Pittsburgh has been incredibly lucky in that the area has avoided the havoc wreaked on the national economy during the last couple of years. The education and medical sectors bolstered the area during the recession, and the region is fast-becoming the ‘Energy Capital’ of the Northeast, with Pittsburgh as its epicenter. These factors have allowed the region to maintain its traditional path of steady growth, which has bucked the national trend and provided a safe haven for the local industrial real estate investment community. The market continues to operate in a supply-demand imbalance with weight tipping towards demand for industrial product. This has supported irrational pricing, with a number of recent sales of industrial facilities trading higher than traditional prices. The Pittsburgh industrial real estate market comprises less than 170 million square feet. With limited new construction and virtually no impact from loan defaults, the prices for industrial assets have held value. On the flipside, the market does not provide cash-rich buyers with many opportunities to purchase assets at bargain prices. The region’s overall industrial vacancy rate is hovering at 7.5 percent, falling by 0.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010. This is 2.2 percent below the overall U.S. …
NEW MILFORD, CONN. — Harold Fischel, owner of the Bleachery at the end of West Street in New Milford, plans to redevelop the 130,000-square-foot property into a three-story apartment building this spring. The Bleachery mill building — named for its rich history of bleaching fabrics — is situated directly on Lake Lillinonah. The developer, Trust Realty, will create 99 one- and two-bedroom apartments. The city zoning commission also approved an expansion of the marina, allowing for 100 boat slips.
SADSBURY, TOWNSHIP, P.A. —New York City-based Area Property Partners has purchased a 314,521-square-foot bulk distribution center in Sadsbury Township for $16.2 million. The Class A facility is located at 200 W. Stewart Huston Dr. Jonathan Carpenter and James Wellschlager of Cassidy Turley represented the seller, BPG Properties, in the deal.
PORTLAND, MAINE — New England hotel company Portland C.I. LLC has purchased a 127-room Comfort Inn Airport in Portland for an undisclosed amount. The company plans to retain the Comfort Inn brand affiliation and renovate the hotel later this year. NEHR represented the seller, Hotel Holdings of Maine, in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — A mixed-use building at 37 Crosby St. in Manhattan has sold for $4.3 million. The seven-story building includes ground-floor retail space and 12 apartment units. Due to a fire on the top floor apartment, the entire building is currently vacant and in need of renovation. Two tenants plan to return to the building when construction is complete. Robert Burton of Massey Knakal Realty Services represented the buyers, Todd Cohen and Terrence Lowenberg of Icon Realty Management. They also represented the seller, Bob Kahn.
CLINTON, N.J. — Woodmont Industrial Partners and AEW Capital Management have jointly acquired the I-78 Logistics Center in Clinton for an undisclosed sum. The venture plans to convert the property, located at 111 Cokesbury Rd., into a regional distribution center. This is the first of what the venture anticipates will be a number of strategic acquisitions of industrial properties in seaport markets in the eastern U.S. Woodmont and AEW plan to acquire $250 million of assets under this investment program.
CAMBRIDGE — ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge has completed a renovation and expansion project for Boston College at 2121 Commonwealth Ave. on the college's Brighton campus. The project called for the conversion of a vacant property into an administrative office and added 70,000 square feet of space. The new building is called the Boston College Alumni Center.
ROCKY HILL, CONN. — A 109,000-square-foot office and retail center has sold for $10.1 million at 30 Waterchase Dr. in Rocky Hill. The property is 83 percent occupied and anchored by Porter and Chester Institute, a technical school. Joseph French of Marcus & Millichap's White Plains, N.Y. office represented the seller, a private investor based in Florida. The buyer was a private firm located in Trumbull, Conn.
WEEKHAWKEN, N.J. — Beech Street has provided a $12.5 million Fannie Mae loan to refinance The Simone, a new, ground-up construction apartment building in Weehawken. The 50-unit apartment building is located across from the Hudson River and is fully leased. Meridian Capital Group originated the 10-year loan, which has a 30-year amortization schedule.
MELVILLE, N.Y. — Lincoln National Life Insurance Co., a division of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Lincoln Financial Group, has leased 11,000 square feet of office space at the Melville Corporate Center I in Melville. Neal Marchesano of Corporate National Realty represented Lincoln in the deal. The landlord, T. Weiss Realty, was represented in-house by Craig Weiss.