NEW YORK CITY — Bergen Estates has sold 874 Bergen St., a 4,400-square-foot apartment building in Brooklyn, for $1 million. The property was built in 1930 and consists of eight, two-bedroom apartments. Shlomo Antebi and Joseph Landau of GFI Realty Services represented the seller in the transaction. Antebi also represented the buyer, a local investor.
WEST CHESTER, PA. — Cornerstone Communities has purchased The Greentree Building in West Chester from Victor Abdala and Tony Stancato for $9.8 million. The 64-unit apartment building at the corner of North High and East Gay streets includes 17,500 square feet of street-level retail. The new owners plan to upgrade the apartment units and common areas. Mark Thomson, Zachary Pierce, Matthew Gorman and Michael Shover of Marcus & Millichap represented both parties in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Swig Equities and Silverpeak Real Estate Partners, an asset manager for Longwing Real Estate Ventures LLC, have closed on the refinancing of 110 William St., a 900,000-square-foot office building in Manhattan's Financial District. The loan totaled $161.5 million. UBS Real Estate Securities and Barclays Capital provided a $141.5 million first mortgage. In addition, Pearlmark Real Estate Partners provided a $20 million mezzanine loan as part of the transaction. Swig Equities and Longwing, the borrowers, have owned the building since 2004 and recently renovated the lobby, security and fire-safety systems and the curtain wall facade.
MERRIMACK, N.J. — Simon Property Group has opened Merrimack Premium Outlets, a shopping center serving the Greater Boston and Nashua markets. The 410,000-square-foot center reportedly cost $100 million to construct and includes 100 outlet stores. Retailers include Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Bloomingdale's The Outlet Store, Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein and Coach. The property is situated on 170 acres along Industrial Drive.
ORLANDO — Orlando-based National Retail Properties Inc. has purchased six MedExpress Urgent Care centers in Pennsylvania and West Virginia for $12.9 million. The facilities were constructed in 2011 and each include new, 10-year leases. The properties include a 6,000-square-foot building at 3516 Saw Mill Run Blvd. in Pittsburgh; a 6,656-square-foot building at 1729 E. State St. in Hermitage, Pa.; a 5,747-square-foot building at 1139 Baltimore St. in Hanover, Pa.; a 5,786-square-foot building at 3876 Route 30 in Latrobe, Pa.; a 5,460-square-foot building at 6396 State Highway 819 S. in Mt. Pleasant, Pa.; and a 5,652-square-foot building at 630 Fairmont Ave. Paul Fedorko of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, MedExpress Urgent Care, in the transaction. He also represented the buyer.
ASBURY PARK, N.J. — Gebroe-Hammer Associates has arranged two REO sales of apartment buildings in Asbury Park. A mid-rise building at 1700 Webb St. sold for $2.6 million and a complex on Washington Avenue was reacquired by a previous owner for $560,000. David Oropeza and Steven Follman of Gebroe-Hammer represented both parties in the transaction. Neither the sellers nor the buyers were identified. The 1700 Webb St. building contains 39 units and is fully occupied. The 24-unit complex at 1239, 1251 and 1311 Washington Ave. features one-bedroom units and onsite parking.
WEST ISLIP, N.Y. — Blink Fitness has signed a lease for 15,000 square feet at the South Shore Commons Shopping Center, located at 135 Sunrise Highway in West Islip. The location will be Blink's second in Long Island; the first opened in March in Melville. Jayson Siano and Stu Fagen of Sabre represented the owner, Hamilton, Kane and Martin Enterprises Inc., in the transaction. Peter Levine of Charter Realty & Development represented Blink.
NEW YORK CITY — A Central Harlem retail property leased by Citibank has sold for $3.4 million. The one-story bank branch building is located at 2481 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. The rent is $15,000 per month. Victor Sozio, Shimon Shkury and Michael Tortorici of Ariel Property Advisors represented the seller, a private owner, in the transaction. The property was sold to a private investment group that operates multiple retail locations throughout the U.S.
The Southern Maine retail market is rebounding. According to Malone Commercial Broker’s retail survey, Greater Portland’s vacancy rate was at a 10-year high of 10.8 percent in 2009 but dropped down to 6.24 percent in 2011. We are seeing absorption of some empty big boxes, and new retailers are entering Maine’s marketplace. Last year, Buffalo Wild Wings opened its first Maine restaurant in South Portland and then opened a second location in Auburn. Five Guys opened its first Maine location in Portland in 2011, and Elevation Burger opened in South Portland at the beginning of 2012. Despite national headlines that Urban Outfitters is struggling, in 2011 the trendy chain leased approximately 10,000 square feet on Middle Street in Portland. Other retailers new to Maine’s marketplace over the last year include Aveda, BAM! Books-A-Million, J. Jill and White House Black Market. In addition to new retailers entering Maine, some existing national and regional retailers are expanding. To name a few: ACE Hardware has opened a new location in Falmouth; Subway has opened additional locations in Scarborough, Westbrook, and Lewiston; and Verizon opened a flagship store off of Franklin Arterial in Portland. Maine banks and credit unions are expanding as well. Norway …
NEW YORK CITY — Mackenzie-Childs has signed a long-term lease for 7,700 square feet of retail space in the Plaza District. The home furnishings, tableware and gift company will relocate from its existing location at 14 W. 57th St. to 20 W. 57th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues. Mackenzie-Childs plans to reopen by the fourth quarter of 2012. Robert Futterman and Brandon Eisenman of RKF represented the landlord, Solow Realty & Development Co., in the transaction. Jeffrey Roseman of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank represented the tenant.
