ANDOVER, MASS. — Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT Inc. has purchased a data center property in Andover, located about 25 miles north of Boston, for $12 million. The two-story, 92,700-square-foot property, located at 15 Shattuck Road, is occupied by Windstream Corp., a provider of advanced network communication, including cloud computing and managed services. Richards Barry Joyce & Partners represented the seller, Winthrop Realty Trust, and procured the buyer in the transaction.
PITTSFIELD, MASS. — A leader in the Berkshire County hospitality sector has plans to develop a $10 million Hilton Garden Inn in Pittsfield, located about 50 miles north of Springfield. Vijay Mahida, a South County lodging entrepreneur, plans to break ground on the 95-room hotel this spring with a grand opening targeted for late spring 2014. According to the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, the project is expected to employ 95 construction workers and have a total impact of $16 million on the local economy. When completed, the hotel is expected to employ between 25 and 30 employees.
NEWARK, N.J. — Hollister Construction Services has completed a $5 million renovation for Damascus Bakeries’ 72,000-square-foot baking facility, located at 60 McClellan St. in Newark. Hollister gutted and rebuilt the existing facility, which was a former paper distribution center. The construction firm demolished warehouse partitions and equipment rooms and built ancillary rooms to support the baking operations. New offices, an employee locker room, break room and meeting room were also built. Damascus Bakery, a family-run, third-generation commercial baking company, had been located in Brooklyn before choosing to move to Newark.
NEW YORK CITY — Ariel Property Advisors has arranged the sale of 500 Fort Washington Ave., a 56-unit multifamily building located in the Washington Heights neighborhood, for $8.6 million. The six-story, 44,295-square-foot walk-up includes 11 one-bedrooms, 35 two-bedrooms, nine three-bedrooms and one office unit. Victor Sozio, Shimon Shkury, Michael Tortorici and Jesse Deutch of Ariel Property Advisors represented the seller, a private investor, and identified the buyer, also a private investor.
CARTERET, N.J. — Everflow Supplies has acquired a 100,000-square-foot industrial property, located at 100 Middlesex Ave. in Carteret, about 15 miles south of Newark, for $4 million. The seller was Wyckoff Associates. Everflow, a distributor of valves, heating components, plumbing specialty and pipe products in New Jersey, will move from its current 65,000-square-foot distribution headquarters, located at 2401 E. Linden Ave. in Linden, to the new building. The property is strategically located near several major roadways, including the New Jersey Turnpike and Routes 1 and 9. The property is also close to Port Newark, Central New Jersey and Lower Manhattan. Jordan Metz of Bussel Realty Corp. represented Everflow in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP has renewed its 595,000-square-foot lease for 20 years at 425 Lexington Ave. in Manhattan. The international law firm’s headquarters occupies 26 floors of the 31-story building. Lewis Miller, Ken Rapp and Ramneek Rikhy of CBRE represented Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in the transaction. The New York office of Hines represented the owner, its Hines U.S. Core Office Fund. The law firm was established in 1884 and has more than 850 lawyers with offices located in Beijing, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Calif., Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.
PALMER, MASS. — Polymer Corp. has signed a lease for 58,000 square feet of single-story industrial space at One Third Street in Palmer, located about 35 miles west of Worcester. One Third Street is a modern building with warehouse and office space and is located in Palmer Industrial Park. David Stubblebine of the Stubblebine Co. represented the tenant in the transaction. Development Associates represented the landlord, Manchem LLC. Polymer Corp. manufactures low-volume, close-tolerance plastic parts and assemblies for blue-chip customers.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Skanska USA and EF Education First (EF) hosted a topping out ceremony for EF’s new $66.5 million, 300,000-square-foot North American headquarters in Cambridge on Friday. The 10-story building will include office and academic space for EF. Upon completion, the building’s entrance will feature a glass curtainwall resembling a waterfall running down the south and east facades of the building. The ground floor will include mezzanine space to be used for dining, building services and other purposes. Along with constructing the building, Skanska will also build three levels of above-ground parking with approximately 125 parking spaces for employees and visitors. Skanska is building the headquarters to LEED Silver standards. The project broke ground in September 2012 and 33 percent of the building’s core and shell is complete. Construction is slated for completion by fall 2014.
NEW YORK CITY — United Realty Trust Inc. has acquired Tilden House, a 117-unit multifamily property in Brooklyn, through a joint venture with the seller for $22.9 million. Completed in 2007, Tilden House is a nine-story, 86,360-square-foot building, with community facility space and indoor and outdoor parking. The property is located at 2520 Tilden Ave. in the East Flatbush area of Brooklyn. Tilden House is leased to a community development corporation, which has entered into a services agreement with the city of New York to provide transitional housing for families in need.
BEDFORD AND DOVER, N.H. — Fantini & Gorga has arranged $3.5 million in long-term financing for two New Hampshire properties — $2.1 million for Briston Manor West in Bedford and $1.4 million for 90 Washington St. in Dover. The 15-year, fixed-rate financing was placed with a major insurance company. Briston Manor West is a 70-unit, age-restricted (55+) multifamily property, which includes six buildings. The five-story, mixed-use building, located at 90 Washington St., spans 29,000 square feet. Tim O’Donnell and Mark Whelan of Fantini & Gorga arranged the loan.