improvement including increased activity in the office sector, according to most New Castle County owners and leasing brokers. Most professionals anticipated a good start to 2013 based on this performance. Although there are a few bright spots, early reports for 2013 are not yet meeting the expectations that stemmed from the continuing improvement seen last year. It seems most activity so far this year represents smaller deals, which are not resulting in positive absorption. Most tenants are moving to take advantage of the opportunity to upgrade or resize their space. One favorable aspect of the market has been demand for medical office space. A new four-building medical office project that was started last year at Becks Woods on Route 40 in Bear, Del., is nearly fully leased or sold with the last building coming out of ground a few weeks ago. Additional medical projects are planned on Churchman’s Road near Christiana Hospital and on Lancaster Pike at Little Falls although groundbreaking has not yet occurred on either site. Christiana Hospital is nearing completion of its new Emergency Center at Route 1 in Middletown, Del., and we expect there will be …
ORANGETOWN, N.Y.— Bloomberg LP has signed a lease for a new 131,805-square-foot, build-to-suit data center in Orangetown, located about 13 miles west of White Plains. The center is being developed by a joint venture of Russo Development and Sentinel Data Centers, which will retain ownership of the property. Upon completion, the facility will be a single-story property with infrastructure to provide more than seven megawatts of data capacity. The project is slated for completion in mid-2014. The Rockland County Industrial Development Agency endorsed Orangetown’s resolution to provide the project with a partial tax abatement package and Bloomberg’s lease agreement is conditional upon final authorization by the county executive.
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — EEA Industries LLC and SWH Residential Partners LLC broke ground Thursday on The Gateway, a luxury apartment community located at 9 W. South Orange Ave. in South Orange. Upon completion, The Gateway will include 57 one- and two-bedroom residences, as well as a virtual concierge and approximately 9,100 square feet of retail space. River Drive Construction is serving as construction manager for the project, which was designed by architectural firm Jarmel Kizel.
NEW YORK CITY — Massey Knakal has arranged the sale of four apartments in Manhattan’s East Village for $29 million, or $1,044 per square foot. The five-story, walk-up buildings are located at 195, 199, 201, and 203 E. 4th St. between Avenues A and B. The buyer and seller information was not disclosed. The building includes a combined total of 46 apartments and 27,770 square feet. Ownership has recently renovated all of the buildings’ common areas, installed a coin-operated laundry room, upgraded the electric and installed a new intercom system. The owners are also in the process of creating private backyards for many of the lower rear floor units.
NEW YORK CITY — A privately held multifamily development company, 205 Eighth Ave. LLC, has paid $15.9 million to acquire two mixed-use properties in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood from Francmen 205 LLC. The properties are located at 205 and 207 Eighth Ave. The buildings include a combined total of 21,800 square feet and 23 apartments. Deborah Gutoff and Paul Nigido of Eastern Consolidated represented the seller, while Gabriel Saffioti, also of Eastern Consolidated, procured the buyer in the transaction.
MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Dallas-based Mill Creek Residential Trust has broken ground on the 268-unit first phase of Latitude, a luxury apartment development in Morristown. The building’s cost has not been disclosed. The 258,300-square-foot first phase will include studio and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and a 350-space parking garage incorporated into the structure. The project’s location, at Early Street and Speedwell Avenue, is walking distance from downtown Morristown. Apartments will feature nine-foot ceilings, walk-in closets, patios/balconies (in select residences), lofts (in select residences), washers and dryers, granite countertops and energy-efficient, stainless-steel appliances. Initial occupancy for Latitude is planned for next year.
BRANFORD, CONN. — TKJ Associates has sold a 50,000-square-foot Class A office building, located at 322 E. Main St. in Branford, to 322 East Main Street LLC. The buyer is an entity owned by a Connecticut-based real estate investor and affiliate of Stamford, Conn.-based SWC Office Furniture. Steven Inglese of New Haven Group represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction. The three-story office building was 38 percent leased prior to the time of sale. Coinciding with the purchase of the building, the buyer entered into leases with two new tenants for the entire first floor, bringing the building’s occupancy close to 70 percent. The new owner also has renovations planned for various common areas including the lobby entrance. The New Haven Group will continue marketing the building for lease on behalf of the new owner. The purchase price was undisclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Manhattan-based commercial real estate owner Hidrock Realty has acquired 512 Broome St., a single occupancy retail building, for $2.8 million as part of a 1031 tax deferred exchange. The property, which is located off of West Broadway in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood, includes 1,100 square feet of ground-floor space and 1,000 square feet of basement space. Michael Rothstein and Eleas Mathios of Marcus & Millichap represented both Hidrock and the seller, RHS Ventures, in the transaction.
STAMFORD, CONN. — The Landis Group’s Class A office tower, located at 400 Atlantic St. in Stamford, has achieved LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for Existing Buildings. In 2012, the management at 400 Atlantic assembled an in-house team to incorporate a variety of sustainable initiatives and cost-cutting strategies, including changes in electrical usage, fuel/gas consumption and hardscape management.
NEW YORK CITY — Meadow Partners has received a $30 million senior loan from PCCP LLC for the recapitalization and conversion of a 98,000-square-foot, nine-story office/retail building into a multifamily/retail project. The building is located at 42-15 Crescent St. in Long Island City in Queens. The ownership plans to convert the property to a Class A multifamily/retail property, which will contain 124 units in the 10-story building. Constructed in 1953, the building is located across the East River from Midtown Manhattan. Meadow acquired the property in December 2012 in an off-market, all-cash transaction and has plans to complete pre-development in the next few months. The project is slated for completion in early 2015. Allen & Overy LLP represented PCCP LLC and Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group LLC arranged the financing.